1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season was the Buffalo Sabres second season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL).

1971–72 Buffalo Sabres
Division	6th East
1971–72 record	16–43–19
Home record	11–19–9
Road record	5–24–10
Goals for	203
Goals against	228
Team information
General manager	Punch Imlach
Coach	Punch Imlach
Captain	Gerry Meehan
Arena	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Average attendance	15,324
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Martin (44)
Assists	Gilbert Perreault (48)
Points	Tie: Perreault, Martin (74)
Penalty minutes	Al Hamilton (105)
Wins	Roger Crozier (13)
Goals against average	Roger Crozier (3.51)

Offseason

An $8.7 million (approximately $54.9 million in 2019 dollars)[1] renovation took place after the 1970–71 inauguration of the Sabres and Buffalo Braves franchises. The arena's roof was raised 24 feet, making room for a new upper level. This raised the total capacity of the arena to over 17,000 for basketball and 15,858 for hockey, making it a more suitable home for the NBA and NHL.[2]

Regular season

For the second consecutive season the Sabres had a breakout rookie performance by their first round draft pick. Rick Martin would score 44 goals breaking the NHL rookie scoring record of 38 set the previous season by Gilbert Perreault.[3] Despite the efforts of their young phenoms the Sabres would finish with a worse record than their inaugural season and again miss the Playoffs. During the season Eddie Shack was traded to Pittsburgh for Rene Robert.[4]

Final standings

East Division[5]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Boston Bruins	78	54	13	11	330	204	+126	119
2	New York Rangers	78	48	17	13	317	192	+125	109
3	Montreal Canadiens	78	46	16	16	307	205	+102	108
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	78	33	31	14	209	208	+1	80
5	Detroit Red Wings	78	33	35	10	261	262	−1	76
6	Buffalo Sabres	78	16	43	19	203	289	−86	51
7	Vancouver Canucks	78	20	50	8	203	297	−94	48

Schedule and results

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 10, 1971	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	1–0–0
2	L	October 12, 1971	1–9	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	1–1–0
3	L	October 14, 1971	2–6	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	1–2–0
4	L	October 16, 1971	3–9	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	1–3–0
5	L	October 17, 1971	2–3	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	1–4–0
6	W	October 20, 1971	7–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	2–4–0
7	L	October 21, 1971	2–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	2–5–0
8	L	October 23, 1971	1–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	2–6–0
9	L	October 24, 1971	2–3	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	2–7–0
10	W	October 27, 1971	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	3–7–0
11	T	October 30, 1971	4–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	3–7–1
12	T	October 31, 1971	2–2	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	3–7–2
13	T	November 4, 1971	4–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	3–7–3
14	W	November 5, 1971	5–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	4–7–3
15	T	November 7, 1971	3–3	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	4–7–4
16	L	November 11, 1971	2–4	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	4–8–4
17	L	November 13, 1971	2–5	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	4–9–4
18	T	November 14, 1971	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	4–9–5
19	L	November 18, 1971	5–7	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	4–10–5
20	L	November 21, 1971	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	4–11–5
21	L	November 24, 1971	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	4–12–5
22	L	November 27, 1971	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	4–13–5
23	L	November 28, 1971	3–5	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	4–14–5
24	L	December 1, 1971	2–7	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	4–15–5
25	W	December 2, 1971	2–0	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	5–15–5
26	L	December 4, 1971	1–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	5–16–5
27	W	December 5, 1971	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	6–16–5
28	L	December 9, 1971	1–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	6–17–5
29	T	December 11, 1971	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	6–17–6
30	L	December 12, 1971	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	6–18–6
31	L	December 15, 1971	1–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	6–19–6
32	L	December 16, 1971	0–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	6–20–6
33	L	December 18, 1971	1–8	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	6–21–6
34	W	December 19, 1971	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	7–21–6
35	T	December 23, 1971	4–4	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	7–21–7
36	T	December 25, 1971	4–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	7–21–8
37	W	December 26, 1971	6–3	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	8–21–8
38	L	December 29, 1971	3–7	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	8–22–8
39	T	December 31, 1971	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	8–22–9
40	T	January 2, 1972	4–4	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	8–22–10
41	L	January 6, 1972	2–5	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	8–23–10
42	L	January 9, 1972	1–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	8–24–10
43	L	January 13, 1972	2–5	New York Rangers (1971–72)	8–25–10
44	L	January 15, 1972	2–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	8–26–10
45	W	January 16, 1972	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	9–26–10
46	W	January 20, 1972	1–0	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	10–26–10
47	L	January 22, 1972	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	10–27–10
48	T	January 23, 1972	3–3	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	10–27–11
49	L	January 26, 1972	1–5	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	10–28–11
50	L	January 27, 1972	1–3	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	10–29–11
51	T	January 30, 1972	2–2	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	10–29–12
52	L	February 3, 1972	2–4	New York Rangers (1971–72)	10–30–12
53	T	February 5, 1972	3–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	10–30–13
54	W	February 6, 1972	8–2	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	11–30–13
55	L	February 10, 1972	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	11–31–13
56	L	February 12, 1972	1–5	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	11–32–13
57	T	February 13, 1972	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	11–32–14
58	L	February 17, 1972	0–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	11–33–14
59	L	February 19, 1972	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	11–34–14
60	L	February 20, 1972	0–4	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	11–35–14
61	W	February 23, 1972	2–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	12–35–14
62	W	February 24, 1972	5–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	13–35–14
63	T	February 27, 1972	4–4	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	13–35–15
64	L	March 1, 1972	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	13–36–15
65	L	March 2, 1972	3–4	New York Rangers (1971–72)	13–37–15
66	L	March 5, 1972	2–6	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	13–38–15
67	L	March 8, 1972	3–6	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	13–39–15
68	L	March 10, 1972	2–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	13–40–15
69	L	March 11, 1972	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	13–41–15
70	W	March 14, 1972	4–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	14–41–15
71	T	March 16, 1972	3–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	14–41–16
72	L	March 17, 1972	2–6	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	14–42–16
73	T	March 19, 1972	3–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	14–42–17
74	W	March 22, 1972	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	15–42–17
75	T	March 23, 1972	4–4	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	15–42–18
76	T	March 26, 1972	2–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	15–42–19
77	L	March 30, 1972	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	15–43–19
78	W	April 2, 1972	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	16–43–19

Playoffs

The Sabres failed to make the playoffs in the 1971–72 season.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Rick Martin	73	44	30	74	36	−38	19	0	5
Gilbert Perreault	76	26	48	74	24	−40	11	0	1
Gerry Meehan	77	19	27	46	12	−28	4	0	2
Al Hamilton	76	4	30	34	105	−12	1	0	1
Eddie Shack	50	11	14	25	34	−11	4	0	0
Steve Atkinson	67	14	10	24	26	−22	3	0	0
Jim Lorentz	33	10	14	24	12	−11	2	0	1
Chris Evans	61	6	18	24	98	−20	2	0	0
Phil Goyette	37	3	21	24	14	−10	3	0	0
Don Luce	78	11	8	19	38	−18	0	0	1
Danny Lawson	78	10	6	16	15	−23	0	1	0
Mike Byers	46	9	7	16	12	−20	3	0	1
Craig Ramsay	57	6	10	16	0	5	0	0	2
Kevin O'Shea	52	6	9	15	44	−19	0	0	0
Mike Robitaille	31	2	10	12	22	−14	1	0	0
Larry Hillman	43	1	11	12	58	−21	0	0	0
Tracy Pratt	27	0	10	10	52	0	0	0	0
Rene Robert	12	6	3	9	2	−5	3	0	0
Jim Watson	66	2	6	8	101	−33	1	0	0
Randy Wyrozub	34	3	4	7	0	−2	0	0	0
Doug Barrie	27	2	5	7	45	−21	0	0	1
Dick Duff	8	2	2	4	0	−2	0	0	0
Ron Anderson	37	0	4	4	19	−10	0	0	0
Rod Zaine	24	2	1	3	4	−14	0	0	1
Ray McKay	39	0	3	3	18	−12	0	0	0
Larry Keenan	14	2	0	2	2	−3	0	0	0
Butch Deadmarsh	12	1	1	2	4	−10	0	0	0
John Gould	2	1	0	1	0	−1	0	0	0
Terry Ball	10	0	1	1	6	−7	0	0	0
Larry Mickey	4	0	1	1	0	−1	0	0	0
Floyd Smith	6	0	1	1	2	−3	0	0	0
Roger Crozier	63	0	0	0	10	0	0	0	0
Dave Dryden	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Terbenche	9	0	0	0	2	−13	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Roger Crozier	3654	63	13	34	14	214	3.51	2
Dave Dryden	1026	20	3	9	5	68	3.98	0
Team:	4680	78	16	43	19	282	3.62	2

[6]

Awards and records

The Sabres were not awarded any individual or team awards in the 1971–72 season.

Transactions

Date	Details
May 25, 1971	To Detroit Red Wings Joe Daley	To Buffalo Sabres Don Luce Mike Robitaille
November 16, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Keenan	To Buffalo Sabres Larry Mickey
December 16, 1971	To Los Angeles Kings Doug Barrie Mike Keeler	To Buffalo Sabres Mike Byers Larry Hillman
January 14, 1972	To New York Rangers 2nd-round pick in 1972 (Larry Sacharuk)	Buffalo Sabres Jim Lorentz
March 4, 1972	To Pittsburgh Penguins Eddie Shack	To Buffalo Sabres René Robert
March 5, 1972	To St. Louis Blues Chris Evans	To Buffalo Sabres George Morrison 2nd-round pick in 1972 (Larry Carriere)
March 5, 1972	To New York Rangers Phil Goyette (Negotiating Rights)	To Buffalo Sabres Cash

Intra-League Draft June 8, 1971 From Chicago Blackhawks Ray McKay June 8, 1971 To Toronto Maple Leafs Don Marshall June 8, 1971 From Toronto Maple Leafs Rene Robert June 8, 1971 From Montreal Canadiens Hugh Harris June 8, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins Rene Robert June 8, 1971 From Minnesota North Stars Danny Lawson June 8, 1971 From Pittsburgh Penguins Rod Zaine June 8, 1971 From Detroit Red Wings Tom Miller June 8, 1971 From Toronto Maple Leafs Ken Murray June 8, 1971 To Los Angeles Kings Gary Edwards Reverse Draft June 7, 1971 To Providence Reds (AHL) Brian Perry Free Agency August 1971 Signed John Gould September 1971 Signed Rick Dudley September 29, 1971 Signed Gary Bromley Lost via retirement Player Jean-Guy Talbot Roster Buffalo Sabres 1971–1972 Roster Goaltenders 1 – Roger Crozier  30 – Dave Dryden  Defensemen 2 – Jim Watson  3 – Mike Robitaille  3 – Paul Terbenche  4 – Tracy Pratt  5 – Doug Barrie  5 – Larry Hillman  6 – Al Hamilton  21 – Terry Ball  22 – Ray McKay  24 – Chris Evans  Wingers 7 – Rick Martin  8 – Dick Duff  9 – Danny Lawson  10 – Craig Ramsay  12 – Mike Byers  14 – René Robert  16 – Ron Anderson  16 – Butch Deadmarsh  17 – Floyd Smith –C 18 – Kevin O'Shea  19 – Steve Atkinson  21 – John Gould  21 – Larry Keenan  21 – Larry Mickey  23 – Eddie Shack  Centers 8 – Jim Lorentz  10 – Phil Goyette  11 – Gilbert Perreault  15 – Gerry Meehan –C 20 – Don Luce  22 – Rod Zaine  26 – Randy Wyrozub  GM: Punch Imlach Coach: Punch Imlach, Floyd Smith, Joe Crozier Draft picks NHL draft Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team 1 5 Rick Martin  Canada Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) 2 19 Craig Ramsay  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA) 3 33 Bill Hajt  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) 4 47 Bob Richer  Canada Trois-Rivières Ducs (QMJHL) 5 61 Steve Warr  Canada Clarkson University (ECAC) 6 75 Pierre Duguay  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) Farm teams For the 1971–72 season Buffalo's AHL farm team was the Cincinnati Swords. In the team's inaugural season they would post a 30–28–18 record placing 3rd in the West Division which would secure a playoff berth. The first round brought the 2nd seed Hershey Bears who were swept. In the second round the Swords faced off against the 1st seed Baltimore Clippers losing the series 4–2. See also 1971–72 NHL season References Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020. ""The Aud" – Memorial Auditorium". Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association. sabresalumni.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012. "Rick Martin Profile". Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association. SabresAlumni.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012. "Rene Robert". Hockey Hall of Fame. legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved July 13, 2012. "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League. "1971-72 Buffalo Sabres Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2009.