1970–71 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1970–71 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' first season in the National Hockey League.

The Sabres had the first pick in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, which they used to select Gilbert Perreault. Led by Perreault's NHL rookie record of 38 goals,^[1] the Sabres would 24–39–15, ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings in the Eastern Division. However, they finished 19 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs in the division, and finished 19 points short of a playoff berth.

The Sabres played their home games in the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. "The Aud" was previously home of the Buffalo Bisons AHL team. To make way for the Sabres the Bisons folded following the 1969–70 AHL season, which saw the Bisons win their fifth and final Calder Cup. For the Sabres first season played the Aud had an ice hockey seating capacity of only 12,280 for hockey. The arena would be renovated following the season to expand capacity.^[2]

Offseason

The Buffalo Sabres, along with the Vancouver Canucks, joined the NHL in the 1970–71 season. The Sabres' first owners were Seymour and Northrup Knox, scions of a family long prominent in western New York. The team's name, selected through a fan contest,^[3] was chosen because it was known as a weapon carried by leaders, and it is also swift and strong on offense as well as defense. 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. On June 9, 1970, the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft was held to fill the Sabres' and Canucks' rosters.

NHL draft

In 1970, two new franchises were awarded in the NHL — the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks. Sabres general manager/coach Punch Imlach chose his favorite number, number 11, for the roulette wheel spin to determine which franchise would have the first choice in the 1970 Entry Draft.^[4] Ultimately, the Canucks were allocated numbers 1-10 on the wheel, while the Sabres had 11-20. When league president Clarence Campbell spun the wheel, he initially thought the pointer landed on 1. However, while Campbell was congratulating the Vancouver delegation, Imlach asked Campbell to check again. As it turned out, the pointer was on 11.^[5] This was the first year that the Montreal Canadiens did not have a priority right to draft Québécois junior players. Consequently, Perreault was available and taken first overall by the Sabres.^[6]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	1	Gilbert Perreault	Canada	Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
2	15	Butch Deadmarsh	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
3	29	Steve Cuddie	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
4	43	Randy Wyrozub	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
5	57	Mike Morton	Canada	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
6	71	Mike Keeler	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
7	84	Tim Regan	United States	Boston University (ECAC)
8	97	Doug Rombough	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
9	107	Luc Nadeau	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)

Transactions

Free Agency

1970 NHL Intraleague Draft Round # Player Nationality Drafted From 2 18 Kevin O'Shea  Canada San Diego Gulls (WHL) 2 19 Cliff Schmautz  Canada Portland Buckaroos (WHL) 2 20 Brian McDonald  Canada Denver Spurs (WHL) Regular season Punch Imlach After being fired by the Leafs, it was expected that Imlach would join the NHL's new Vancouver franchise. Imlach, Joe Crozier, and Foster Hewitt had become partners in the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League and were in line to become owners of the Vancouver NHL team. But they didn't have the financial resources to buy the team, which went to Medical Investment Corporation (Medicor). Medicor bought the WHL Canucks for $2.8 million, with Imlach making a reported gain of more than $250,000. He was offered a job with the NHL Canucks, but instead accepted an offer from the NHL's other expansion team, the Buffalo Sabres, as their first coach and general manager in 1970. Season standings East Division[7] GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts 1 Boston Bruins 78 57 14 7 399 207 +192 121 2 New York Rangers 78 49 18 11 259 177 +82 109 3 Montreal Canadiens 78 42 23 13 291 216 +75 97 4 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 37 33 8 248 211 +37 82 5 Buffalo Sabres 78 24 39 15 217 291 −74 63 6 Vancouver Canucks 78 24 46 8 229 296 −67 56 7 Detroit Red Wings 78 22 45 11 209 308 −99 55 Schedule and results Regular season results No. R Date Score Opponent Record 1 W October 10, 1970 2–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 1–0–0 2 L October 14, 1970 0–3 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 1–1–0 3 L October 15, 1970 0–3 Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 1–2–0 4 L October 17, 1970 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 1–3–0 5 T October 18, 1970 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 1–3–1 6 L October 22, 1970 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 1–4–1 7 W October 23, 1970 4–3 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 2–4–1 8 L October 25, 1970 0–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 2–5–1 9 L October 27, 1970 2–7 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 2–6–1 10 L October 30, 1970 1–6 @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) 2–7–1 11 L November 1, 1970 2–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 2–8–1 12 L November 5, 1970 1–4 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 2–9–1 13 L November 7, 1970 2–11 @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 2–10–1 14 L November 8, 1970 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 2–11–1 15 W November 13, 1970 4–2 California Golden Seals (1970–71) 3–11–1 16 T November 15, 1970 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 3–11–2 17 W November 18, 1970 7–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 4–11–2 18 L November 21, 1970 0–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 4–12–2 19 T November 25, 1970 4–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 4–12–3 20 T November 26, 1970 2–2 New York Rangers (1970–71) 4–12–4 21 L November 29, 1970 1–2 California Golden Seals (1970–71) 4–13–4 22 T December 3, 1970 4–4 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 4–13–5 23 W December 6, 1970 1–0 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 5–13–5 24 L December 9, 1970 1–6 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 5–14–5 25 L December 10, 1970 2–8 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 5–15–5 26 L December 12, 1970 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 5–16–5 27 L December 13, 1970 0–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 5–17–5 28 L December 16, 1970 0–4 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 5–18–5 29 W December 17, 1970 4–3 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 6–18–5 30 L December 19, 1970 0–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 6–19–5 31 L December 20, 1970 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 6–20–5 32 L December 22, 1970 2–7 New York Rangers (1970–71) 6–21–5 33 T December 26, 1970 4–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 6–21–6 34 W December 27, 1970 5–2 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 7–21–6 35 L January 1, 1971 4–9 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 7–22–6 36 L January 3, 1971 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 7–23–6 37 W January 7, 1971 7–4 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 8–23–6 38 L January 9, 1971 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 8–24–6 39 T January 10, 1971 2–2 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 8–24–7 40 L January 13, 1971 2–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 8–25–7 41 W January 14, 1971 2–1 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 9–25–7 42 W January 16, 1971 4–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 10–25–7 43 T January 17, 1971 4–4 Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 10–25–8 44 T January 21, 1971 5–5 New York Rangers (1970–71) 10–25–9 45 L January 23, 1971 1–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 10–26–9 46 W January 24, 1971 6–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 11–26–9 47 T January 27, 1971 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 11–26–10 48 W January 29, 1971 4–2 @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) 12–26–10 49 W January 31, 1971 6–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 13–26–10 50 W February 4, 1971 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 14–26–10 51 L February 6, 1971 3–4 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 14–27–10 52 L February 7, 1971 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 14–28–10 53 L February 9, 1971 3–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 14–29–10 54 L February 10, 1971 1–5 @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) 14–30–10 55 W February 12, 1971 3–0 California Golden Seals (1970–71) 15–30–10 56 W February 14, 1971 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 16–30–10 57 L February 17, 1971 1–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 16–31–10 58 T February 18, 1971 6–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 16–31–11 59 L February 20, 1971 5–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 16–32–11 60 L February 21, 1971 1–3 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 16–33–11 61 L February 23, 1971 3–6 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 16–34–11 62 L February 25, 1971 2–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 16–35–11 63 L February 27, 1971 0–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 16–36–11 64 W February 28, 1971 5–2 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 17–36–11 65 T March 3, 1971 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 17–36–12 66 T March 5, 1971 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 17–36–13 67 W March 7, 1971 6–3 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 18–36–13 68 L March 13, 1971 0–9 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 18–37–13 69 W March 14, 1971 5–0 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 19–37–13 70 W March 18, 1971 5–3 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 20–37–13 71 L March 20, 1971 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 20–38–13 72 W March 21, 1971 7–5 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 21–38–13 73 L March 23, 1971 2–7 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 21–39–13 74 W March 26, 1971 3–1 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 22–39–13 75 W March 28, 1971 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 23–39–13 76 W March 31, 1971 6–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 24–39–13 77 T April 1, 1971 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 24–39–14 78 T April 4, 1971 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 24–39–15 Player statistics Forwards Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player GP G A Pts PIM Gilbert Perreault 78 38 34 72 19 Phil Goyette 60 15 46 61 6 Gerry Meehan 77 24 31 55 8 Don Marshall 62 20 29 49 6 Eddie Shack 56 25 17 42 93 Steve Atkinson 57 20 18 38 12 Paul Andrea 47 11 21 32 4 Al Hamilton 69 2 28 30 71 Larry Keenan 51 7 20 27 6 Doug Barrie 75 4 23 27 168 Ron Anderson 74 14 12 26 44 Dick Duff 53 7 13 20 12 Floyd Smith 77 6 11 17 46 Reg Fleming 78 6 10 16 159 Jim Watson 78 2 9 11 147 Skip Krake 74 4 5 9 68 Tracy Pratt 76 1 7 8 179 Defencemen Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player GP G A Pts PIM Hap Myers 13 0 0 0 6 Mike McMahon 12 0 0 0 4 Paul Terbenche 3 0 0 0 2 Jean-Guy Lagace 3 0 0 0 2 Terry Ball 2 0 0 0 0 Francois Lacombe 1 0 1 1 2 Jean-Guy Talbot 57 0 7 7 36 Tracy Pratt 76 1 7 8 179 Jim Watson 78 2 9 11 147 Reg Fleming 78 6 10 16 159 Doug Barrie 75 4 23 27 168 Al Hamilton 69 2 28 30 71 Goaltending Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average Player GP W L T SO GAA Dave Dryden 10 3 3 0 1 3.37 Roger Crozier 44 9 20 7 1 3.68 Joe Daley 38 12 16 8 1 3.70 Roster Buffalo Sabres 1970–1971 Roster Goaltenders 1 – Roger Crozier  28 – Dave Dryden  30 – Joe Daley  Defensemen 2 – Jim Watson  3 – Tracy Pratt  4 – Mike McMahon  5 – Doug Barrie  6 – Al Hamilton  19 – François Lacombe  21 – Jean-Guy Lagace  23 – Paul Terbenche  24 – Jean-Guy Talbot  25 – Hap Myers  28 – Terry Ball  Wingers 7 – Cliff Schmautz  9 – Reg Fleming  16 – Ron Anderson  17 – Floyd Smith –C 18 – Kevin O'Shea  19 – Steve Atkinson  20 – Dick Duff  21 – Paul Andrea  22 – Don Marshall  23 – Eddie Shack  24 – Butch Deadmarsh  26 – Larry Keenan  Centers 8 – Billy Inglis  10 – Phil Goyette  11 – Gilbert Perreault  12 – Skip Krake  14 – Randy Wyrozub  15 – Gerry Meehan  19 – Brian Perry  20 – Brian McDonald  GM/Coach: Punch Imlach Awards and records Calder Memorial Trophy: Gilbert Perreault References Sabres on Hockey Database ↑ "Gilbert Perreault Biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved July 11, 2012.  ↑ ""The Aud" - Memorial Auditorium". sabresalumni.com. Sabres Alumni. Retrieved July 11, 2012.  ↑ "WHATS IN A NAME". NHL.com. Sabres.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.  ↑ "One on One with Gilbert Perreault". Hockey Hall of Fame. hhof.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.  ↑ Duhatschek, Eric; et al. (2001). Hockey Chronicles. New York City: Checkmark Books. ISBN 0-8160-4697-2.  ↑ "First Overall Selections". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved July 11, 2012.  ↑ "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.  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) KeyBank 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 Western New York 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 1999–2000 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 2016–17 1970–71 NHL season East Boston Buffalo Detroit Montreal New York Toronto Vancouver West California Chicago Los Angeles Minnesota Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis See also Amateur Draft Expansion Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Finals