Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres lost both of their co-captains, Daniel Briere (who went to the Philadelphia Flyers) and Chris Drury (who went to the New York Rangers) during the free agency period. The Sabres nearly lost Thomas Vanek to the Edmonton Oilers who offered him a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet, but the Sabres matched the offer on July 6. After these events, the team changed its policy of not negotiating contracts during the regular season. On October 16, 2007, they signed Jochen Hecht to a 4 year $14.1 million dollar contract.

Long-time Sabres broadcast color commentator Jim Lorentz announced his retirement during the 07–08 preseason. Hockey Night in Canada's Harry Neale took over the position in October 2007.

The Sabres' January 1 home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins was played outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.^[6] Officially, the game was called the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, but in Buffalo and the surrounding areas it was referred to as the "Ice Bowl". The Sabres lost 2–1 in a shootout.

Sabres' 2007–08 jerseys

The Sabres, like all of the NHL teams updated their jerseys as part of the league-wide switchover to Rbk Edge jerseys. The team did not make radical changes to the jersey design, adding an NHL crest below the neck opening. There will be no 'third jersey' this season, although the team wore the 1970s design for the January 1 outdoor game.

With a 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on April 3, 2008 that eliminated the Sabres out of playoff contention, they became only the third team in NHL history to go from finishing first overall in the regular season standings to finishing out of the playoffs the following year. Both of the previous two teams to do so ended up winning the Stanley Cup the following year.

2008–09

On June 10, 2008, the Sabres officially announced their new American Hockey League affiliate, beginning in the 2008-09 season, would be the Portland Pirates from Portland, Maine. This officially ends their 29-year affiliation with the Rochester Americans. The Sabres will stock the Pirates with prospects for the next two seasons, with a parent club option for a third.^[7].

The Sabres entered the 2008 free agency period quietly, but on July 1 they signed goaltender Patrick Lalime to a two-year contact. Three days later, the team traded Steve Bernier to Vancouver for a pair of draft picks. Just a few hours later, the Sabres acquired Craig Rivet from San Jose in exchange for one second round draft picks in each of the next two drafts. In the month that followed, general manager Darcy Regier added some lower-tier free agents who are expected to spend most of their time in the AHL. On July 24, Mathieu Darche was signed away from Tampa Bay. A pair of signings were made on August 4. The team agreed to minor league deals with Colton Fretter, a former Atlanta draft pick, and Colin Murphy, a former Toronto farmhand.

The Sabres also extended the contracts of two players. On June 30, Paul Gaustad was given a four-year extension. Gaustad was due to become a restricted free agent after the 2008-2009 season. On July 18, Ryan Miller signed a five-year extension through the 2013-2014 season. Miller was slated to become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season.

On August 4, 2008, ESPN's Terri Frei wrote an article entitled "Ranking the NHL Coaches". Part of the article included a section entitled THE ELITE. Head Coach Lindy Ruff was included in this portion of Frei's article. Frei had this to say about coach Ruff..."Laments about "respect" get tiresome, and thankfully they're not as prevalent in the NHL as in the other sports. But this is the guy who has the longest tenure in the league, has persevered through trying circumstances on and off the ice in Buffalo, and on balance has done a terrific job. He deserves to be mentioned among the best in the league, and not as an afterthought."^[8]

On August 15, 2008, the Sabres announced that they will unveil an updated version of the blue Third jersey that they wore last season. The jersey will will feature a modernization of the team’s vintage design elements from the 1970s. ^[9]

Broadcasters

Rick Jeanneret TV Play-by-Play
Harry Neale TV Color Analyst
Rob Ray Studio Host
Kevin Sylvester Studio Host
Mike Robitaille Studio Host

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Sabres. For the full season-by-season history, see Buffalo Sabres seasons

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

Records as of April 12, 2008.^[10]

¹ As of the 2005–06 NHL season, all games tied after regulation will be decided in a shootout; SOL (Shootout losses) will be recorded as OTL in the standings.

² Won Presidents' Trophy for best overall league record.

Players

Current roster

As of August 9, 2008. [2]

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
30		Ryan Miller	L	1999	East Lansing, Michigan
40		Patrick Lalime	L	2008	Saint-Bonaventur, Quebec

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
4		Nolan Pratt	L	2007	Fort McMurray, Alberta
5		Toni Lydman	L	2005	Lahti, Finland
6		Jaroslav Spacek	L	2006	Rokycany, Czechoslovakia
10		Henrik Tallinder	L	1997	Stockholm, Sweden
27		Teppo Numminen	R	2005	Tampere, Finland
34		Mike Weber	L	2005	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
38		Nathan Paetsch	L	2003	Leroy, Saskatchewan
44		Andrej Sekera	L	2004	Bojnice, Czechoslovakia
52		Craig Rivet	R	2008	North Bay, Ontario

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
9		Derek Roy – A	C	L	2001	Ottawa, Ontario
12		Ales Kotalik	C/W	R	1998	Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia
19		Tim Connolly	C	R	2001	Syracuse, New York
20		Daniel Paille	LW	L	2002	Welland, Ontario
21		Drew Stafford	RW	R	2004	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
22		Adam Mair	C/RW	R	2002	Hamilton, Ontario
26		Thomas Vanek	LW	R	2003	Vienna, Austria
28		Paul Gaustad	C/LW	L	2000	Fargo, North Dakota
29		Jason Pominville – C	RW	R	2001	Repentigny, Quebec
36		Patrick Kaleta	RW	R	2004	Buffalo, New York
55		Jochen Hecht – A	LW	L	2003	Mannheim, West Germany
61		Maxim Afinogenov	RW	L	1997	Moscow, U.S.S.R.
76		Andrew Peters	LW	L	1998	St. Catharines, Ontario
--		Mathieu Darche	LW	L	2008	Montreal, Quebec

Team captains

Honored members

Hall of Famers

Players

• Dick Duff, C, 1970–72, inducted 2006
• Grant Fuhr, G, 1993–95, inducted 2003
• Clark Gillies, C, 1986–88, inducted 2002
• Tim Horton, D, 1972–74, inducted 1977
• Gilbert Perreault, C, 1970–87, inducted 1990
• Dale Hawerchuk, C, 1990–95, inducted 2001
• Pat LaFontaine, C, 1991–97, inducted 2003

Builders

• George "Punch" Imlach, head coach/GM, 1970–78, inducted 1984
• Scotty Bowman, head coach/GM, 1980–87, inducted 1991
• Seymour H. Knox III, owner (team co-founder), 1970–96, inducted 1993
• Roger Neilson, assistant/head coach, 1979–81, inducted 2002

Broadcasters

• Ted Darling, 1970–92, inducted 1994

Retired numbers

• 2 Tim Horton, D, 1972–74, number retired January 15, 1996
• 7 Rick Martin, LW, 1971–81, number retired November 15, 1995*
• 11 Gilbert Perreault, C, 1970–86, number retired October 17, 1990*
• 14 Rene Robert, RW, 1972–79, number retired November 15, 1995*
• 16 Pat LaFontaine, C, 1991–97, number retired March 3, 2006
• 18 Danny Gare, RW, 1974–81, number retired November 22, 2005
• 99 Wayne Gretzky, C, number retired league wide February 6, 2000
• SHK III and NRK (team founders Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup R. Knox. Two banners bearing their initials and the Sabres blue and gold reside in HSBC Arena's rafters.)

* When Rene Robert and Rick Martin were retired, Gilbert Perreault was present, as the entire "French Connection" line was given retirement together. Today, each linemate's banner is next to one another at HSBC Arena, with a banner above indicating their line's nickname.

First-round draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Sabres player

NHL awards and trophies

Franchise individual records

Main article: Buffalo Sabres records

See also

• Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team, a team composed of former Sabres
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Buffalo Sabres

• Official website of the Buffalo Sabres
• Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association

Links to related articles v • d • e Buffalo Sabres Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Winter Classic • Records • Draft picks • Sabretooth • HSBC Arena • Portland Pirates • Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs v • d • e Buffalo Sabres seasons 1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80 • 1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90 • 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 v • d • e Buffalo Sabres Head Coaches Imlach • Crozier • Smith • Pronovost • Inglis • Bowman • Neilson • Bowman • Schoenfeld • Bowman • Ramsay • Sator • Dudley • Muckler • Nolan • Ruff v • d • e National Hockey League Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Northeast Southeast Central Northwest Pacific New Jersey Devils Boston Bruins Atlanta Thrashers Chicago Blackhawks Calgary Flames Anaheim Ducks New York Islanders Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars New York Rangers Montreal Canadiens Florida Panthers Detroit Red Wings Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Philadelphia Flyers Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lightning Nashville Predators Minnesota Wild Phoenix Coyotes Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals St. Louis Blues Vancouver Canucks San Jose Sharks Seasons (structure) · Stanley Cup (Playoffs–Champions) · Presidents' Trophy · All-Star Game · Draft · Players (Association) · All-Star Teams · Awards History · Timeline · Defunct teams · NHA · Original Six · 1967 Expansion · WHA · Streaks · Droughts · Hall of Fame (members) · Rivalries · Arenas · Rules · Violence Category · Portal v • d • e Sports teams based in Upstate New York Baseball IL: Buffalo Bisons · Rochester Red Wings · Syracuse Chiefs — EL: Binghamton Mets — NYPL: Auburn Doubledays · Batavia Muckdogs · Hudson Valley Renegades · Jamestown Jammers · Oneonta Tigers · Tri-City ValleyCats Basketball ABA: Buffalo Sharks — CBA: Albany Patroons PBL: Buffalo Dragons · Rochester Razorsharks — NPBL: Elmira Bulldogs Football NFL: Buffalo Bills — af2: Buffalo · Albany Conquest — AIFA: Rochester Raiders — WPFL: Empire State Roar — EFL: Watertown Red & Black · Massena Silver & Black · Amsterdam Zephyrs — NFA: Buffalo Gladiators · Syracuse Shock Hockey NHL: Buffalo Sabres — AHL: Albany River Rats · Binghamton Senators · Rochester Americans · Syracuse Crunch — ECHL: Elmira Jackals — UJHL: Jamestown Jets OPJHL: Buffalo Jr. Sabres Soccer USL-1: Rochester Rhinos — NPSL: Queen City FC — W-League: Rochester Rhinos Women Lacrosse MLL: Rochester Rattlers — NLL: Buffalo Bandits · Rochester Knighthawks College athletics (NCAA Division I) University at Albany · Binghamton University · University at Buffalo · Canisius College · Colgate University · Cornell University · Marist College · Niagara University · Siena College · St. Bonaventure University · Syracuse University

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