Buffalo Sabres Tickets

The Buffalo Sabres, a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York, along with the Vancouver Canucks, joined the NHL in the 1970-71 season. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).The Sabres' first owners were Seymour and Northrup Knox, scions of a family long prominent in Western New York. The team's name was chosen using a fan contest. The Knoxes had tried twice before to get an NHL team, first when the NHL expanded in 1967, and then unsuccessfully attempting to buy the Oakland Seals with the intent of moving them to Buffalo. At the time of their creation, the Buffalo Sabres exercised their option to create their own AHL farm team, the Cincinnati Swords.

The Sabres, playing their first of many seasons at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, got off to a good start despite being disputed by the Vancouver Canucks , and by spinning a "Roulette wheel", won the NHL draft lottery, and picked future Hockey Hall of Fame center Gilbert Perreault first overall in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Perreault was available to the Sabres, being the first year that the Montreal Canadiens did not have a priority right to draft Quebecois junior players. Perreault scored 38 goals in 1970-71, at the time a record for most goals scored by a rookie in the NHL, and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year. Despite Perreault's star play, the Sabres did not make the playoffs.

Nolan and the Sabres rebounded in 96-97, their first at Marine Midland Arena, by winning the Northeast Division with Nolan winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach, Dominik Hasek winning both the Hart and Vezina Trophies, Michael Peca taking home the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL, and general manager John Muckler honored as Executive of the Year.Despite the infighting, the season was a fitting tribute to Seymour Knox, who died on May 22, 1996. During the season, his brother Northrop sold the team to Adelphia Communications.

With the season beginning under league control, general manager Darcy Regier made minimal moves to bolster the last placed Sabres. However, with the consultations of impending new ownership, the team began their rebuilding process by clearing out veteran players. The first to go was long-time winger Rob Ray who was sent to Ottawa. The team then sent center and team captain Stu Barnes to the Dallas Stars for young winger Michael Ryan and a draft pick.

The team emerged from its struggles, and the Sabres narrowly missed the playoffs, which saw the debuts and development of prominent young players such as Daniel Briere. One memorable moment in 2003-04 was on New Year's Eve 2003, when Maxim Afinogenov and Miroslav Satan both scored hat tricks against the Washington Capitals at home. The Sabres won a sound 7-1.The NHL cancelled the 2004-05 NHL season due to a labor dispute; however, the league and the NHL Players Association were able to devise a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the summer of 2005, thus enabling NHL hockey to return for the 2005-06 season.

In 2005-06, the Sabres raced a hot start and stayed near the top of the standings all season long, finishing with their best season in over twenty years. On April 3, they clinched their first Eastern Conference playoff spot since the 2000-01 season. The team finished the regular season with 52 wins, surpassing the 50-win mark for the first time in franchise history. They also finished with 110 points, their first 100-point season in 23 years and tied the 1979-80 club for the second-best point total in franchise history. The Sabres tied the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes for the most wins in the Eastern Conference. The new logo, a stylized bison, has been compared to Donald Trump's hair, giving it the name "Sluggalo" or "Buffaslug". An online petition against the new logo had eclipsed the 30,000 signature mark by that point, indicating that growing numbers of Sabres fans hadn't accepted the logo.

As of July 2007 the Sabres lost both of their co-captains, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury. They also lost short time player Danius Zubrus, who ended up on the New Jersey Devils. Fan reaction was full of outrage, with many calling for the immediate firing of managing partner Larry Quinn. The Sabres managed to ink deals with Andrew Peters, Michael Ryan and goaltender Jocelyn Thibault to back up goalie Ryan Miller. On July 6th, the Buffalo Sabres matched the Edmonton Oilers 7 year to keep star Thomas Vanek.