2016–17 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2016–17 Buffalo Sabres season was the 47th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] Buffalo missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

2016–17 Buffalo Sabres
Division8th Atlantic
Conference15th Eastern
2016–17 record33–37–12
Home record20–15–6
Road record13–22–6
Goals for201
Goals against237
Team information
General managerTim Murray
CoachDan Bylsma
CaptainBrian Gionta
Alternate captainsJosh Gorges
Ryan O'Reilly
ArenaKeyBank Center
Minor league affiliate(s)Rochester Americans (AHL)
Elmira Jackals (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsEvander Kane (28)
AssistsRasmus Ristolainen (39)
PointsJack Eichel (57)
Penalty minutesEvander Kane (113)
Plus/minusTaylor Fedun (+3)
WinsRobin Lehner (23)
Goals against averageAnders Nilsson (2.67)

Off-season

The Sabres held their annual development camp during the second weekend of July. After the previous two seasons in which the Sabres held the tournament in the First Niagara Center, this edition was held at HarborCenter.[2]

The Sabres reprised their hosting of a prospect tournament for 2016, after the success of the first event in 2015. The New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins returned for the tournament, which ran September 16–19, partially opposite the 2016 World Cup of Hockey; in contrast to the previous season, the Sabres lost both prospect tournament games and finished in third place.[3] The Sabres contributed three players to the World Cup: Jack Eichel for Team North America, Ryan O'Reilly for Canada, and Rasmus Ristolainen for Finland.

On July 16, 2016, the Sabres hired Tom Ward as an assistant coach. Ward had spent the previous 18 seasons as the head coach for the Minnesota High School boys prep team.[4]

The Sabres also announced that the naming rights to their home arena will change. Due to First Niagara Financial Group, the arena's previous rights holder, being subsumed into KeyBank, the team's arena was renamed KeyBank Center for the 2016–17 season.[5] The arena naming rights have passed through a succession of regional banks, having been known as First Niagara Center, HSBC Arena and Marine Midland Arena, through its 20-year history.

Standings

Atlantic Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y Montreal Canadiens 82 47 26 9 44 226 200 +26 103
2 x Ottawa Senators 82 44 28 10 38 212 214 2 98
3 x Boston Bruins 82 44 31 7 42 234 212 +22 95
4 x Toronto Maple Leafs 82 40 27 15 39 251 242 +9 95
5 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 42 30 10 38 234 227 +7 94
6 Florida Panthers 82 35 36 11 30 210 237 27 81
7 Detroit Red Wings 82 33 36 13 24 207 244 37 79
8 Buffalo Sabres 82 33 37 12 31 201 237 36 78
Source: National Hockey League
x Clinched playoff spot; y Clinched division.
Eastern Conference Wild Card
Pos Div Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 ME x New York Rangers 82 48 28 6 45 256 220 +36 102
2 AT x Toronto Maple Leafs 82 40 27 15 39 251 242 +9 95
3 ME New York Islanders 82 41 29 12 39 241 242 1 94
4 AT Tampa Bay Lightning 82 42 30 10 38 234 227 +7 94
5 ME Philadelphia Flyers 82 39 33 10 32 219 236 17 88
6 ME Carolina Hurricanes 82 36 31 15 33 215 236 21 87
7 AT Florida Panthers 82 35 36 11 30 210 237 27 81
8 AT Detroit Red Wings 82 33 36 13 24 207 244 37 79
9 AT Buffalo Sabres 82 33 37 12 31 201 237 36 78
10 ME New Jersey Devils 82 28 40 14 25 183 244 61 70
Source: National Hockey League
x Clinched playoff spot.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

2016–17 Game Log[6]

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

Player stats

As of April 9, 2017

Skaters

Goaltenders

Regular season[8]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Robin Lehner59583405:28232681522.681,910.9202016
Anders Nilsson26231484:1510104662.67857.9231000
Linus Ullmark1158:4401033.0536.9170000

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 season:

Trades

Date
Details
Ref
June 25, 2016 (2016-06-25) To Florida Panthers
Mark Pysyk
2nd-round pick in 2016
STL's 3rd-round pick in 2016
To Buffalo Sabres
Dmitry Kulikov
VAN's 2nd-round pick in 2016
[9]
July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02) To St. Louis Blues
5th-round pick in 2017
To Buffalo Sabres
Anders Nilsson
[10]
February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28) To New York Rangers
Daniel Catenacci
To Buffalo Sabres
Mat Bodie
[11]
Notes
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