2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season

2006–07 Buffalo Sabres
Northeast Division champions
Division1st Northeast
Conference1st Eastern
2006–07 record53–22–7
Home record28–10–3
Road record25–12–4
Goals for308
Goals against242
Team information
General managerDarcy Regier
CoachLindy Ruff
CaptainDaniel Briere and
Chris Drury
Alternate captainsTeppo Numminen
ArenaHSBC Arena
Average attendance18,690
Team leaders
GoalsThomas Vanek (43)
AssistsDaniel Briere (63)
PointsDaniel Briere (95)
Penalty minutesAdam Mair (128)
Plus/minusThomas Vanek (+47)
WinsRyan Miller (40)
Goals against averageRyan Miller (2.73)

The 2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season was the 37th season of operation, 36th season of play, for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] The Season began with the team attempting to rebound from a disappointing end to the 2005–06 season, in which the Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before losing in seven to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

With the best regular-season record in the NHL, the Sabres were awarded the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in their history, and they also earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They defeated the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers in the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, however, the Sabres' season came to an end when they were defeated by the Ottawa Senators in game five of the Conference finals. As of 2024, this remains the most recent season the Sabres won a playoff series.

Offseason

The team lost several veterans to free agency, including J. P. Dumont, Jay McKee, Mike Grier, and Rory Fitzpatrick. Conversely, the team signed only one new player to the roster: defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. The team planned to rely on young players from their own organization – Jiri Novotny, Paul Gaustad and Nathan Paetsch, to name a few—to fill the holes left by the departing players.

Controversy swirled around the team's logo and jersey, meanwhile, as the look was changed. The team's colors were reverted to blue and gold, which they had worn from their addition to the league as an expansion team until 1996–97, when the colors were changed to black and red. The new logo, though, was said to resemble to many a slug or a wig. There were strong efforts to prevent the team from wearing this new jersey, although none were successful. The team's new third jersey, meanwhile, featured the team's original logo. Despite the controversy, the NHL reported that sales of Sabres merchandise were up approximately 1170% from the 2005–2006 season.[2]

Regular season

The Sabres were very successful early in the season, tying an NHL record by winning their first ten games, before finally suffering a shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers.[3] They did not lose a game in regulation until exactly one month into the season, in their thirteenth game, when they lost to Toronto.[4] The Sabres also set an NHL record by winning their first ten road games of the season,[5] not losing outside of HSBC Arena until November 18 in Ottawa. This record would not be broken until 2023, when the Los Angeles Kings won their 11th straight road game to start the season.

On January 9, it was announced that three members of the Sabres had been voted to start the All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference: forward Daniel Briere, defenseman Brian Campbell, and goaltender Ryan Miller. It was the first All-Star appearance for each.[6] In addition, as the Sabres had the best record in the Eastern Conference as of the end of All-Star voting, head coach Lindy Ruff was assigned to coach the Eastern Conference team.[7] Briere recorded a goal and four assists in the game, and was named Most Valuable Player of the game.[8] Thomas Vanek was also invited to All-Star Weekend to play in the YoungStars game.[9]

On January 13, Jason Pominville recorded his 20th goal of the season, becoming the fourth Sabre (after Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov) to record 20 goals before the All-Star break. At the time of Pominville's 20th goal, no other team in the NHL had more than two players with 20 goals.[10] Daniel Briere became the fifth Sabre to record 20 goals as he scored a hat-trick on January 30 against the Boston Bruins. With the feat, the Sabres became the first team since the 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have five 20–goal scorers before February.[11] Four Sabres would go on to reach the 30-goal plateau. For the first time in 12 years, Buffalo was not shut-out in any of their 82 regular season games. Moreover, the Sabres led the NHL in goals scored and became the first team to score at least 200 even-strength goals during the regular season since the New Jersey Devils in 2000–01.

In February, the Sabres found themselves battling injury problems. Forward Tim Connolly had been on the long-term injury list all season, and he was joined by Paul Gaustad when a tendon in his leg was sliced on February 7 against the Ottawa Senators. Jaroslav Spacek broke his left hand soon thereafter, and the Sabres lost Maxim Afinogenov, who broke his left wrist, and Jiri Novotny with a high ankle sprain. Ales Kotalik was next to go down, with a knee sprain, and forward Daniel Paille broke his finger. Against the Ottawa Senators on February 22, captain Chris Drury was injured by a blow to the head by Chris Neil, sparking a wild brawl which saw a fight between Martin Biron and Senators goaltender Ray Emery, and later between Emery and Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters.[12]

The Sabres were the last team to be involved in a trade in the 2006–07 season. On the day of the NHL trade deadline, though, they made four trades. Goaltender Martin Biron, who had been the longest-tenured Sabre, was sent to Philadelphia for Philadelphia's second-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Buffalo's fifth-round pick in that draft was sent to Columbus in exchange for another backup goalie, Ty Conklin. Jiri Novotny was sent along with Buffalo's 2007 first-round pick to Washington in exchange for Dainius Zubrus and Timo Helbling. Finally, the Sabres sent their fourth-round pick in 2007 to Nashville for Mikko Lehtonen, a minor league defenseman.[13]

Due to injuries, many Sabres prospects were called up from the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans, and made their NHL debuts during the season; Mike Card, Michael Funk, Patrick Kaleta, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Mancari, Michael Ryan, Andrej Sekera and Drew Stafford all played their first career NHL game during the 2006–07 season.

The Sabres finished with 298 goals scored (excluding 10 shootout-winning goals), the most in the League.[14]

Season standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 1 Buffalo Sabres 82 53 22 7 308 242 113
2 4 Ottawa Senators 82 48 25 9 288 222 105
3 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 40 31 11 258 269 91
4 10 Montreal Canadiens 82 42 34 6 245 256 90
5 13 Boston Bruins 82 35 41 6 219 289 76

[15]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Eastern Conference[16]
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 P - Buffalo Sabres NE 82 53 22 7 308 242 113
2 Y - New Jersey Devils AT 82 49 24 9 216 201 107
3 Y - Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 43 28 11 246 245 97
4 X - Ottawa Senators NE 82 48 25 9 288 222 105
5 X - Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 47 24 11 277 246 105
6 X - New York Rangers AT 82 42 30 10 242 216 94
7 X - Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 44 33 5 253 261 93
8 X - New York Islanders AT 82 40 30 12 248 240 92
8.5
9 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 40 31 11 258 269 91
10 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 42 34 6 245 256 90
11 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 40 34 8 241 253 88
12 Florida Panthers SE 82 35 31 16 247 257 86
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 35 41 6 219 289 76
14 Washington Capitals SE 82 28 40 14 235 286 70
15 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 22 48 12 214 303 56
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot


Playoffs

Main article: 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Sabres earned the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference by virtue of finishing with the highest point total in the conference.

Eastern Conference quarterfinals: vs. (8) New York Islanders

The Sabres faced the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs.

Eastern Conference semifinals: vs. (6) New York Rangers

The Sabres faced the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs. The Rangers advanced by sweeping the Atlanta Thrashers, the number three seed, in the first round.

Eastern Conference finals: vs. (4) Ottawa Senators

The Sabres faced their division rivals, the Ottawa Senators, in the Eastern Conference finals. The Senators advanced by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and the New Jersey Devils in the second. The Sabres lost the series, four games to one.

Schedule and results

Regular season

2006–07 regular season[17]
October: 10–0–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 6–0–0)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
1 October 4 Buffalo 3 – 2 Carolina SO Miller 18,840 1–0–0 2 Recap
2 October 6 Montreal 4 – 5 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 2–0–0 4 Recap
3 October 7 Buffalo 4 – 3 Ottawa Biron 19,202 3–0–0 6 Recap
4 October 13 Buffalo 3 – 2 Detroit SO Miller 20,066 4–0–0 8 Recap
5 October 14 NY Rangers 4 – 7 Buffalo Miller 18,690 5–0–0 10 Recap
6 October 17 Philadelphia 1 – 9 Buffalo Miller 18,690 6–0–0 12 Recap
7 October 20 Carolina 4 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 7–0–0 14 Recap
8 October 21 Buffalo 6 – 2 Boston Biron 14,382 8–0–0 16 Recap
9 October 23 Buffalo 4 – 1 Montreal Miller 21,273 9–0–0 18 Recap
10 October 26 Buffalo 3 – 0 NY Islanders Miller 8,861 10–0–0 20 Recap
11 October 28 Atlanta 5 – 4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 10–0–1 21 Recap
November: 9–3–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 5–1–0)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
12 November 2 Buffalo 5 – 4 Boston SO Miller 12,547 11–0–1 23 Recap
13 November 4 Toronto 4 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 11–1–1 23 Recap
14 November 5 Buffalo 4 – 3 NY Rangers OT Biron 18,200 12–1–1 25 Recap
15 November 10 Florida 4 – 5 Buffalo OT Biron 18,690 13–1–1 27 Recap
16 November 11 Buffalo 5 – 4 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,633 14–1–1 29 Recap
17 November 13 Buffalo 7 – 4 Carolina Biron 14,387 15–1–1 31 Recap
18 November 15 Ottawa 4 – 2 Buffalo Biron 18,690 15–2–1 31 Recap
19 November 17 Pittsburgh 2 – 4 Buffalo Biron 18,690 16–2–1 33 Recap
20 November 18 Buffalo 1 – 4 Ottawa Miller 19,770 16–3–1 33 Recap
21 November 20 Tampa Bay 2 – 7 Buffalo Miller 18,690 17–3–1 35 Recap
22 November 22 Toronto 4 – 7 Buffalo Miller 18,690 18–3–1 37 Recap
23 November 24 Montreal 2 – 1 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 18–3–2 38 Recap
24 November 26 Buffalo 3 – 2 NY Rangers OT Miller 18,200 19–3–2 40 Recap
December: 9–4–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 4–2–1)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
25 December 1 NY Rangers 3 – 4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 20–3–2 42 Recap
26 December 2 Buffalo 4 – 7 Washington Biron 17,162 20–4–2 42 Recap
27 December 5 Buffalo 4 – 1 Tampa Bay Miller 20,025 21–4–2 44 Recap
28 December 7 Buffalo 1 – 3 Florida Miller 15,385 21–5–2 44 Recap
29 December 9 Buffalo 3 – 2 Montreal SO Miller 21,273 22–5–2 46 Recap
30 December 12 Buffalo 3 – 2 New Jersey Miller 11,156 23–5–2 48 Recap
31 December 14 Florida 1 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 24–5–2 50 Recap
32 December 16 Ottawa 3 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 24–6–2 50 Recap
33 December 19 Montreal 5 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 24–7–2 50 Recap
34 December 21 Buffalo 7 – 2 Nashville Biron 16,616 25–7–2 52 Recap
35 December 23 Buffalo 2 – 3 St. Louis OT Biron 12,513 25–7–3 53 Recap
36 December 26 Washington 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 26–7–3 55 Recap
37 December 28 Carolina 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 27–7–3 57 Recap
38 December 30 Atlanta 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 28–7–3 59 Recap
January: 6–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–1)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
39 January 1 NY Islanders 1 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 29–7–3 61 Recap
40 January 3 Buffalo 3 – 6 Ottawa Miller 19,777 29–8–3 61 Recap
41 January 5 Pittsburgh 4 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 29–9–3 61 Recap
42 January 6 Buffalo 4 – 3 Toronto Biron 19,487 30–9–3 63 Recap
43 January 10 Buffalo 2 – 1 Chicago Miller 14,041 31–9–3 65 Recap
44 January 11 Toronto 4 – 2 Buffalo Biron 18,690 31–10–3 65 Recap
45 January 13 Tampa Bay 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 31–11–3 65 Recap
46 January 15 Buffalo 2 – 3 Boston SO Miller 15,585 31–11–4 66 Recap
47 January 17 Boston 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 32–11–4 68 Recap
48 January 19 Vancouver 3 – 4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 33–11–4 70 Recap
49 January 20 Buffalo 3 – 4 Montreal Biron 21,273 33–12–4 70 Recap
50 January 26 Buffalo 2 – 3 Columbus Miller 18,136 33–13–4 70 Recap
51 January 27 Buffalo 3 – 5 NY Islanders Miller 15,218 33–14–4 70 Recap
52 January 30 Boston 1 – 7 Buffalo Biron 18,690 34–14–4 72 Recap
February: 8–2–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 3–2–0)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
53 February 1 Buffalo 3 – 1 Boston Biron 13,853 35–14–4 74 Recap
54 February 3 Buffalo 2 – 3 New Jersey Miller 18,589 35–15–4 74 Recap
55 February 6 Buffalo 4 – 3 Atlanta SO Miller 17,881 36–15–4 76 Recap
56 February 7 Ottawa 2 – 3 Buffalo Biron 18,690 37–15–4 78 Recap
57 February 10 Calgary 2 – 3 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 38–15–4 80 Recap
58 February 15 Edmonton 1 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 39–15–4 82 Recap
59 February 17 Boston 4 – 3 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 39–15–5 83 Recap
60 February 20 Philadelphia 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 40–15–5 85 Recap
61 February 22 Ottawa 5 – 6 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 41–15–5 87 Recap
62 February 24 Buffalo 5 – 6 Ottawa Miller 20,040 41–16–5 87 Recap
63 February 27 Buffalo 6 – 1 Toronto Miller 19,588 42–16–5 89 Recap
March: 8–5–2 (home: 5–3–0; road: 3–2–2)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
64 March 2 Montreal 5 – 8 Buffalo Miller 18,690 43–16–5 91 Recap
65 March 3 Buffalo 3 – 1 Toronto Miller 19,515 44–16–5 93 Recap
66 March 7 Colorado 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–17–5 93 Recap
67 March 9 Minnesota 5 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–18–5 93 Recap
68 March 10 New Jersey 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–19–5 93 Recap
69 March 13 Buffalo 4 – 5 Pittsburgh SO Miller 17,132 44–19–6 94 Recap
70 March 15 Buffalo 5 – 3 Florida Conklin 18,111 45–19–6 96 Recap
71 March 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 Tampa Bay Miller 21,264 46–19–6 98 Recap
72 March 18 Buffalo 3 – 4 Atlanta OT Miller 18,602 46–19–7 99 Recap
73 March 21 Washington 2 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 47–19–7 101 Recap
74 March 23 Toronto 4 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 48–19–7 103 Recap
75 March 24 Buffalo 1 – 4 Toronto Miller 19,571 48–20–7 103 Recap
76 March 28 New Jersey 3 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 49–20–7 105 Recap
77 March 30 NY Islanders 4 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 50–20–7 107 Recap
78 March 31 Buffalo 3 – 4 Montreal Conklin 21,273 50–21–7 107 Recap
April: 3–1–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 2–1–0)
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
79 April 3 Buffalo 4 – 1 Pittsburgh Miller 17,132 51–21–7 109 Recap
80 April 5 Boston 2 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 52–21–7 111 Recap
81 April 7 Buffalo 2 – 0 Washington Miller 18,277 53–21–7 113 Recap
82 April 8 Buffalo 3 – 4 Philadelphia Conklin 19,027 53–22–7 113 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2007 Stanley Cup playoffs[17]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Islanders – Sabres win 4–1
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 12 NY Islanders 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 1–0 Recap
2 April 14 NY Islanders 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Series tied 1–1 Recap
3 April 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 NY Islanders Miller 16,234 Sabres lead 2–1 Recap
4 April 18 Buffalo 4 – 2 NY Islanders Miller 16,234 Sabres lead 3–1 Recap
5 April 20 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres win 4–1 Recap
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (6) New York Rangers – Sabres win 4–2
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 25 NY Rangers 2 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 1–0 Recap
2 April 27 NY Rangers 2 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 2–0 Recap
3 April 29 Buffalo 1 – 2 NY Rangers 2OT Miller 18,200 Sabres lead 2–1 Recap
4 May 1 Buffalo 1 – 2 NY Rangers Miller 18,200 Series tied 2–2 Recap
5 May 4 NY Rangers 1 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 3–2 Recap
6 May 6 Buffalo 5 – 4 NY Rangers Miller 18,200 Sabres win 4–2 Recap
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (4) Ottawa Senators – Senators win 4–1
Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 May 10 Ottawa 5 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Senators lead 1–0 Recap
2 May 12 Ottawa 4 – 3 Buffalo 2OT Miller 18,690 Senators lead 2–0 Recap
3 May 14 Buffalo 0 – 1 Ottawa Miller 20,171 Senators lead 3–0 Recap
4 May 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 Ottawa Miller 20,294 Senators lead 3–1 Recap
5 May 19 Ottawa 3 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 Senators win 4–1 Recap
Legend:

  Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
48 Daniel Briere C 81 32 63 95 17 89 16 3 12 15 3 16
26 Thomas Vanek LW 82 43 41 84 47 40 16 6 4 10 2 10
23 Chris Drury C 77 37 32 69 1 30 16 8 5 13 3 2
29 Jason Pominville RW 82 34 34 68 25 30 16 4 6 10 2 0
9 Derek Roy C 75 21 42 63 37 60 16 2 5 7 3 14
61 Maxim Afinogenov RW 56 23 38 61 19 66 15 5 4 9 3 6
55 Jochen Hecht C 76 19 37 56 19 39 16 4 1 5 2 10
51 Brian Campbell D 82 6 42 48 28 35 16 3 4 7 0 14
12 Ales Kotalik RW 66 16 22 38 −5 46 16 2 2 4 −3 8
45 Dmitri Kalinin D 82 7 22 29 19 36 16 2 3 5 9 14
27 Teppo Numminen D 79 2 27 29 17 32 16 0 4 4 10 4
21 Drew Stafford RW 41 13 14 27 5 33 10 2 2 4 3 4
38 Nathan Paetsch D 63 2 22 24 10 50 — — — — — —
28 Paul Gaustad C 54 9 13 22 11 74 7 0 1 1 −1 2
6 Jaroslav Spacek D 65 5 16 21 20 62 16 0 0 0 3 10
5 Toni Lydman D 67 2 17 19 10 55 16 2 2 4 −5 14
10 Henrik Tallinder D 47 4 10 14 19 34 16 0 2 2 −4 10
13 Jiri Novotny‡ C 50 6 7 13 −2 26 — — — — — —
20 Daniel Paille LW 29 3 8 11 5 18 1 0 0 0 0 0
22 Adam Mair C 82 2 9 11 −1 128 16 1 4 5 5 10
15 Dainius Zubrus† RW 19 4 4 8 −3 12 15 0 8 8 1 8
41 Clarke MacArthur LW 19 3 4 7 4 4 — — — — — —
37 Michael Ryan C 19 3 2 5 −8 2 — — — — — —
76 Andrew Peters LW 58 1 1 2 −1 125 — — — — — —
3 Michael Funk D 5 0 2 2 2 0 — — — — — —
36 Patrick Kaleta RW 7 0 2 2 3 21 — — — — — —
30 Ryan Miller G 63 0 2 2 2 16 0 0 0 2
19 Tim Connolly C 2 1 0 1 1 2 16 0 9 9 6 4
25 Mark Mancari RW 3 0 1 1 −1 2 — — — — — —
43 Martin Biron‡ G 19 0 0 0 25 — — — — — —
33 Mike Card D 4 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
35 Ty Conklin† G 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — — —
44 Andrej Sekera D 2 0 0 0 1 2 — — — — — —

Goaltending

  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
No. Player Regular season Playoffs
GP W L OT SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
30 Ryan Miller 63 40 16 6 1886 168 2.73 .911 2 3692 16 9 7 489 38 2.22 .922 0 1029
43 Martin Biron‡ 19 12 4 1 533 54 3.04 .899 0 1066 — — — — — — — — —
35 Ty Conklin† 5 1 2 0 120 13 3.43 .892 0 227 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and records

Awards

Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(annual) 		NHL Plus-Minus Award Thomas Vanek [18]
NHL Second All-Star Team Thomas Vanek (Left Wing) [19]
League
(in-season) 		NHL All-Star Game selection Daniel Briere[a] [21]
Brian Campbell[a]
Ryan Miller[a]
Lindy Ruff (coach)
NHL First Star of the Month Ryan Miller (October) [22]
NHL First Star of the Week Maxim Afinogenov (October 22) [23]
NHL Rookie of the Month Drew Stafford (March) [24]
NHL YoungStars Game selection Thomas Vanek [25]

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Drew Stafford November 5, 2006 [26]
Mike Card November 11, 2006
Michael Funk November 18, 2006
Michael Ryan November 22, 2006
Andrej Sekera December 9, 2006
Clarke MacArthur December 19, 2006
Patrick Kaleta February 22, 2006
Mark Mancari February 24, 2006

Transactions

The Sabres were involved in the following transactions from June 20, 2006, the day after the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 6, 2007, the day of the deciding game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.[27]

Trades

Date Details Ref
July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10) To Edmonton Oilers
 To Buffalo Sabres
  • 7th-round pick in 2007
 [28]
July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) To Vancouver Canucks
 To Buffalo Sabres
  • 4th-round pick in 2007
 [29]
February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) To Philadelphia Flyers
To Buffalo Sabres
  • 2nd-round pick in 2007
 [30]
To Columbus Blue Jackets
  • 5th-round pick in 2007
 To Buffalo Sabres
[31]
To Washington Capitals
To Buffalo Sabres
[32]
To Nashville Predators
  • 4th-round pick in 2007
 To Buffalo Sabres
[33]

Players acquired

Date Player Former team Term Via Ref
July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05) Jaroslav Spacek Edmonton Oilers 3-year Free agency [34]
September 7, 2006 (2006-09-07) Adam Berkhoel Atlanta Thrashers Free agency [35]

Players lost

Date Player New team Via[b] Ref
July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) Jay McKee St. Louis Blues Free agency (III) [37]
July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03) Mike Grier San Jose Sharks Free agency (III) [38]
July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06) Doug Janik Tampa Bay Lightning Free agency (VI) [39]
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) Michael Leighton Anaheim Ducks Free agency (UFA) [40]
July 17, 2006 (2006-07-17) David Cullen DEG Metro Stars (DEL) Free agency (III) [41]
August 2, 2006 (2006-08-02) Chris Taylor Frankfurt Lions (DEL) Free agency (III) [42]
August 8, 2006 (2006-08-08) Jean-Pierre Dumont Nashville Predators[c] Release (II)[d] [44]
August 18, 2006 (2006-08-18) Rory Fitzpatrick Vancouver Canucks Free agency (III) [45]
October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03) Chris Thorburn Pittsburgh Penguins Waivers [46]
October 4, 2006 (2006-10-04) Sean McMorrow Chicago Wolves (AHL) Free agency (UFA) [47]
October 25, 2006 (2006-10-25) Jeff Jillson Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) Free agency (II) [48]
June 4, 2007 (2007-06-04) Timo Helbling HC Lugano (NLA) Free agency [49]

Signings

Date Player Term Contract type Ref
July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03) Teppo Numminen 1-year Re-signing [50]
July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10) Andrew Peters 1-year Re-signing [28]
July 11, 2006 (2006-07-11) Brian Campbell multi-year Re-signing [51]
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) Martin Biron 1-year Re-signing [52]
July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) Nathan Paetsch 1-year Re-signing [53]
Derek Roy 1-year Re-signing [53]
Andrej Sekera 3-year Entry-level [53]
July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21) Henrik Tallinder multi-year Re-signing [54]
July 23, 2006 (2006-07-23) Ales Kotalik multi-year Re-signing [55]
July 27, 2006 (2006-07-27) Toni Lydman multi-year Re-signing [56]
Jason Pominville multi-year Re-signing [56]
July 28, 2006 (2006-07-28) Tim Connolly 3-year Re-signing [57]
July 30, 2006 (2006-07-30) Paul Gaustad 2-year Re-signing [58]
August 1, 2006 (2006-08-01) Maxim Afinogenov 3-year Re-signing [59]
August 3, 2006 (2006-08-03) Daniel Briere 1-year Arbitration award [60]
August 6, 2006 (2006-08-06) Adam Mair 1-year Arbitration award [61]
August 30, 2006 (2006-08-30) Dmitri Kalinin 2-year Re-signing [62]
September 8, 2006 (2006-09-08) Ryan Miller 3-year Re-signing [63]
September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12) Jiri Novotny Re-signing [64]
Michael Ryan Re-signing [64]
Chris Thorburn Re-signing [64]
Marek Zagrapan Entry-level [64]
October 12, 2006 (2006-10-12) Adam Dennis 3-year Entry-level [65]
June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) Marc-Andre Gragnani 3-year Entry-level [66]
June 3, 2007 (2007-06-03) Philip Gogulla 3-year Entry-level [67]

Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2006 NHL entry draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.[68] The Sabres had the 24th overall draft pick for their success in the 2005–06 NHL season.

Round # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team (league)
1 24 Dennis Persson (D)  Sweden Buffalo Sabres VIK Västerås HK (Allsvenskan)
2 46 Jhonas Enroth (G)  Sweden Buffalo Sabres (from Vancouver) Södertälje SK (Elitserien)
2 57 Mike Weber (D)  United States Buffalo Sabres Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
4 117 Felix Schutz (C)  Germany Buffalo Sabres Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
5 147 Alex Biega (D)  Canada Buffalo Sabres Salisbury School (USHS-CN)
7 207 Benjamin Breault (C)  Canada Buffalo Sabres Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

Farm teams

The Rochester Americans were the Buffalo Sabres' farm team during the 2006–07 season.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Briere, Campbell, and Miller were voted to the starting lineup.[20]
  2. ^ In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.[36]
  3. ^ Dumont signed with Nashville on August 29.[43]
  4. ^ Dumont received a $2.9 million arbitration award on August 2. Buffalo elected to “walk away” from the award, making Dumont an unrestricted free agent.

References

  • "Buffalo Sabres 2006-07 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  • "2006-07 Buffalo Sabres Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
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