Buffalo Sabres
League
Championships None
Conference
Championships 2 - 1975 (Wales), 1999 (Eastern)
Division
Championships 4 - 1975 (Adams), 1980 (Adams),
1981 (Adams), 1997 (Northeast)
Playoff
Appearances 25 - 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978,
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997,
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Buffalo Sabres, professional
ice hockey team and one of five teams in the
Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference
of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sabres
play at Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New
York, and wear uniforms of black, white, red,
silver, and gray. Their name was chosen through
a public contest.
Formed by brothers Northrup and
Seymour Knox, the Sabres joined the NHL as an
expansion team in 1970. The team’s first
draft choice was highly touted center Gil Perreault,
the top pick in the 1970 NHL draft. In the team’s
inaugural season, Perreault led the club with
38 goals and earned the Calder Memorial Trophy
as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
In the 1972-73 season Buffalo
advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the
Sabres were eliminated in the semifinal round.
In the 1974-75 season, right wing Rene Robert
became the franchise’s first player to
reach the 100-point mark, and Robert and left
wing Rick Martin were the first Buffalo players
to appear in the NHL All-Star Game. The Sabres
surprised the league by winning their division
under first-year head coach Floyd Smith. In
the postseason Buffalo made it to the Stanley
Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the
defending-champion Philadelphia Flyers.
The Sabres played well throughout
the late 1970s, posting four consecutive second-place
division finishes from 1976 to 1979. They struggled
in the playoffs, however, failing to advance
beyond the second round during that stretch.
In 1979 the Sabres hired Scotty Bowman, the
former head coach of the Montréal Canadiens.
Under Bowman, Buffalo made it to the playoff
semifinals before losing to the New York Islanders.
The Sabres sent three players to the NHL All-Star
Game that year—goalie Don Edwards, right
wing Danny Gare, and defenseman Jim Schoenfeld.
Sabres teammates Edwards and Bob Sauve shared
the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s leading
goaltenders.
Buffalo assembled strong teams
throughout the early 1980s, and Tom Barrasso
emerged as one of the NHL’s finest goaltenders.
He won the Vezina Trophy in 1984 as a 19-year-old
rookie and was named to the All-Star First Team.
The Sabres qualified for eight
consecutive postseason appearances from 1988
to 1995. Only once during this time, however,
did Buffalo advance to the second round of the
playoffs. In 1993 the Sabres defeated the Boston
Bruins in the first round before being defeated
by the eventual NHL champions, the Canadiens.
During the regular season, center Pat LaFontaine
earned 148 points, the second highest total
in the league.
In addition to LaFontaine, other
outstanding Buffalo players in the 1990s were
right wing Alexander Mogilny and goalie Dominik
Hasek. Nicknamed the Dominator, Hasek earned
several Vezina Trophies. In 1996 and 1997 he
also earned the Hart Memorial Trophy as the
league’s most valuable player, becoming
the first goalie to win the award since Jacques
Plante in 1962. In the 1993-94 season, facing
the New Jersey Devils in the first round of
the playoffs, Hasek made an astounding 70 saves
in the sixth game as the Sabres prevailed in
four overtimes, 1-0. Buffalo, however, lost
to the Devils in the seventh game. In 1999 Hasek
led the Sabres to the franchise’s second
appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, but the
team lost to the Dallas Stars, 4 games to 2.
Coaches: (19)
Punch Imlach 1970/71-1971/72
Floyd Smith 1971/72
Joe Cozier 1971/72-1973/74
Floyd Smith 1974/75-1976/77
Marcel Pronovost 1977/78-1978/79
Billy Inglis 1978/79
Scotty Bowman 1979/80
Roger Neilson 1980/81
Scotty Bowman 1981/82
Jim Roberts 1981/82
Scotty Bowman 1981/82-1984/85
Jim Schoenfeld 1985/86
Scotty Bowman 1985/86-1986/87
Craig Ramsay 1986/87
Ted Sator 1986/87-1988/89
Rick Dudley 1989/90-1991/92
John Muckler 1991/92-1994/95
Ted Nolan 1995/96-1997/98
Lindy Ruff 1997/98
Arenas: (2)
Memorial Auditorium 1970/71-1995/96
HSBC Arena* 1996/97-Present
*-Known as Marine Midland Arena 1996/97-1998/99
Stanley Cup Champions:
None
Stanley Cup Finals: (2)
1975, 1999
Confernce Finals: (4)
1975, 1980, 1998, 1999
President's Trophy:
None
Division Champions: (4)
1975, 1980, 1981, 1997
Playoff Appearences: (25)
1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981,
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991,
1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,
2001
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