Buffalo Sabres History.

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.