1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season

An $8.7 million (approximately $50.8 million in 2016 dollars)^[1] renovation took place after the 1970–71 inauguration of the Sabres and Buffalo Braves franchises. The arena's roof was raised 24 feet, making room for a new upper level. This raised the total capacity of the arena to over 17,000 for basketball and 15,858 for hockey, making it a more suitable home for the NBA and NHL.^[2]

Regular season

For the second consecutive season the Sabres had a breakout rookie performance by their first round draft pick. Rick Martin would score 44 goals breaking the NHL rookie scoring record of 38 set the previous season by Gilbert Perreault.^[3] Despite the efforts of their young phenoms the Sabres would finish with a worse record than their inaugural season and again miss the Playoffs. During the season Eddie Shack was traded to Pittsburgh for Rene Robert.^[4]

Final standings

East Division^[5]
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Boston Bruins	78	54	13	11	330	204	+126	119
2	New York Rangers	78	48	17	13	317	192	+125	109
3	Montreal Canadiens	78	46	16	16	307	205	+102	108
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	78	33	31	14	209	208	+1	80
5	Detroit Red Wings	78	33	35	10	261	262	−1	76
6	Buffalo Sabres	78	16	43	19	203	289	−86	51
7	Vancouver Canucks	78	20	50	8	203	297	−94	48

Schedule and results

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 10, 1971	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	1–0–0
2	L	October 12, 1971	1–9	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	1–1–0
3	L	October 14, 1971	2–6	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	1–2–0
4	L	October 16, 1971	3–9	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	1–3–0
5	L	October 17, 1971	2–3	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	1–4–0
6	W	October 20, 1971	7–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	2–4–0
7	L	October 21, 1971	2–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	2–5–0
8	L	October 23, 1971	1–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	2–6–0
9	L	October 24, 1971	2–3	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	2–7–0
10	W	October 27, 1971	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	3–7–0
11	T	October 30, 1971	4–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	3–7–1
12	T	October 31, 1971	2–2	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	3–7–2
13	T	November 4, 1971	4–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	3–7–3
14	W	November 5, 1971	5–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	4–7–3
15	T	November 7, 1971	3–3	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	4–7–4
16	L	November 11, 1971	2–4	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	4–8–4
17	L	November 13, 1971	2–5	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	4–9–4
18	T	November 14, 1971	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	4–9–5
19	L	November 18, 1971	5–7	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	4–10–5
20	L	November 21, 1971	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	4–11–5
21	L	November 24, 1971	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	4–12–5
22	L	November 27, 1971	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	4–13–5
23	L	November 28, 1971	3–5	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	4–14–5
24	L	December 1, 1971	2–7	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	4–15–5
25	W	December 2, 1971	2–0	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	5–15–5
26	L	December 4, 1971	1–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	5–16–5
27	W	December 5, 1971	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	6–16–5
28	L	December 9, 1971	1–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	6–17–5
29	T	December 11, 1971	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	6–17–6
30	L	December 12, 1971	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	6–18–6
31	L	December 15, 1971	1–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	6–19–6
32	L	December 16, 1971	0–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	6–20–6
33	L	December 18, 1971	1–8	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	6–21–6
34	W	December 19, 1971	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	7–21–6
35	T	December 23, 1971	4–4	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	7–21–7
36	T	December 25, 1971	4–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	7–21–8
37	W	December 26, 1971	6–3	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	8–21–8
38	L	December 29, 1971	3–7	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	8–22–8
39	T	December 31, 1971	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	8–22–9
40	T	January 2, 1972	4–4	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	8–22–10
41	L	January 6, 1972	2–5	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	8–23–10
42	L	January 9, 1972	1–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	8–24–10
43	L	January 13, 1972	2–5	New York Rangers (1971–72)	8–25–10
44	L	January 15, 1972	2–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	8–26–10
45	W	January 16, 1972	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	9–26–10
46	W	January 20, 1972	1–0	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	10–26–10
47	L	January 22, 1972	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	10–27–10
48	T	January 23, 1972	3–3	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	10–27–11
49	L	January 26, 1972	1–5	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	10–28–11
50	L	January 27, 1972	1–3	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	10–29–11
51	T	January 30, 1972	2–2	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	10–29–12
52	L	February 3, 1972	2–4	New York Rangers (1971–72)	10–30–12
53	T	February 5, 1972	3–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	10–30–13
54	W	February 6, 1972	8–2	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	11–30–13
55	L	February 10, 1972	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	11–31–13
56	L	February 12, 1972	1–5	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	11–32–13
57	T	February 13, 1972	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	11–32–14
58	L	February 17, 1972	0–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	11–33–14
59	L	February 19, 1972	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	11–34–14
60	L	February 20, 1972	0–4	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	11–35–14
61	W	February 23, 1972	2–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	12–35–14
62	W	February 24, 1972	5–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	13–35–14
63	T	February 27, 1972	4–4	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	13–35–15
64	L	March 1, 1972	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	13–36–15
65	L	March 2, 1972	3–4	New York Rangers (1971–72)	13–37–15
66	L	March 5, 1972	2–6	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	13–38–15
67	L	March 8, 1972	3–6	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	13–39–15
68	L	March 10, 1972	2–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	13–40–15
69	L	March 11, 1972	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	13–41–15
70	W	March 14, 1972	4–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	14–41–15
71	T	March 16, 1972	3–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	14–41–16
72	L	March 17, 1972	2–6	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	14–42–16
73	T	March 19, 1972	3–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	14–42–17
74	W	March 22, 1972	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	15–42–17
75	T	March 23, 1972	4–4	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	15–42–18
76	T	March 26, 1972	2–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	15–42–19
77	L	March 30, 1972	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	15–43–19
78	W	April 2, 1972	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	16–43–19

Playoffs

The Sabres failed to make the playoffs in the 1971-72 season.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Martin, RickRick Martin	73	44	30	74	36	-38	19	0	5
Perreault, GilbertGilbert Perreault	76	26	48	74	24	-40	11	0	1
Meehan, GerryGerry Meehan	77	19	27	46	12	-28	4	0	2
Hamilton, AlAl Hamilton	76	4	30	34	105	-12	1	0	1
Shack, EddieEddie Shack	50	11	14	25	34	-11	4	0	0
Atkinson, SteveSteve Atkinson	67	14	10	24	26	-22	3	0	0
Lorentz, JimJim Lorentz	33	10	14	24	12	-11	2	0	1
Evans, ChrisChris Evans	61	6	18	24	98	-20	2	0	0
Goyette, PhilPhil Goyette	37	3	21	24	14	-10	3	0	0
Luce, DonDon Luce	78	11	8	19	38	-18	0	0	1
Lawson, DannyDanny Lawson	78	10	6	16	15	-23	0	1	0
Byers, MikeMike Byers	46	9	7	16	12	-20	3	0	1
Ramsay, CraigCraig Ramsay	57	6	10	16	0	5	0	0	2
O'Shea, KevinKevin O'Shea	52	6	9	15	44	-19	0	0	0
Robitaille, MikeMike Robitaille	31	2	10	12	22	-14	1	0	0
Hillman, LarryLarry Hillman	43	1	11	12	58	-21	0	0	0
Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt	27	0	10	10	52	0	0	0	0
Robert, ReneRene Robert	12	6	3	9	2	-5	3	0	0
Watson, JimJim Watson	66	2	6	8	101	-33	1	0	0
Wyrozub, RandyRandy Wyrozub	34	3	4	7	0	-2	0	0	0
Barrie, DougDoug Barrie	27	2	5	7	45	-21	0	0	1
Duff, DickDick Duff	8	2	2	4	0	-2	0	0	0
Anderson, RonRon Anderson	37	0	4	4	19	-10	0	0	0
Zaine, RodRod Zaine	24	2	1	3	4	-14	0	0	1
McKay, RayRay McKay	39	0	3	3	18	-12	0	0	0
Keenan, LarryLarry Keenan	14	2	0	2	2	-3	0	0	0
Deadmarsh, ButchButch Deadmarsh	12	1	1	2	4	-10	0	0	0
Gould, JohnJohn Gould	2	1	0	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Ball, TerryTerry Ball	10	0	1	1	6	-7	0	0	0
Mickey, LarryLarry Mickey	4	0	1	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Smith, FloydFloyd Smith	6	0	1	1	2	-3	0	0	0
Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier	63	0	0	0	10	0	0	0	0
Dryden, DaveDave Dryden	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche	9	0	0	0	2	-13	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Crozier, RogerRoger Crozier	3654	63	13	34	14	214	3.51	2
Dryden, DaveDave Dryden	1026	20	3	9	5	68	3.98	0
Team:	4680	78	16	43	19	282	3.62	2

^[6]

Awards and records

The Sabres were not awarded any individual or team awards in the 1971-72 season.

Transactions

Date	Details
May 25, 1971	To Detroit Red Wings Joe Daley	To Buffalo Sabres Don Luce Mike Robitaille
November 16, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Keenan	To Buffalo Sabres Larry Mickey
December 16, 1971	To Los Angeles Kings Doug Barrie Mike Keeler	To Buffalo Sabres Mike Byers Larry Hillman
January 14, 1972	To New York Rangers 2nd-round pick in 1972 (Larry Sacharuk)	Buffalo Sabres Jim Lorentz
March 4, 1972	To Pittsburgh Penguins Eddie Shack	To Buffalo Sabres René Robert
March 5, 1972	To St. Louis Blues Chris Evans	To Buffalo Sabres George Morrison 2nd-round pick in 1972 (Larry Carriere)
March 5, 1972	To New York Rangers Phil Goyette (Negotiating Rights)	To Buffalo Sabres Cash

Intra-League Draft

June 8, 1971	From Chicago Blackhawks Ray McKay
June 8, 1971	To Toronto Maple Leafs Don Marshall
June 8, 1971	From Toronto Maple Leafs Rene Robert
June 8, 1971	From Montreal Canadiens Hugh Harris
June 8, 1971	To Pittsburgh Penguins Rene Robert
June 8, 1971	From Minnesota North Stars Danny Lawson
June 8, 1971	From Pittsburgh Penguins Rod Zaine
June 8, 1971	From Detroit Red Wings Tom Miller
June 8, 1971	From Toronto Maple Leafs Ken Murray
June 8, 1971	To Los Angeles Kings Gary Edwards

Reverse Draft

June 7, 1971	To Providence Reds (AHL) Brian Perry

Free Agency

August 1971	Signed John Gould
September 1971	Signed Rick Dudley
September 29, 1971	Signed Gary Bromley

Lost via retirement

Player
Jean-Guy Talbot

Roster

Buffalo Sabres 1971–1972 Roster

Goaltenders

1 – Roger Crozier
30 – Dave Dryden

Defensemen

2 – Jim Watson
3 – Mike Robitaille
3 – Paul Terbenche
4 – Tracy Pratt
5 – Doug Barrie
5 – Larry Hillman
6 – Al Hamilton
21 – Terry Ball
22 – Ray McKay
24 – Chris Evans

Wingers

7 – Rick Martin
8 – Dick Duff
9 – Danny Lawson
10 – Craig Ramsay
12 – Mike Byers
14 – René Robert
16 – Ron Anderson
16 – Butch Deadmarsh
17 – Floyd Smith –C
18 – Kevin O'Shea
19 – Steve Atkinson
21 – John Gould
21 – Larry Keenan
21 – Larry Mickey
23 – Eddie Shack

Centers

8 – Jim Lorentz
10 – Phil Goyette
11 – Gilbert Perreault
15 – Gerry Meehan –C
20 – Don Luce
22 – Rod Zaine
26 – Randy Wyrozub
GM: Punch Imlach
Coach: Punch Imlach,
Floyd Smith,
Joe Crozier

Draft picks

NHL draft

Farm teams

For the 1971-72 season Buffalo's AHL farm team was the Cincinnati Swords. In the team's inaugural season they would post a 30-28-18 record placing 3rd in the West Division which would secure a playoff berth. The first round brought the 2nd seed Hershey Bears who were swept. In the second round the Swords faced off against the 1st seed Baltimore Clippers losing the series 4-2.

References

↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
↑ ""The Aud" - Memorial Auditorium". Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association. sabresalumni.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
↑ "Rick Martin Profile". Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association. SabresAlumni.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
↑ "Rene Robert". Hockey Hall of Fame. legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
↑ "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
↑ "1971-72 Buffalo Sabres Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2009.

Buffalo Sabres

Founded in 1970 Based in Buffalo, New York

Franchise	Team General Managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season

History	Expansion Draft Records Award winners

Personnel	Owner Terrence Pegula President Russ Brandon General Manager Tim Murray Head coach Dan Bylsma Team captain Brian Gionta Current roster

Arenas	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium HarborCenter (practice) First Niagara Center

Affiliates	AHL Rochester Americans ECHL Elmira Jackals

Owners	Knox/Knox/Swados/Strawbridge Rigas Golisano/Quinn Pegula

General managers	Imlach Anderson Bowman Meehan Muckler Regier LaFontaine (de facto) Murray

Head coaches	Imlach Smith Crozier Smith Pronovost Inglis Bowman Neilson Roberts Bowman Schoenfeld Bowman Ramsay Sator Dudley Muckler Nolan Ruff Rolston Nolan Bylsma

Media	Sabres Hockey Network WGR 550 MSG Network Broadcasters

Culture and lore	"The French Connection" Ted Darling Rick Jeanneret The Fog Game No Goal 2008 NHL Winter Classic 2011 NHL Premiere Taro Tsujimoto Ronan Tynan Ryan Vinz Hockey Night Live! HarborCenter Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team Buffalo Jr. Sabres Buffalo Bandits Sabretooth Sabre Dance

Buffalo Sabres seasons

1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

1971–72 NHL season

East	Boston Buffalo Detroit Montreal New York Toronto Vancouver

West	California Chicago Los Angeles Minnesota Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis

See also	Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Final

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1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

Intra-League Draft

Reverse Draft

Free Agency

Lost via retirement

Roster

Draft picks

NHL draft

Farm teams

See also

References