NHL Hockey Trivia: Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have been in the National Hockey League for over forty years, entering the league for the 1970-71 season. In that time, they have yet to win the Stanley Cup but have been to the finals on two different occasions. Although the franchise is going through a rough stretch as of the 2013-14 season, the team does have a storied past housing players like Eddie Shack, Tim Horton, Pat Lafontaine, Gilbert Perreault and Alex Mogilny, among others.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge with these four trivia questions focused on the Buffalo Sabres.

Q. When the Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL for the 1970-71 season, what other team came onboard with them?

A. The Vancouver Canucks joined in 1970-71 along with the Sabres in what was the beginning of the second generation of NHL expansion. In that inaugural season, Buffalo had more points than the Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and California Golden Seals. The Sabres ended up tied with the Los Angeles Kings with 63 points in the 14 team league. However, Buffalo finished 19 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fourth and final playoff position in the East Division.

Q. Who was the first overall draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres?

A. Gilbert Perreault was selected first overall and became the centre piece of the Sabres organization for seventeen years. In Buffalo’s first season in the NHL, Perreault won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Gilbert was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Buffalo and Vancouver were slated to take the top two picks in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. The teams spun a wheel to determine who would go first and Buffalo won. Vancouver took defenseman Dale Tallon second overall. Tallon played 642 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1970-71 and 1979-80 with the Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Q. The number 2 is retired by the Buffalo Sabres for what player?

A. Tim Horton wore number 2 for the 1972-73 season and the 1973-74 season up until his death on February 21, 1974. With the Toronto Maple Leafs, number 7 is honoured for Horton. Tim switched to number 4 with Buffalo because Rick Martin was already in possession of number 7 when he arrived. Horton played in the NHL from 1949-50 with the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Penguins and Sabres. Horton posthumously entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.

Q. Who is the only Buffalo Sabre player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player?

A. Dominik Hasek won the Hart Trophy in 1996-97 and 1997-98. Not only is he the only Sabre to win the Hart, he is the only goaltender to ever win the trophy more than once. Hasek played for Buffalo from 1992-93 to 2000-01 and in the NHL from 1990-91 to 2007-08. Along with the Sabres, Dominik also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings.

3 From 1970 NHL Amateur Draft Now In Hockey Hall Of Fame

The 1970 NHL Amateur Draft was the first for the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks and saw 14 teams select 115 players over 14 rounds. 62 of the 115 players went on to play at least one game in the National Hockey League. Three of the 115 went on to have stellar NHL careers and eventually get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Gilbert Perreault - 1990

Gilbert Perreault getting chosen first overall by the expansion Buffalo Sabres came down to a spin of the wheel. In deciding which of the two new teams would choose first, Buffalo and Vancouver each took a spin of ‘crown and anchor’ type wheel with Buffalo winning. The Sabres took Perreault and the Canucks took defenseman Dale Tallon.

Perreault was coming off a dominant junior season in the OHA, scoring 51 goals and totalling 121 points in 54 games for the Montreal Junior Canadiens. He finished second in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy to Marcel Dionne of the St. Catherines Black Hawks, who finished with 132 points. Dionne would go second overall to the Detroit Red Wings in the 1971 draft.

Gilbert played his entire career with the Sabres, from 1970-71 to 1986-87. To this day, he is arguably the franchise’s greatest player. In his first season, he was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie while scoring 38 goals and assisting on 34 others. That, coupled with the Lady Byng Trophy he won in 1972-73 would be the only major individual awards Perreault would win. He finished his career with 512 goals and 1,326 points. Gilbert Perreault was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Darryl Sittler - 1989

Darryl Sittler was taken in the eighth position by the Toronto Maple Leafs after playing three years of junior hockey with the OHA’s London Knights. Although an immediate regular with Toronto, Sittler was a bit slower to start than his counterpart in Buffalo. In his first two seasons, Darryl contributed just 50 points in 123 regular season games.

Sittler played nearly 1,100 regular season games in the NHL between 1970-71 and 1984-85 with the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. Never a Stanley Cup winner and never the recipient of a major NHL individual award, Darryl did have two 100+ points seasons with Toronto and ended his career with 484 goals and 1,121 points. Darryl Sittler was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.

Billy Smith - 1993

NHL teams rarely select goaltenders in the early rounds of the draft. Thus was the case with Billy Smith. The junior star with the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL was taken down in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Kings, 59^th overall. Smith played just five games with the Kings in 1971-72 but became a regular with the New York Islanders in their inaugural season, 1972-73.

Smith was mostly New York’s number one goalie until he retired after the 1988-89 season. He viscously guarded between the pipes as the Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1979-80 to 1982-83. Billy was awarded the Vezina Trophy in 1981-82 and received the Conn Smythe Trophy the following season as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Billy Smith was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.

Buffalo Sabres by the Numbers

The Buffalo Sabres, the most consistent National Hockey League team in the Toronto Region over the past 40 years, has enjoyed a storied history in a professional ‘small market’. Although the team has never taken home the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup, every new year is a possibility with the product the Sabres put on the ice. Take a glance at the history of the Buffalo Sabres, by the numbers.

1 Hart Memorial Trophy winner. He did it twice. Goaltender Dominek Hasek won the Hart as the NHL’s most valuable player in two consecutive seasons, 1996-97 and 1997-98.

2 Trips to the Stanley Cup finals. Although they’ve yet to take home the hardware, the Sabres have been to the dance twice in their history. In 1974-75, just Buffalo’s fifth year in the NHL, the Sabres faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers in the finals. The Broad Street Bullies won the series in six games for their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

3 Hat Tricks by Eddie Shack in 1970-71. ‘The Entertainer’ was traded from the Los Angeles Kings eleven games into Buffalo’s inaugural season. Shack scored 25 goals for the Sabres that season, 36% of which came in just three games. Eddie’s stay in Buffalo was short. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins midway through the following season.

6 retired jersey numbers hang from the rafters at the First Niagara Center. The Buffalo Sabres retired numbers include: 2 – Tim Horton; 7 – Rick Martin; 11 – Gilbert Perreault; 14 – Rene Robert; 16 – Pat Lafontaine; 18 – Danny Gare.

8 players that have donned a Buffalo Sabres jersey at some point during their NHL career are now enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. These players include: Dick Duff, Grant Fuhr, Clark Gillies, Tim Horton, Gilbert Perreault, Dale Hawerchuk, Pat Lafontaine and Doug Gilmour.

53 wins represents Buffalo’s best season in that particular category. The Sabres won 53 in 2006-07. It was the second time the team had reached the 50 win plateau after winning 52 the year before.

76 goals for Alexander Mogilny in 1992-93 remains a team single season record. The total is the fifth highest in NHL history and Mogilny is one of just eight players to reach 70 goals and beyond. Alex played for Buffalo from 1988-89 to 1994-95.

148 points by Pat Lafontaine in 1992-93 is not only a Sabres team record but the highest point total ever produced by an American born player.

512 goals were scored by Gilbert Perreault during his career with the Sabres. This total leaves Perreault at the top of Buffalo’s all-time list and the same can be said for games played, assists and points. Gil is placed 37^th all-time in the NHL for career goals scored and is one of just 41 players to reach the 500 goal plateau.

1970 was the year that saw the Buffalo Sabres play their first National Hockey League game. The team visited Pittsburgh for the first game of the 1970-71 season and walked away with a 2-1 victory over the Penguins. Buffalo entered the league that season, along with the Vancouver Canucks.

 

Buffalo Sabres Players With 100 Points in a Single Season

The Buffalo Sabres came into the National Hockey League for the 1970-71 season along with the Vancouver Canucks, expanding the league to fourteen teams. The Sabres made an immediate splash by selecting GilbertPerreault first overall at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Perreault would lead the team for close to two decades. What follows are the five Buffalo Sabres players that have achieved the 100 point plateau in a single season.

Rene Robert

Rene Robert was the first Buffalo player to total 100 points in a season. In 1974-75, Robert scored 40 goals and assisted on 60 for exactly 100 points in 74 games. Rene finished seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. It was Robert’s fourth of eight seasons with the Sabres. He played in the NHL from 1970-71 to 1981-82 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo and the Colorado Rockies. It was the only time Robert achieved the 100 point plateau during his NHL career.

Gilbert Perreault

Gilbert Perreault was the next player to accomplish the feat. He had 113 points in 1975-76 and 106 points in 1979-80. In the first year, he scored 44 goals and assisted on 69 in 80 games, finishing third in the league.  In 1979-80, he finished with 106 points on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, landing in fourth spot in the league.

Perreault was the first overall pick in 1970. He played seventeen seasons with the Sabres from 1970-71 to 1986-87. Buffalo was the only National Hockey League team Gilbert would ever play for.

Pierre Turgeon

Pierre Turgeon totalled 106 points in 1989-90 on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, identical numbers to Gilbert Perreault in 1979-80. Turgeon finished seventh in the NHL in what was his third of five seasons with the Sabres. Like Perreault, Turgeon was the first overall pick of the Sabres at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

Pierre played in the NHL from 1987-88 to 2006-07. His performance in 1989-90 was his first of two 100 points seasons in the NHL. In 1992-93, he accumulated 132 with the New York Islanders.

Alexander Mogilny

Alexander Mogilny reached 127 points in 1992-93, largely due to his incredible 76 goal performance. Mogilny added 51 assists in 77 regular season games to finish seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. It was Alex’s fourth of six years with the Sabres after being a fifth round pick of the club in 1988.

Mogilny played in the NHL from 1989-90 to 2005-06 with the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. 1992-93 was his first of two 100 point seasons. He totalled 107 with the Canucks in 1995-96.

Pat Lafontaine

Pat Lafontaine was also a 100+ point man in 1992-93 for the Sabres. Lafontaine set the current Buffalo record for points in a season with 148 on 53 goals and 95 assists in 84 games. He finished second in the NHL, twelve points behind Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his second of six seasons with the Sabres. Originally, he was the third overall pick of the New York Islanders at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.

For Lafontaine, it was his second of two 100+ points seasons. He reached 105 with the Islanders in 1989-90. Pat played in the National Hockey League from 1983-84 to 1997-98 with the Islanders, Sabres and New York Rangers. In his final year of junior hockey , 1982-83, with Verdun of the QMJHL, Pat scored an incredible 104 goals and assisted on another 130 assists for 234 points in 70 games.