Buffalo Sabres

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{{NHL Team Infobox |team_name = Buffalo Sabres |bg_color = black |text_color = red |logo = Buffalo Sabres.gif |alternate_logo = Buffalo-alternate.gif |founded = 1970 |home_arena = HSBC Arena |hometown = Buffalo, New York |team_colors = Black, red, silver, white |head_coach = Lindy Ruff |captain = Chris Drury and Daniel Briere |general_manager = Darcy Regier |owner = B. Thomas Golisano |minor_league = Rochester Americans (AHL) }}

The Buffalo Sabres are a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Buffalo, New York.

Founded: 1970-1971

Arena: HSBC Arena (capacity 18,690)

Uniform colors: black, red, silver, white

Logo design: a buffalo's head

Stanley Cup final appearances: 2 (2 losses: 1974-75, 1998-99)

Third Jersey: Red colored with black stripes on sleeves. There are two crossed swords and the word "BUFFALO"

1 Franchise History
2 Season-by-season record
3 Notable players
4 See also
- 4.1 External links

[edit]

Franchise History

Image:Buffalosabreslogo80s.gif

The Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL in 1970 after a successful American Hockey League team enjoyed success in Buffalo as the Bisons for several years. They got off to a good start before they even hit the ice by picking future Hall of Fame centre Gilbert Perreault first overall in the NHL's Entry Draft. Perreault scored 38 goals in his rookie season, and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, but the Sabres did not make the playoffs that first season.

The following season (1972-73), René Robert and rookie Rick Martin joined Perreault to form one of the league's top forward lines in the 1970s, nicknamed "The French Connection," after the movie of the same name and in homage to those players' French-Canadian roots. The Sabres made the playoffs for the first time that season (only the team's second), but lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens.

After a subpar year in 1974 (missing the playoffs), the Sabres finished in a tie for the best record in the NHL in the 1974-75 regular season, and played the Stanley Cup finals in 1975 against the Philadelphia Flyers, a series which included the legendary Fog Game, the third of the series and the first-ever Sabres finals win. (The Fog Game was unique for two reasons: First, due to an unusual May heat in Buffalo that year, portions of the game were played in heavy fog (thus the name) and were invisible to many spectators. Second, during a face-off and through the fog, Sabres center Jim Lorentz spotted a bat flying across the rink, raised his stick, and killed it, thus marking the only time an animal was killed directly by a player during an NHL game.) The Sabres eventually lost the series, four games to two, to the Philadelphia Flyers and their star goaltender, Bernie Parent.

The French Connection, joined by 50-goal scorer Danny Gare, continued to score prolifically for the Sabres in the 1975-76 NHL season, but the team lost in the quarter-finals to the New York Islanders. The Sabres continued to coast through the late 1970s behind those four players, but did not reach the Stanley Cup finals during those years, despite a regular-season conference championship in 1980.

Robert was traded to the Colorado Rockies in 1980, and Martin to the Los Angeles Kings in 1981. Perreault retired in 1987 after spending 17 years with the Sabres, including several years as the team's captain. Stars for the Sabres in the 1980s included Perreault, the tough and yet skillful Mike Foligno, defenseman Phil Housley, and left-winger Dave Andreychuk. However, only twice in the 1980s did they get past the first round of the playoffs.

In 1989, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the top young Soviet player to defect to the NHL was Alexander Mogilny, who signed with the Sabres. Alongside center Pat LaFontaine, Mogilny hit his stride with a league-leading (tied with Teemu Selanne) 76 goals in the 1992-93 NHL season, and the Sabres finally again advanced past the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens. (The end of the first round, against the Boston Bruins, gained long-time radio announcer Rick Jeanneret league-wide fame, with his famous "MAY DAY!" call on Brad May's game-winning goal in overtime of game 4.)

Also during the 1992-93 NHL season, the Sabres executed what probably was the most important trade in team history, and acquired goaltender Dominik Hasek from the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had spent the previous two seasons as a backup goalie. "The Dominator" became the Sabres' starting goaltender the next season, and quickly proved himself as one of the best goaltenders in the history of the game. Hasek swiftly broke many long-standing NHL records for goaltenders and was the game's preeminent defensive player for several years in the NHL and in international competition.

The 1995-96 NHL season was the first season for Coach Ted Nolan. Ted Nolan brought an exciting brand of hockey to Buffalo. During his coaching tenure Ted's team was referred to as the "Hardest Working Team in Hockey." Even though the Sabres failed to have success in the win column, the fans had a special love affair with this team. Brad May, Rob Ray, and Matt Barnaby, became the 1990's version of the charactars from the Slapshot movie, "The Hanson Brothers". This season also featured the debut of "walk-on" veteran player Randy Burridge. Randy attended training camp on a try out basis and earned a spot on the roster. He scored 25 goals that season, and was second in team scoring to NHL Hall Of Famer Pat LaFontaine. Randy earned the Tim Horton Award for being the "un-sung hero" and was voted team MVP.

The Sabres, behind Hasek and several role-playing journeymen including enforcer Matthew Barnaby, left-winger Miroslav Satan (who led the team in scoring), right-winger Donald Audette, and center Michael Peca, reached the conference finals in 1998, but lost to the Washington Capitals in six games.

In 1999, Satan scored 40 goals, and the Sabres added centres Stu Barnes from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Joe Juneau from the Washington Capitals. Michael Grosek had the best season of his career, and the Sabres again played the Stanley Cup finals, this time against the Dallas Stars. In the sixth game of the seven-game series, Brett Hull's triple-overtime goal - one that remains in dispute as Hull's skate was visibly in the goal crease--ended the series, and the Stars were awarded the Cup. (In 1999, it was illegal to score a goal whilst an offensive player's skate was in the goal crease. At the time, even Dallas Morning News hockey writer Keith Gave questioned the legality of the goal.)

The next year, a disappointing season with tired and discouraged players, culminated with a first-round playoff series loss to the Flyers.

Captain Peca sat out the 2000-01 NHL season in a contract dispute, and eventually was traded to the Islanders. Even so, the Sabres still defeated the Flyers in the first round of playoffs (with a resounding 8-0 victory in the series-winning game), but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Penguins on a late double-overtime goal scored by Darius Kasparaitus.

After lengthy, and failed, negotiations with their star goaltender, the Sabres traded Hasek to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2001. Without Hasek and Peca, the Sabres missed the 2002 playoffs. The team's misfortunes rose exponentially in the summer of 2002, as the team's owner, Adelphia Communications CEO John Rigas, was arrested for investor fraud for embezelling more than one billion dollars from Adelphia (Rigas eventually was convicted on United States federal securities charges, and presently is appealing a sentence of a fifteen-year prison term.) After the league managed the team for a short period of time, the Sabres were sold in 2003 to Rochester, New York billionaire and former New York gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano.

Still, the team emerged from its struggles, and the Sabres narrowly missed the playoffs the following season, which saw the debuts and/or development of prominent young players such as Daniel Briere, Derek Roy, and Rory Fitzpatrick. The NHL cancelled the 2004-05 NHL season due to a labor dispute.

The Season is back and the Sabres are off to a good start.

[edit]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1970-71	78	24	39	15	--	63	217	291	1188	5th in Eastern Conf.	Out of playoffs
1971-72	78	16	43	19	--	51	203	289	831	6th in Eastern Conf.	Out of playoffs
1972-73	78	37	27	14	--	88	257	219	940	4th in Eastern Conf.	Lost in quarter-finals
1973-74	78	32	34	12	--	76	242	250	787	5th in Eastern Conf.	Out of playoffs
1974-75	80	49	16	15	--	113	354	240	1229	1st in Adams Div.	Lost in Stanley Cup finals
1975-76	80	46	21	13	--	105	339	240	943	2nd in Adams Div.	Lost in quarter-finals
1976-77	80	48	24	8	--	104	301	220	848	2nd in Adams Div.	Lost in quarter-finals
1977-78	80	44	19	17	--	105	288	215	800	2nd in Adams Div.	Lost in quarter-finals
1978-79	80	36	28	16	--	88	280	263	1026	2nd in Adams Div.	Lost in preliminary round
1979-80	80	47	17	16	--	110	318	201	967	1st in Adams Div.	Lost in semi-finals
1980-81	80	39	20	21	--	99	327	250	1194	1st in Adams Div.	Lost in 2nd round
1981-82	80	39	26	15	--	93	307	273	1425	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1982-83	80	38	29	13	--	89	318	285	1031	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division finals
1983-84	80	48	25	7	--	103	315	257	1190	2nd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1984-85	80	38	28	14	--	90	290	237	1221	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1985-86	80	37	37	6	--	80	296	291	1608	5th (last) in Adams Div.	Out of playoffs
1986-87	80	28	44	8	--	64	280	308	1810	5th (last) in Adams Div.	Out of playoffs
1987-88	80	37	32	11	--	85	283	305	2277	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1988-89	80	38	35	7	--	83	291	299	2034	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1989-90	80	45	27	8	--	98	286	248	1449	2nd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1990-91	80	31	30	19	--	81	292	278	1733	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1991-92	80	31	37	12	--	74	289	299	2713	3rd in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1992-93	84	38	36	10	--	86	335	297	1873	4th in Adams Div.	Lost in Adams Division finals
1993-94	84	43	32	9	--	95	282	218	1760	4th in Northeast Div.	Lost in Eastern Conf. quarter-finals
1994-95¹	48	22	19	7	--	51	130	119	1022	4th in Northeast Div.	Lost in Eastern Conf. quarter-finals
1995-96	82	33	42	7	--	73	247	262	2195	5th in Northeast Div.	Out of playoffs
1996-97	82	40	30	12	--	92	237	208	1840	5th in Northeast Div.	Lost in Eastern Conf. semi-finals
1997-98	82	36	29	17	--	89	211	187	1768	3rd in Northeast Div.	Lost in Eastern Conf. finals
1998-99	82	37	28	17	--	91	207	175	1561	4th in Northeast Div.	Lost in Stanley Cup finals
1999-00	82	35	32	11	4	85	213	204	1173	3rd in Northeast Div.	Lost in Eastern Conf. quarter-finals
2000-01	82	46	30	5	1	98	218	184	1249	2nd in Northeast Div.	Lost in Eastern Conf. semi-finals
2001-02	82	35	35	11	1	82	213	200	1217	5th (last) in Northeast Div.	Out of playoffs
2002-03	82	27	37	10	8	72	190	219	1276	5th (last) in Northeast Div.	Out of playoffs
2003-04	82	37	34	7	4	85	220	221	1289	5th (last) in Northeast Div.	Out of playoffs
2004-05²	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2005-06³	29	18	10	-	1

¹ Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.

² Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

³ Season has no more ties all games end by Overtime or shootout

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Notable players

[edit]

Current Squad

As of December 7, 2005

Goaltenders
Number		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
30	Image:Flag of the United States.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Ryan Miller (Injured Reserve)	L	1999	East Lansing, Michigan
35	Image:Flag of Finland.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Mika Noronen	L	1997	Tampere, Finland
43	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Martin Biron	L	1995	Lac-Saint-Charles, Quebec

Defensemen
Number		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
5	Image:Flag of Finland.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Toni Lydman	L	2005	Lahti, Finland
8	Image:Flag of the United States.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Rory Fitzpatrick	R	2001	Rochester, New York
10	Image:Flag of Sweden.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Henrik Tallinder	R	2001	Stockholm, Sweden
27	Image:Flag of Finland.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Teppo Numminen	R	2005	Tampere, Finland
45	Image:Flag of Russia.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Dmitri Kalinin	L	1998	Cheljabinsk, U.S.S.R.
51	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Brian Campbell	L	1997	Strathroy, Ontario
74	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Jay McKee - A	L	1995	Kingston, Ontario

Forwards
Number		Player	Shoots	Positon	Acquired	Place of Birth
9	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Derek Roy	L	C	2001	Ottawa, Ontario
12	Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Ales Kotalik	R	RW/LW	1998	Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
17	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	J.P. Dumont (Injured Reserve)	L	LW/RW	2000	Montreal, Quebec
19	Image:Flag of the United States.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Tim Connolly	R	C	2001	Syracuse, New York
22	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Adam Mair	R	C/RW	2002	Hamilton, Ontario
23	Image:Flag of the United States.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Chris Drury - C	R	C/W	2003	Trumbull, Connecticut
24	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Taylor Pyatt (Injured Reserve)	L	LW	2001	Thunder Bay, Ontario
25	Image:Flag of the United States.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Mike Grier	R	RW	2004	Detroit, Michigan
26	Image:Austria flag large.png}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Thomas Vanek	R	LW/RW	2003	Graz, Austria
28	Image:Flag of the United States.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Paul Gaustad	L	C	2000	Fargo, North Dakota
29	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Jason Pominville	R	RW	2001	Repentigny, Quebec
48	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Daniel Briere - C	R	C	2003	Gatineau, Quebec
55	Image:Germany flag 300.png}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Jochen Hecht - A	L	LW/RW	2003	Mannheim, West Germany
61	Image:Flag of Russia.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Maxim Afinogenov	L	RW	1997	Moscow, U.S.S.R.
76	Image:Flag of Canada.svg}\|name={{{name\|}}}}}}}}	Andrew Peters	L	LW	1998	St. Catharines, Ontario

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Team Captaincy

Floyd Smith, 1970-71
Gerry Meehan, 1971-74
Jim Schoenfeld, 1974-77
Danny Gare, 1977-82
Gilbert Perreault, 1982-87
Lindy Ruff, 1987-89
Mike Foligno, 1989-90
Mike Ramsey, 1991-92
Pat LaFontaine, 1992-97
Alexander Mogilny, 1993-94 (served as captain, while LaFontaine was injured)
Michael Peca, 1997-2000
Donald Audette, 1997-98 (briefly served as captain while Peca was injured)
no captain, 2000-01 (Michael Peca sat out the entire season. No replacement was named until he was traded)
Stu Barnes, 2001-03
Miroslav Satan, October, 2003
Chris Drury, November, 2003
James Patrick, December, 2003
J.P. Dumont, January, 2004
Daniel Briere, February, 2004
Chris Drury, March-April, 2004
no captain (lockout), 2004-05
Daniel Briere & Chris Drury, 2005- present (co-captains)