NHL Team Guide: Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres were founded in 1970 and were one of two expansion teams – the Vancouver Canucks were the other – to enter the NHL that year. During their 40-plus-year existence, the Sabres have played in the Stanley Cup Finals just twice, losing both times (1975 and 1999).
Buffalo’s TV schedule normally includes a number of games on national television at NBC or NBCSN. Fans can tune into the MSG network to watch the Buffalo Sabres complete schedule of games. Sabres games are also available via live stream on NHL.com.
NHL Standings
When the Sabres entered the NHL in 1970, they were placed in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The league realigned several times, the most recent being before the 2013-14 season. Buffalo remains a member of the Atlantic Division with Boston, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and Toronto. The Sabres continue to play most of their NHL schedule in the Eastern Conference.
Championship History
The Sabres won their first division championship in 1974-75. It was the franchise’s first great year led by the French Connection line of Gilbert Perrault, Rick Martin, and Rene Robert. Buffalo went on to win its first conference championship and lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Buffalo has made 29 playoff appearances in its 49 NHL seasons. The Sabres won division championships in 1974-75, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1996-97, 2006-07, and 2009-10. The three conference championships included 1974-75, 1979-80, and 1998-99.
Home of the Sabres
The Sabres currently play at the KeyBank Center, which opened in 1996 as the Marine Midland Arena. The venue took its current name in 2016-17. It is located in downtown Buffalo and seats 19,070 fans for hockey games. The KeyBank Center replaced the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium which has since been demolished. KeyBank Center is the largest indoor arena in western New York.
Best Sabres
Gilbert Perrault was the first pick in the 1970 draft and would go on to become Buffalo’s all-time leading scorer with 1,326 points. Perrault scored 38 goals as a rookie, then a record, and would go on to score 512, also the most in Sabres history. Perrault was the NHL’s Rookie of the Year in 1971 and won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1973. He played in eight NHL All-Star games and is considered to be one of the most skilled centers to ever play the game. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.
A year after the Sabres drafted Perrault, they took Rick Martin with their first pick, the fifth overall. Martin was part of the French Connection line in the Sabres’ glory days. Martin played in seven straight NHL All-Star games and is the Buffalo franchise leader in career hat tricks, four-goal games, 40-goal seasons, consecutive 40-goal seasons, 50-goal seasons, and consecutive 50-goal seasons. In his 10 seasons with Buffalo, Martin scored 382 goals and 695 points. Those numbers are second and third in franchise history, respectively.
Buffalo has a total of 11 players in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Perrault is one of them. Martin, whose career was cut short by injury, is not.
Author: Dan Anderson