60 Fun Facts About Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres joined the NHL in 1970 alongside which other expansion team?

The Vancouver Canucks entered alongside Buffalo, and the NHL put both newcomers in its East Division, although Vancouver sits on the Pacific coast.

The Sabres' founding owners, the Knox brothers, were grandsons of a co-founder of which five-and-dime chain?

Woolworth's was co-founded by their grandfather Seymour H. Knox I, a cousin and partner of Frank Woolworth who merged his own five-and-dime stores into the F. W. Woolworth Company in 1912.

Why did the Sabres' founders say their contest-winning name suited a hockey team?

A sabre strikes and parries: the team's press release called it 'a clean, sharp, decisive and penetrating weapon on offense, as well as a strong parrying weapon on defense', and the owners wanted anything but Bisons.

Who composed 'Sabre Dance', the Sabres' signature music since 1970?

Aram Khachaturian added 'Sabre Dance' to his finished ballet Gayane when the theatre asked for one more dance, and wrote it in eleven hours, from 3 pm to 2 am.

How did the Sabres win the 1970 draft's first pick, Gilbert Perreault?

A spin of a wheel of fortune settled the first pick: Clarence Campbell misread the pointer as 1 and announced the wrong winner, then looked again at Punch Imlach's urging and saw 11, one of Buffalo's numbers.

Which Hall of Fame centre did the Sabres acquire from the Winnipeg Jets in a 1990 draft-day blockbuster?

Dale Hawerchuk, the Jets' first overall pick of 1981, came to Buffalo on June 16, 1990; Winnipeg used the first-round pick it got back on Keith Tkachuk.

The French Connection line consisted of Perreault, Rick Martin and whom?

Rene Robert, acquired from Pittsburgh for Eddie Shack in March 1972, joined Perreault and Martin on the line that powered the Sabres to the 1975 Stanley Cup Final.

The French Connection line was named after what?

A 1971 film, The French Connection starring Gene Hackman, gave the line its name, with a nod to the trio's French-Canadian roots.

At the 1974 draft, Sabres GM Punch Imlach selected a fictitious Japanese player named what?

Taro Tsujimoto was Punch Imlach's prank on a draft he found tediously long: the Sabres' 183rd pick did not exist, and fans took to bringing signs bearing his name to home games.

During the Sabres' 1975 Stanley Cup Final 'Fog Game', Jim Lorentz killed what with his stick?

A bat swooped low over the ice in Game 3 and Lorentz swatted it dead; fog then kept stopping play while rink staff skated around with bed sheets to clear it, and Buffalo won 5-4 in overtime.

The Sabres lost their first Stanley Cup Final, in 1975, to which team?

The Philadelphia Flyers, the Broad Street Bullies, won the 1975 Final in six games, clinching 2-0 in Buffalo in Game 6 as Bernie Parent earned the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Which Hall of Fame defenceman was still playing for the Sabres at 44 when he died in a 1974 car crash?

Tim Horton crashed on the QEW near St. Catharines on February 21, 1974, driving back to Buffalo after a road game; the doughnut chain he co-founded in 1964 carries his name.

Which Sabre became the first Soviet player to defect to the NHL, in 1989?

Alexander Mogilny slipped away from the Soviet team at the 1989 World Championship in Stockholm and signed with Buffalo, which had drafted him 89th overall in 1988.

The 1991 trade that sent Pierre Turgeon to the Islanders brought which star centre to Buffalo?

Pat LaFontaine was sitting out in a contract dispute with the Islanders when Buffalo landed him on October 25, 1991; a season later he set the Sabres' record with 148 points.

Which Sabre's overtime goal finished a 1993 sweep of Boston and inspired a famous radio call?

Brad May scored in overtime of Game 4 on April 24, 1993, as the Sabres' announcer screamed 'May Day!' over and over; it gave Buffalo its first playoff series win in ten years.

Dominik Hasek came to the Sabres in 1992 in a trade with which team?

The Chicago Blackhawks traded Hasek to Buffalo on August 7, 1992, for goalie Stephane Beauregard and a fourth-round pick, having used him behind Ed Belfour; he became 'The Dominator' in Buffalo.

In 2001 the Sabres traded Dominik Hasek to which team?

The Detroit Red Wings gave up Vyacheslav Kozlov and a first-round pick for Hasek in the summer of 2001, and he won the Stanley Cup in his first season there, the title that had escaped him in Buffalo.

In 1997 the Sabres' Dominik Hasek became the first goalie since Jacques Plante to win MVP and which award?

The Vezina went to Hasek alongside the MVP award in 1997, a double last achieved by Jacques Plante in 1962, but a knee sprain three games into the playoffs ended his season.

Why was Dominik Hasek suspended during the Sabres' 1997 playoff run?

Grabbing a columnist got him three games: Jim Kelley of The Buffalo News had questioned how badly Hasek's knee was hurt, and the goalie seized him by the shirt, later apologised, and was fined $10,000.

Which coach won the 1997 Jack Adams Award with Buffalo, then left after refusing a one-year deal?

Ted Nolan was coach of the year but at odds with Dominik Hasek and general manager John Muckler; the new GM, Darcy Regier, offered only a one-year contract, and Nolan turned it down.

The Sabres lost the 1999 Stanley Cup Final on a disputed triple-overtime goal by which Dallas Stars player?

Brett Hull scored at 14:51 of the third overtime with his skate in the crease, which the rule of the day normally forbade; the NHL ruled he had kept possession, and 'No Goal' became Buffalo's lament.

The Sabres' late-1990s owner John Rigas founded which cable company?

Adelphia Communications, based in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and Rigas was arrested for fraud; the NHL took control of the Sabres until a buyer was found.

Which billionaire bought the Sabres out of NHL control in 2003?

Tom Golisano, founder of the payroll firm Paychex, agreed to buy the bankrupt Sabres in March 2003, ending nearly a year of uncertainty over the team's future, and sold them to Terry Pegula in 2011.

A 10-0 start carried the 2006-07 Sabres to which trophy?

The Presidents' Trophy, for the NHL's best record, was Buffalo's first, won with 113 points after a start that tied the NHL record; the Sabres then lost the conference final to Ottawa in five games.

On July 1, 2007, the Sabres lost both co-captains to free agency: Daniel Briere and whom?

Chris Drury signed with the Rangers on July 1, 2007, the day Daniel Briere also left; days later Buffalo matched Edmonton's seven-year, $50 million offer sheet rather than lose Thomas Vanek too.

The Sabres hosted the first NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2008, at which venue?

Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, the Bills' home, drew 71,217 on a snowy New Year's Day; Pittsburgh won 2-1 when Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout.

Which Sabres goaltender was voted the NHL's best in 2010 after starring at that winter's Olympics?

Ryan Miller was voted the NHL's top goaltender for 2009-10 and MVP of that winter's Olympics, where his only defeat in six games for the United States was the gold-medal final against Canada.

Terry Pegula bought the Sabres in 2011 having made his fortune in which industry?

Natural gas made Pegula's fortune: he sold most of East Resources' Marcellus Shale holdings to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion, then bought the Sabres in 2011 and the Bills in 2014.

Which centre did the Sabres draft second overall in 2015 and trade to Vegas in 2021?

Jack Eichel, picked second behind Connor McDavid in 2015, wanted artificial-disc neck surgery the Sabres opposed; Vegas acquired him in November 2021 and he won the Stanley Cup there in 2023.

The Sabres won the 2018 draft lottery and selected which Swedish defenceman first overall?

Rasmus Dahlin of Frölunda went first overall in June 2018 after Buffalo won the lottery from the league's worst record; three years later another lottery win brought Owen Power.

Which forward did the Sabres draft second overall in 2014?

Sam Reinhart went second overall in 2014, one pick after Aaron Ekblad, and was traded to Florida in July 2021, where he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2024 Final.

Who was the Sabres' general manager when they won the 2018 draft lottery?

Jason Botterill, hired from Pittsburgh's front office in 2017, was in charge for the lottery win but was fired in June 2020 after three seasons without a playoff berth.

The Sabres' original home, used until 1996, was known colloquially as what?

The Aud, formally Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, was the Sabres' home from 1970 to 1996, then stood vacant for more than a decade until it was demolished in 2009.

KeyBank Center opened in 1996 under what name?

Marine Midland Arena opened in September 1996, four months after the death of founding owner Seymour Knox III, who had championed it; it later became HSBC Arena, First Niagara Center and KeyBank Center.

The Sabres' 2006 logo, a stylised bison, was widely mocked with what nickname?

Buffaslug was the fans' name for the 2006 bison logo, a gold-and-blue swoosh that looked like a slug; the team dropped it after four seasons and went back to the classic crest.

When the Sabres moved arenas in 1996 they abandoned blue and gold for which colours?

Red, black and silver arrived with the new arena in 1996, on a white buffalo-head crest; the look lasted ten years before the 2006 redesign went back to blue and gold.

The Sabres' classic crest shows a charging bison above what?

Two crossed swords sit beneath the charging bison on the crest the Sabres wore from 1970 to 1996; it returned in 2010, and in its original royal blue in 2020.

Which Sabres play-by-play voice of 51 seasons had a banner raised in his honour at KeyBank Center in April 2022?

Rick Jeanneret called Sabres games from 1971 to 2022, starting on radio and adding the television call in 1995; after his death in August 2023, a stretch of the street outside the arena was renamed RJ Way.

Which 1980s Sabres winger celebrated goals with a trademark leap that his two NHL sons later copied?

Mike Foligno's jump became known as the Foligno Leap; his sons Nick and Marcus revived it in the NHL, Marcus after scoring for the Sabres themselves in 2012.

The Sabres' AHL affiliation with which nearby club lasted 29 years until 2008?

The Rochester Americans were Buffalo's farm club from 1979 to 2008; the Portland Pirates filled the gap until Terry Pegula bought the Amerks in 2011 and restored the partnership.

In January 1976, the Sabres became the first NHL team to do what?

Beat a Soviet club: on January 4, 1976, the Sabres routed the Soviet Wings 12-6 during Super Series '76, after the first three NHL hosts had managed two losses and a tie.

Which Sabre scored 50 goals in 1975-76 while skating on the team's checking line?

Danny Gare scored 50 from the checking line, one more than Rick Martin managed on the celebrated French Connection; he had scored 18 seconds into his NHL debut the season before.

The Sabres' first general manager and coach, hired in 1970, had previously run which team?

Punch Imlach won four Stanley Cups running the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s, was fired minutes after a 1969 playoff exit, and took the Buffalo job the next year.

The Sabres beat which soon-to-relocate team 4-1 in their last game at their original arena in April 1996?

The Hartford Whalers lost 4-1 on April 14, 1996, a year before leaving Connecticut; after the final horn the Sabres' captain slid in one last ceremonial goal.

Which NBA team arrived in Buffalo in 1970 alongside the Sabres and left town in 1978?

The Braves shared the Sabres' arena for eight seasons, then moved to San Diego in 1978 and became the Clippers, now of Los Angeles.

Which team swept the Sabres in the 1993 Adams Division final, winning every game 4-3?

The Montreal Canadiens won all four games 4-3, three of them in overtime, a round after Buffalo had itself swept Boston, and went on to win the 1993 Stanley Cup.

Which team beat the injury-hit Sabres in Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference final, then won the Stanley Cup?

The Carolina Hurricanes won Game 7 by 4-2 against a Buffalo defence missing most of its regulars through injury and illness, then went on to win the Cup.

Which coach led the Sabres from 1997 to 2013, then returned in 2024?

Lindy Ruff, a former Sabres captain, coached the team for more than 15 seasons, was fired in February 2013, and was hired back in April 2024.

Why are both the Canadian and US anthems sung before every Sabres home game?

Many fans cross over from Canada: the arena is minutes from the border, many season-ticket holders live in Southern Ontario, and St. Catharines sits in the team's territory.

Which former Oilers dynasty goalie did the Sabres acquire in 1993, only to see Dominik Hasek take his job?

Grant Fuhr arrived as the starter in February 1993 with Hasek as his backup; when Fuhr hurt his knee that autumn Hasek took over, and the pair shared the 1994 Jennings Trophy.

Which defenceman did Buffalo draft sixth overall in 1982 straight out of a Minnesota high school?

Phil Housley jumped straight from South St. Paul High School to the Sabres at 18 and scored 66 points as a rookie; he came back as head coach in 2017 and was fired after two losing seasons.

What wordmark replaced the bison head on Sabres jerseys for one road game in October 2001?

'NEW YORK' in diagonal letters replaced the crest when the Sabres played in the Rangers' home opener on October 7, 2001, a tribute to the state weeks after the September 11 attacks.

Which 18-year-old goalie won the Calder Trophy with Buffalo in 1984 straight out of high school?

Tom Barrasso, drafted fifth overall in 1983 from a Massachusetts high school, was also voted the league's top goaltender as a rookie; Buffalo traded him in 1988 to Pittsburgh, where he won two Stanley Cups.

Until 2020, the Sabres were the last NHL team to feature what on their uniforms?

Numbers on the front of the sweater arrived with the 2006 rebrand and stayed through the return to blue and gold until the royal-blue jerseys of 2020 dropped them.

Which division did the Sabres win in 2010?

The Northeast Division went to Buffalo with 100 points in 2009-10, but Boston knocked the Sabres out in six games; their next division title, in the Atlantic, did not come until 2026.

Which Sabre scored 47 goals in 2022-23, the franchise's highest total since 1993?

Tage Thompson scored 47 goals and 94 points in 2022-23, including a five-goal game against Columbus on December 7, 2022, Buffalo's best goal total since 1992-93.

In which city did the Sabres play the 2022 Heritage Classic?

Hamilton, Ontario, staged the 2022 Heritage Classic, where the Sabres trailed 2-1 before scoring four unanswered goals to win 5-2, their first outdoor victory after two losses.

Which Sabres captain led the team to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final?

Michael Peca, the 1997 Selke Trophy winner, captained Buffalo from 1997 to 2000, including the run to the 1999 Final, before a contract holdout ended with his trade to the Islanders.

Which coach, fresh from four straight Stanley Cups, took over the Sabres in 1979?

Scotty Bowman never got Buffalo to a Final in seven seasons in charge, then won four more Cups as coach of Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Which forward, acquired from Vegas in November 2021, took No. 89 with the Sabres?

Alex Tuch, a Syracuse-area native, arrived from Vegas in the November 2021 blockbuster and kept the 89 he had worn there, a number long associated with the Sabres' 1989 defector.