2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season

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 games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

2006–07 Buffalo Sabres
Presidents' Trophy winners
Northeast Division champions
Division	1st Northeast
Conference	1st Eastern
2006–07 record	53–22–7
Home record	28–10–3
Road record	25–12–4
Goals for	308
Goals against	242
Team information
General manager	Darcy Regier
Coach	Lindy Ruff
Captain	Daniel Briere and Chris Drury
Alternate captains	Teppo Numminen
Arena	HSBC Arena
Average attendance	18,690
Team leaders
Goals	Thomas Vanek (43)
Assists	Daniel Briere (63)
Points	Daniel Briere (95)
Penalty minutes	Adam Mair (128)
Plus/minus	Thomas Vanek (+47)
Wins	Ryan Miller (40)
Goals against average	Ryan Miller (2.73)

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 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 five games.

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.

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][15]

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

[16]

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[17] 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

Schedule and results

October

Record for month 10–0–1 (Home 4–0–1 Away 6–0–0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 4	Buffalo	3 – 2	Carolina	SO	Miller	18,840	1–0–0	2
2	October 6	Montreal	4 – 5	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	2–0–0	4
3	October 7	Buffalo	4 – 3	Ottawa		Biron	19,202	3–0–0	6
4	October 13	Buffalo	3 – 2	Detroit	SO	Miller	20,066	4–0–0	8
5	October 14	NY Rangers	4 – 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	5–0–0	10
6	October 17	Philadelphia	1 – 9	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	6–0–0	12
7	October 20	Carolina	4 – 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	7–0–0	14
8	October 21	Buffalo	6 – 2	Boston		Biron	14,382	8–0–0	16
9	October 23	Buffalo	4 – 1	Montreal		Miller	21,273	9–0–0	18
10	October 26	Buffalo	3 – 0	NY Islanders		Miller	8,861	10–0–0	20
11	October 28	Atlanta	5 – 4	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	10–0–1	21

November

Record for Month 9–3–1 (Home 4–2–1 Away 5–1–0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 2	Buffalo	5 – 4	Boston	SO	Miller	12,547	11–0–1	23
13	November 4	Toronto	4 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	11–1–1	23
14	November 5	Buffalo	4 – 3	NY Rangers	OT	Biron	18,200	12–1–1	25
15	November 10	Florida	4 – 5	Buffalo	OT	Biron	18,690	13–1–1	27
16	November 11	Buffalo	5 – 4	Philadelphia	OT	Biron	19,633	14–1–1	29
17	November 13	Buffalo	7 – 4	Carolina		Biron	14,387	15–1–1	31
18	November 15	Ottawa	4 – 2	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	15–2–1	31
19	November 17	Pittsburgh	2 – 4	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	16–2–1	33
20	November 18	Buffalo	1 – 4	Ottawa		Miller	19,770	16–3–1	33
21	November 20	Tampa Bay	2 – 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	17–3–1	35
22	November 22	Toronto	4 – 7	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	18–3–1	37
23	November 24	Montreal	2 – 1	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	18–3–2	38
24	November 26	Buffalo	3 – 2	NY Rangers	OT	Miller	18,200	19–3–2	40

December

Record for Month 9–4–1 (Home 5–2–0 Away 4–2–1)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
25	December 1	NY Rangers	3 – 4	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	20–3–2	42
26	December 2	Buffalo	4 – 7	Washington		Biron	17,162	20–4–2	42
27	December 5	Buffalo	4 – 1	Tampa Bay		Miller	20,025	21–4–2	44
28	December 7	Buffalo	1 – 3	Florida		Miller	15,385	21–5–2	44
29	December 9	Buffalo	3 – 2	Montreal	SO	Miller	21,273	22–5–2	46
30	December 12	Buffalo	3 – 2	New Jersey		Miller	11,156	23–5–2	48
31	December 14	Florida	1 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	24–5–2	50
32	December 16	Ottawa	3 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	24–6–2	50
33	December 19	Montreal	5 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	24–7–2	50
34	December 21	Buffalo	7 – 2	Nashville		Biron	16,616	25–7–2	52
35	December 23	Buffalo	2 – 3	St. Louis	OT	Biron	12,513	25–7–3	53
36	December 26	Washington	3 – 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	26–7–3	55
37	December 28	Carolina	1 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	27–7–3	57
38	December 30	Atlanta	1 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	28–7–3	59

January

Record for Month 6–7–1 (Home 4–3–0 Away 2–4–1)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
39	January 1	NY Islanders	1 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	29–7–3	61
40	January 3	Buffalo	3 – 6	Ottawa		Miller	19,777	29–8–3	61
41	January 5	Pittsburgh	4 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	29–9–3	61
42	January 6	Buffalo	4 – 3	Toronto		Biron	19,487	30–9–3	63
43	January 10	Buffalo	2 – 1	Chicago		Miller	14,041	31–9–3	65
44	January 11	Toronto	4 – 2	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	31–10–3	65
45	January 13	Tampa Bay	3 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	31–11–3	65
46	January 15	Buffalo	2 – 3	Boston	SO	Miller	15,585	31–11–4	66
47	January 17	Boston	3 – 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	32–11–4	68
48	January 19	Vancouver	3 – 4	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	33–11–4	70
49	January 20	Buffalo	3 – 4	Montreal		Biron	21,273	33–12–4	70
50	January 26	Buffalo	2 – 3	Columbus		Miller	18,136	33–13–4	70
51	January 27	Buffalo	3 – 5	NY Islanders		Miller	15,218	33–14–4	70
52	January 30	Boston	1 – 7	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	34–14–4	72

February

Record for Month 8–2–1 (Home 5–0–1 Away 3–2–0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
53	February 1	Buffalo	3 – 1	Boston		Biron	13,853	35–14–4	74
54	February 3	Buffalo	2 – 3	New Jersey		Miller	18,589	35–15–4	74
55	February 6	Buffalo	4 – 3	Atlanta	SO	Miller	17,881	36–15–4	76
56	February 7	Ottawa	2 – 3	Buffalo		Biron	18,690	37–15–4	78
57	February 10	Calgary	2 – 3	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	38–15–4	80
58	February 15	Edmonton	1 – 2	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	39–15–4	82
59	February 17	Boston	4 – 3	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	39–15–5	83
60	February 20	Philadelphia	3 – 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	40–15–5	85
61	February 22	Ottawa	5 – 6	Buffalo	SO	Miller	18,690	41–15–5	87
62	February 24	Buffalo	5 – 6	Ottawa		Miller	20,040	41–16–5	87
63	February 27	Buffalo	6 – 1	Toronto		Miller	19,588	42–16–5	89

March

Record for Month 8–5–2 (Home 5–3–0 Away 3–2–2)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
64	March 2	Montreal	5 – 8	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	43–16–5	91
65	March 3	Buffalo	3 – 1	Toronto		Miller	19,515	44–16–5	93
66	March 7	Colorado	3 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	44–17–5	93
67	March 9	Minnesota	5 – 1	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	44–18–5	93
68	March 10	New Jersey	3 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	44–19–5	93
69	March 13	Buffalo	4 – 5	Pittsburgh	SO	Miller	17,132	44–19–6	94
70	March 15	Buffalo	5 – 3	Florida		Conklin	18,111	45–19–6	96
71	March 16	Buffalo	3 – 2	Tampa Bay		Miller	21,264	46–19–6	98
72	March 18	Buffalo	3 – 4	Atlanta	OT	Miller	18,602	46–19–7	99
73	March 21	Washington	2 – 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	47–19–7	101
74	March 23	Toronto	4 – 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	48–19–7	103
75	March 24	Buffalo	1 – 4	Toronto		Miller	19,571	48–20–7	103
76	March 28	New Jersey	3 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	49–20–7	105
77	March 30	NY Islanders	4 – 6	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	50–20–7	107
78	March 31	Buffalo	3 – 4	Montreal		Conklin	21,273	50–21–7	107

April

Record for Month 3–1–0 (Home 1–0–0 Away 2–1–0)

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
79	April 3	Buffalo	4 – 1	Pittsburgh		Miller	17,132	51–21–7	109
80	April 5	Boston	2 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	52–21–7	111
81	April 7	Buffalo	2 – 0	Washington		Miller	18,277	53–21–7	113
82	April 8	Buffalo	3 – 4	Philadelphia		Conklin	19,027	53–22–7	113

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates regulation loss.
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

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 Quarter-finals: vs. (8) New York Islanders

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

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	April 12	NY Islanders	1 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	Sabres lead 1–0
2	April 14	NY Islanders	3 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	Series tied 1–1
3	April 16	Buffalo	3 – 2	NY Islanders		Miller	16,234	Sabres lead 2–1
4	April 18	Buffalo	4 – 2	NY Islanders		Miller	16,234	Sabres lead 3–1
5	April 20	NY Islanders	3 – 4	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	Sabres win 4–1

Eastern Conference Semi-finals: 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.

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	April 25	NY Rangers	2 – 5	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	Sabres lead 1–0
2	April 27	NY Rangers	2 – 3	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	Sabres lead 2–0
3	April 29	Buffalo	1 – 2	NY Rangers	2OT	Miller	18,200	Sabres lead 2–1
4	May 1	Buffalo	1 – 2	NY Rangers		Miller	18,200	Series tied 2–2
5	May 4	NY Rangers	1 – 2	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	Sabres lead 3–2
6	May 6	Buffalo	5 – 4	NY Rangers		Miller	18,200	Sabres win 4–2

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, 4 games to 1.

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	May 10	Ottawa	5 – 2	Buffalo		Miller	18,690	Senators lead 1–0
2	May 12	Ottawa	4 – 3	Buffalo	2OT	Miller	18,690	Senators lead 2–0
3	May 14	Buffalo	0 – 1	Ottawa		Miller	20,171	Senators lead 3–0
4	May 16	Buffalo	3 – 2	Ottawa		Miller	20,294	Senators lead 3–1
5	May 19	Ottawa	3 – 2	Buffalo	OT	Miller	18,690	Senators win 4–1

Player stats

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

			Regular season							Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Daniel Briere	48		81	32	63	95	+17	89		16	3	12	15	+3	16
Thomas Vanek	26		82	43	41	84	+47	40		16	6	4	10	+2	10
Chris Drury	23		77	37	32	69	+1	30		16	8	5	13	+3	2
Jason Pominville	29		82	34	34	68	+25	30		16	4	6	10	+2	0
Derek Roy	9		75	21	42	63	+37	60		16	2	5	7	+3	14
Maxim Afinogenov	61		56	23	38	61	+19	66		15	5	4	9	+3	6
Jochen Hecht	55		76	19	37	56	+19	39		16	4	1	5	+2	10
Brian Campbell	51		82	6	42	48	+28	35		16	3	4	7	0	14
Ales Kotalik	12		66	16	22	38	-5	46		16	2	2	4	-3	8
Dmitri Kalinin	45		82	7	22	29	+19	36		16	2	3	5	+9	14
Teppo Numminen	27		79	2	27	29	+17	32		16	0	4	4	+10	4
Drew Stafford	21		41	13	14	27	+5	33		10	2	2	4	+3	4
Nathan Paetsch	38		63	2	22	24	+10	50		--	--	--	--	--	--
Paul Gaustad	28		54	9	13	22	+11	74		7	0	1	1	-1	2
Jaroslav Spacek	6		65	5	16	21	+20	62		16	0	0	0	+3	10
Toni Lydman	5		67	2	17	19	+10	55		16	2	2	4	-5	14
Henrik Tallinder	10		47	4	10	14	+19	34		16	0	2	2	-4	10
Jiri Novotny*	13		50	6	7	13	-2	26		--	--	--	--	--	--
Adam Mair	22		82	2	9	11	-1	128		16	1	4	5	+5	10
Daniel Paille	20		29	3	8	11	+5	18		1	0	0	0	0	0
Dainius Zubrus*	15		19	4	4	8	-3	12		15	0	8	8	+1	8
Clarke MacArthur	41		19	3	4	7	+4	4		--	--	--	--	--	--
Michael Ryan	37		19	3	2	5	-8	2		--	--	--	--	--	--
Andrew Peters	76		58	1	1	2	-1	125		--	--	--	--	--	--
Michael Funk	3		5	0	2	2	+2	0		--	--	--	--	--	--
Patrick Kaleta	36		7	0	2	2	+3	21		--	--	--	--	--	--
Ryan Miller	30		63	0	2	2	N/A	2		16	0	0	0	N/A	2
Tim Connolly	19		2	1	0	1	+1	2		16	0	9	9	+6	4
Mark Mancari	25		3	0	1	1	-1	2		--	--	--	--	--	--
Andrej Sekera	44		2	0	0	0	+1	2		--	--	--	--	--	--
Mike Card	33		4	0	0	0	0	0		--	--	--	--	--	--
Ty Conklin*	35		5	0	0	0	N/A	2		--	--	--	--	--	--
Martin Biron*	43		19	0	0	0	N/A	25		--	--	--	--	--	--

*Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

• Note: Goaltenders are not assessed plus/minus ratings.

Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek finished the season with the best plus/minus rating in the entire NHL with a +47.

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = OvertimelLosses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular season										Playoffs
Player	#		GP	Min	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	SV%	GAA		GP	Min	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Ryan Miller	30		63	3692	40	16	6	168	2	.911	2.73		16	1029	9	7	38	0	.922	2.22
Martin Biron^*	43		19	1066	12	4	1	54	0	.899	3.04		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Ty Conklin^*	35		5	227	1	2	0	13	0	.892	3.43		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

*Stats reflect games played with Buffalo only.

Coaching staff

• Lindy Ruff – Head Coach
• Brian McCutcheon – Associate Head Coach
• James Patrick – Assistant Coach
• Jim Corsi – Goaltender Coach
• Doug McKenney – Strength and Conditioning Coach

Transactions

Trades

July 10, 2006	To Edmonton Oilers Jan Hejda	To Buffalo Sabres Seventh-round pick in 2007
July 14, 2006	To Vancouver Canucks Taylor Pyatt	To Buffalo Sabres Fourth-round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007	To Philadelphia Flyers Martin Biron	To Buffalo Sabres Second-round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets Fifth-round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Ty Conklin
February 27, 2007	To Washington Capitals Jiri Novotny First-round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Dainius Zubrus Timo Helbling
February 27, 2007	To Nashville Predators Fourth-round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Mikko Lehtonen

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team
D Jaroslav Spacek	Edmonton Oilers

Free agents lost

Player	New team
D Jay McKee	St. Louis Blues
F Mike Grier	San Jose Sharks
D Doug Janik	Tampa Bay Lightning
G Michael Leighton	Anaheim Ducks
D Rory Fitzpatrick	Vancouver Canucks
F Jean-Pierre Dumont	Nashville Predators

Lost to waivers

Player	New team	Date
F Chris Thorburn	Pittsburgh Penguins	October 3

Roster

2006–07 Buffalo Sabres roster

Forwards 9 – Roy • 12 – Kotalik • 13 – Novotny • 15 – Zubrus • 19 – Connolly • 20 – Paille • 21 – Stafford • 22 – Mair • 23 – Drury • 25 – Mancari • 26 – Vanek • 28 – Gaustad • 29 – Pominville • 36 – Kaleta • 37 – Ryan • 41 – MacArthur • 48 – Briere • 55 – Hecht • 61 – Afinogenov • 76 – Peters  Defensemen 3 – Funk • 5 – Lydman • 6 – Spacek • 10 – Tallinder • 27 – Numminen • 33 – Card • 38 – Paetsch • 44 – Sekera • 45 – Kalinin • 51 – Campbell  Goaltenders 30 – Miller • 34 – Dennis • 35 – Conklin • 43 – Biron  General Manager: Darcy Regier •  Coach: Lindy Ruff

Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.[18] 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

• 2006–07 NHL season

References

• Game log: Buffalo Sabres game log on espn.com
• Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com

1. National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
2. Garth (2006-11-07). "SABRES TOP NHL.COM MERCHANDISE SALES". Hockeybuzz.com. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
3. "Thrashers put an end to Sabres' bid for NHL record start". espn.com. 2006-10-28. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
4. "Sundin, Maple Leafs hand Sabres first loss in regulation". espn.com. 2006-11-04. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
5. "Sabres defeat Canes, bump road record to 10–0". espn.com. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
6. "2006–07 NHL All-Star Rosters". tsn.ca. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
7. "Ruff, Carlyle to coach All-Star teams". tsn.ca. 2007-01-04. Archived from the original on 2007-01-07. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
8. "Briere shines, but West wins All-Star Game". tsn.ca. 2007-01-25. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
9. "NHL's bright future is on display". nhl.com. 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
10. "Richards nets tiebreaker in Lightning win over Sabres". espn.com. 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
11. "Drury leads the Sabres over Bruins". tsn.ca. 2007-02-01. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
12. "Sabres outlast Sens in hard-fought battle". tsn.ca. 2007-02-23. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
13. "Sabres beef up with Zubrus". nhl.com. 2007-02-27. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
14. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2007.html
15. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BUF/2007.html
16. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
17. "2006–2007 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
18. 2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com – accessed December 9, 2006.

External links

• Official website of the Buffalo Sabres