1970–71 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1970–1971 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 1st season in the National Hockey League.

1970–71 Buffalo Sabres
Division5th East
1970–71 record24–39–15
Home record16–13–10
Road record8–26–5
Goals for217
Goals against291
Team information
General managerPunch Imlach
CoachPunch Imlach
CaptainFloyd Smith
ArenaBuffalo Memorial Auditorium
Average attendance9,721
Team leaders
GoalsGilbert Perreault (38)
AssistsPhil Goyette (46)
PointsGilbert Perreault (72)
Penalty minutesTracy Pratt (179)
WinsJoe Daley (12)
Goals against averageDave Dryden (3.37)

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]

See also: 1970 NHL Amateur Draft
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
Date
Details
October 1, 1969 To St. Louis Blues
Roger Lafreniere		 To Buffalo Sabres
Cash
December 9, 1969 To St. Louis Blues
George Morrison		 To Buffalo Sabres
Cash
June 10, 1970 To New York Rangers
Cash		 To Buffalo Sabres
Ted Hodgson
June 10, 1970 To Detroit Red Wings
Tom Webster		 Buffalo Sabres
Roger Crozier
August 31, 1970 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Cash		 To Buffalo Sabres
Floyd Smith
Brent Imlach
October 1, 1970 To St. Louis Blues
Gary Edwards on loan		 To Buffalo Sabres
Cash
October 1, 1970 To California Golden Seals
Howie Menard		 To Buffalo Sabres
Cash
October 2, 1970 To St. Louis Blues
Craig Cameron		 To Buffalo Sabres
Ron Anderson
October 9, 1970 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Cash		 To Buffalo Sabres
Dave Dryden
October 19, 1970 To St. Louis Blues
Bill Sutherland		 Buffalo Sabres
Cash
November 4, 1970 To St. Louis Blues
Bob Baun		 To Buffalo Sabres
Larry Keenan
Jean-Guy Talbot
November 24, 1970 To Los Angeles Kings
Mike McMahon Jr.
7th-round pick in 1971 (Pete Harasym)
8th-round pick in 1971 (Lorne Stamler)		 To Buffalo Sabres
Dick Duff
Eddie Shack
January 24, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Jean-Guy Lagace		 To Buffalo Sabres
Terry Ball

Free Agency
September 1970 Signed
Murray Kuntz

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
1Boston Bruins7857147399207+192121
2New York Rangers78491811259177+82109
3Montreal Canadiens78422313291216+7597
4Toronto Maple Leafs7837338248211+3782
5Buffalo Sabres78243915217291−7463
6Vancouver Canucks7824468229296−6756
7Detroit Red Wings78224511209308−9955

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results
Regular season results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 10, 19702–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)1–0–0
2LOctober 14, 19700–3@ New York Rangers (1970–71)1–1–0
3LOctober 15, 19700–3Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)1–2–0
4LOctober 17, 19701–4@ St. Louis Blues (1970–71)1–3–0
5TOctober 18, 19701–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)1–3–1
6LOctober 22, 19702–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)1–4–1
7WOctober 23, 19704–3Detroit Red Wings (1970–71)2–4–1
8LOctober 25, 19700–4Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)2–5–1
9LOctober 27, 19702–7@ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)2–6–1
10LOctober 30, 19701–6@ California Golden Seals (1970–71)2–7–1
11LNovember 1, 19702–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)2–8–1
12LNovember 5, 19701–4Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)2–9–1
13LNovember 7, 19702–11@ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)2–10–1
14LNovember 8, 19701–3Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)2–11–1
15WNovember 13, 19704–2California Golden Seals (1970–71)3–11–1
16TNovember 15, 19702–2Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)3–11–2
17WNovember 18, 19707–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)4–11–2
18LNovember 21, 19700–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)4–12–2
19TNovember 25, 19704–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)4–12–3
20TNovember 26, 19702–2New York Rangers (1970–71)4–12–4
21LNovember 29, 19701–2California Golden Seals (1970–71)4–13–4
22TDecember 3, 19704–4Boston Bruins (1970–71)4–13–5
23WDecember 6, 19701–0Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)5–13–5
24LDecember 9, 19701–6@ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)5–14–5
25LDecember 10, 19702–8@ Boston Bruins (1970–71)5–15–5
26LDecember 12, 19703–5@ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71)5–16–5
27LDecember 13, 19700–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)5–17–5
28LDecember 16, 19700–4@ New York Rangers (1970–71)5–18–5
29WDecember 17, 19704–3Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)6–18–5
30LDecember 19, 19700–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)6–19–5
31LDecember 20, 19702–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)6–20–5
32LDecember 22, 19702–7New York Rangers (1970–71)6–21–5
33TDecember 26, 19704–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)6–21–6
34WDecember 27, 19705–2Detroit Red Wings (1970–71)7–21–6
35LJanuary 1, 19714–9Boston Bruins (1970–71)7–22–6
36LJanuary 3, 19713–5Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)7–23–6
37WJanuary 7, 19717–4Detroit Red Wings (1970–71)8–23–6
38LJanuary 9, 19712–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71)8–24–6
39TJanuary 10, 19712–2Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)8–24–7
40LJanuary 13, 19712–4@ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)8–25–7
41WJanuary 14, 19712–1St. Louis Blues (1970–71)9–25–7
42WJanuary 16, 19714–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)10–25–7
43TJanuary 17, 19714–4Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)10–25–8
44TJanuary 21, 19715–5New York Rangers (1970–71)10–25–9
45LJanuary 23, 19711–7@ St. Louis Blues (1970–71)10–26–9
46WJanuary 24, 19716–4Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)11–26–9
47TJanuary 27, 19713–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)11–26–10
48WJanuary 29, 19714–2@ California Golden Seals (1970–71)12–26–10
49WJanuary 31, 19716–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)13–26–10
50WFebruary 4, 19715–2Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)14–26–10
51LFebruary 6, 19713–4@ Boston Bruins (1970–71)14–27–10
52LFebruary 7, 19713–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)14–28–10
53LFebruary 9, 19713–6@ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)14–29–10
54LFebruary 10, 19711–5@ California Golden Seals (1970–71)14–30–10
55WFebruary 12, 19713–0California Golden Seals (1970–71)15–30–10
56WFebruary 14, 19713–2Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)16–30–10
57LFebruary 17, 19711–5@ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)16–31–10
58TFebruary 18, 19716–6Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)16–31–11
59LFebruary 20, 19715–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71)16–32–11
60LFebruary 21, 19711–3St. Louis Blues (1970–71)16–33–11
61LFebruary 23, 19713–6Boston Bruins (1970–71)16–34–11
62LFebruary 25, 19712–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)16–35–11
63LFebruary 27, 19710–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)16–36–11
64WFebruary 28, 19715–2Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)17–36–11
65TMarch 3, 19713–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)17–36–12
66TMarch 5, 19712–2Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)17–36–13
67WMarch 7, 19716–3Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)18–36–13
68LMarch 13, 19710–9@ St. Louis Blues (1970–71)18–37–13
69WMarch 14, 19715–0@ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)19–37–13
70WMarch 18, 19715–3St. Louis Blues (1970–71)20–37–13
71LMarch 20, 19712–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)20–38–13
72WMarch 21, 19717–5@ Boston Bruins (1970–71)21–38–13
73LMarch 23, 19712–7@ New York Rangers (1970–71)21–39–13
74WMarch 26, 19713–1Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)22–39–13
75WMarch 28, 19714–2Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)23–39–13
76WMarch 31, 19716–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)24–39–13
77TApril 1, 19713–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)24–39–14
78TApril 4, 19713–3@ 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 Perreault7838347219
Phil Goyette601546616
Gerry Meehan772431558
Don Marshall622029496
Eddie Shack5625174293
Steve Atkinson5720183812
Paul Andrea471121324
Al Hamilton692283071
Larry Keenan51720276
Doug Barrie7542327168
Ron Anderson7414122644
Dick Duff537132012
Floyd Smith776111746
Reg Fleming7861016159
Jim Watson782911147
Skip Krake7445968
Tracy Pratt76178179

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Hap Myers130006
Mike McMahon120004
Paul Terbenche30002
Jean-Guy Lagace30002
Terry Ball20000
Francois Lacombe10112
Jean-Guy Talbot5707736
Tracy Pratt76178179
Jim Watson782911147
Reg Fleming7861016159
Doug Barrie7542327168
Al Hamilton692283071

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 Dryden1033013.37
Roger Crozier44920713.68
Joe Daley381216813.70

Awards and records

References
  1. "Gilbert Perreault Biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  2. ""The Aud" – Memorial Auditorium". sabresalumni.com. Sabres Alumni. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  3. "WHATS IN A NAME". NHL.com. Sabres.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  4. "One on One with Gilbert Perreault". Hockey Hall of Fame. hhof.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  5. Duhatschek, Eric; et al. (2001). Hockey Chronicles. New York City: Checkmark Books. ISBN 0-8160-4697-2.
  6. "First Overall Selections". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  7. "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  8. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
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