# 2001–02 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2001–02 Buffalo Sabres season was the 32nd for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The Sabres finished in 5th place in the Northeast Division and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

## Offseason

The Sabres traded both of their stars, Mike Peca, their former captain and Dominik Hasek in the offseason. Peca was sent to the Islanders for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt. Forward Stu Barnes was named team captain.

## Regular season

On October 7, 2001 the Sabres played the New York Rangers in the first pro sports game played in Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. In the game both teams wore special one time jerseys with "New York" written diagonally on the front of the jersey. The jerseys were later auctioned off to raise money for the 9/11 victims fund. The Sabres lost the game 5–4 in overtime.

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 43 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 236 | 201 | 101 |
| 2 | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 43 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 249 | 207 | 100 |
| 3 | 7 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 39 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 243 | 208 | 94 |
| 4 | 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 36 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 207 | 209 | 87 |
| 5 | 10 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 35 | 35 | 11 | 1 | 213 | 200 | 82 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 43 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 236 | 201 | 101 |
| 2 | Y- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 42 | 27 | 10 | 3 | 234 | 192 | 97 |
| 3 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 35 | 26 | 16 | 5 | 217 | 217 | 91 |
| 4 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 43 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 249 | 207 | 100 |
| 5 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 42 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 239 | 220 | 96 |
| 6 | X- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 41 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 205 | 187 | 95 |
| 7 | X- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 39 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 243 | 208 | 94 |
| 8 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 36 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 207 | 209 | 87 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 36 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 228 | 240 | 85 |
| 10 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 35 | 35 | 11 | 1 | 213 | 200 | 82 |
| 11 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 36 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 227 | 258 | 80 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 28 | 41 | 8 | 5 | 198 | 249 | 69 |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 27 | 40 | 11 | 4 | 178 | 219 | 69 |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 22 | 44 | 10 | 6 | 180 | 250 | 60 |
| 15 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 19 | 47 | 11 | 5 | 187 | 288 | 54 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2001–02 regular season :
October: 5–6–1–1 (home: 4–4–1–0; road: 1–2–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 4, 20011–2Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)0–1–0–0Recap
2WOctober 6, 20013–2Ottawa Senators (2001–02)1–1–0–0Recap
3OTLOctober 7, 20014–5 OT@ New York Rangers (2001–02)1–1–0–1Recap
4WOctober 10, 20012–1Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02)2–1–0–1Recap
5LOctober 12, 20012–4@ Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)2–2–0–1Recap
6WOctober 14, 20014–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)3–2–0–1Recap
7TOctober 16, 20013–3 OTNashville Predators (2001–02)3–2–1–1Recap
8LOctober 19, 20011–3Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)3–3–1–1Recap
9WOctober 20, 20013–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)4–3–1–1Recap
10WOctober 23, 20014–1San Jose Sharks (2001–02)5–3–1–1Recap
11LOctober 26, 20012–5Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)5–4–1–1Recap
12LOctober 27, 20011–3@ New Jersey Devils (2001–02)5–5–1–1Recap
13LOctober 30, 20012–3Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)5–6–1–1Recap :
November: 6–7–1–0 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 2–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
14WNovember 2, 20014–1Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)6–6–1–1Recap
15LNovember 3, 20010–3@ Ottawa Senators (2001–02)6–7–1–1Recap
16WNovember 8, 20018–0Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)7–7–1–1Recap
17LNovember 10, 20012–4New York Rangers (2001–02)7–8–1–1Recap
18WNovember 12, 20015–3@ Florida Panthers (2001–02)8–8–1–1Recap
19LNovember 13, 20011–4@ Nashville Predators (2001–02)8–9–1–1Recap
20LNovember 16, 20010–2Florida Panthers (2001–02)8–10–1–1Recap
21LNovember 17, 20011–3@ Boston Bruins (2001–02)8–11–1–1Recap
22LNovember 19, 20012–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)8–12–1–1Recap
23WNovember 21, 20014–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)9–12–1–1Recap
24WNovember 23, 20015–2Calgary Flames (2001–02)10–12–1–1Recap
25LNovember 24, 20011–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)10–13–1–1Recap
26TNovember 27, 20012–2 OTNew York Rangers (2001–02)10–13–2–1Recap
27WNovember 28, 20015–2@ Washington Capitals (2001–02)11–13–2–1Recap :
December: 4–7–2–0 (home: 2–3–1–0; road: 2–4–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
28WDecember 1, 20014–2@ New York Islanders (2001–02)12–13–2–1Recap
29WDecember 4, 20014–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)13–13–2–1Recap
30LDecember 7, 20011–4Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)13–14–2–1Recap
31LDecember 8, 20012–4@ Boston Bruins (2001–02)13–15–2–1Recap
32LDecember 12, 20013–4@ Dallas Stars (2001–02)13–16–2–1Recap
33WDecember 14, 20013–2 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2001–02)14–16–2–1Recap
34LDecember 15, 20012–4@ New York Rangers (2001–02)14–17–2–1Recap
35LDecember 19, 20015–6Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)14–18–2–1Recap
36TDecember 21, 20013–3 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)14–18–3–1Recap
37LDecember 22, 20012–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)14–19–3–1Recap
38WDecember 26, 20013–1Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)15–19–3–1Recap
39TDecember 29, 20012–2 OT@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)15–19–4–1Recap
40LDecember 31, 20014–5Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)15–20–4–1Recap :
January: 7–5–1–0 (home: 3–2–0–0; road: 4–3–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
41LJanuary 3, 20021–3@ Calgary Flames (2001–02)15–21–4–1Recap
42WJanuary 6, 20024–1@ Minnesota Wild (2001–02)16–21–4–1Recap
43WJanuary 8, 20023–2Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)17–21–4–1Recap
44LJanuary 10, 20020–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)17–22–4–1Recap
45WJanuary 12, 20022–1New Jersey Devils (2001–02)18–22–4–1Recap
46WJanuary 16, 20023–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)19–22–4–1Recap
47LJanuary 17, 20022–4@ Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)19–23–4–1Recap
48WJanuary 19, 20023–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)20–23–4–1Recap
49LJanuary 21, 20022–3@ Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)20–24–4–1Recap
50LJanuary 23, 20022–5St. Louis Blues (2001–02)20–25–4–1Recap
51WJanuary 25, 20024–1Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)21–25–4–1Recap
52WJanuary 27, 20023–2 OT@ Washington Capitals (2001–02)22–25–4–1Recap
53TJanuary 29, 20022–2 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)22–25–5–1Recap :
February: 1–2–2–0 (home: 1–0–1–0; road: 0–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54TFebruary 5, 20022–2 OT@ Boston Bruins (2001–02)22–25–6–1Recap
55WFebruary 8, 20023–2 OTOttawa Senators (2001–02)23–25–6–1Recap
56LFebruary 10, 20021–4@ New Jersey Devils (2001–02)23–26–6–1Recap
57TFebruary 12, 20022–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (2001–02)23–26–7–1Recap
58LFebruary 26, 20021–2@ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)23–27–7–1Recap :
March: 8–7–2–0 (home: 4–4–0–0; road: 4–3–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
59WMarch 1, 20024–3Boston Bruins (2001–02)24–27–7–1Recap
60TMarch 2, 20023–3 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)24–27–8–1Recap
61LMarch 4, 20020–3Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)24–28–8–1Recap
62WMarch 7, 20025–0@ New York Islanders (2001–02)25–28–8–1Recap
63WMarch 8, 20023–0Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)26–28–8–1Recap
64WMarch 10, 20025–1Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)27–28–8–1Recap
65LMarch 12, 20020–3New York Islanders (2001–02)27–29–8–1Recap
66WMarch 14, 20023–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02)28–29–8–1Recap
67LMarch 15, 20022–5@ Florida Panthers (2001–02)28–30–8–1Recap
68TMarch 17, 20022–2 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)28–30–9–1Recap
69WMarch 19, 20025–1Ottawa Senators (2001–02)29–30–9–1Recap
70LMarch 21, 20021–2Boston Bruins (2001–02)29–31–9–1Recap
71LMarch 23, 20020–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)29–32–9–1Recap
72WMarch 24, 20023–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators (2001–02)30–32–9–1Recap
73LMarch 26, 20023–4Washington Capitals (2001–02)30–33–9–1Recap
74LMarch 28, 20021–4@ St. Louis Blues (2001–02)30–34–9–1Recap
75WMarch 30, 20023–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02)31–34–9–1Recap :
April: 4–1–2–0 (home: 2–1–1–0; road: 2–0–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76WApril 1, 20023–1Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02)32–34–9–1Recap
77TApril 3, 20021–1 OTNew York Islanders (2001–02)32–34–10–1Recap
78WApril 5, 20023–1Florida Panthers (2001–02)33–34–10–1Recap
79WApril 7, 20025–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)34–34–10–1Recap
80TApril 10, 20024–4 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)34–34–11–1Recap
81LApril 12, 20021–3Washington Capitals (2001–02)34–35–11–1Recap
82WApril 13, 20023–0@ Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)35–35–11–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 81 | Miroslav Satan | LW | 82 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 14 | 33 |
| 41 | Stu Barnes | C | 68 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 6 | 26 |
| 18 | Tim Connolly | C | 82 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 4 | 34 |
| 17 | Jean-Pierre Dumont | RW | 76 | 23 | 21 | 44 | −10 | 42 |
| 61 | Maxim Afinogenov | RW | 81 | 21 | 19 | 40 | −9 | 69 |
| 77 | Chris Gratton | C | 82 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 0 | 75 |
| 37 | Curtis Brown | C | 82 | 20 | 17 | 37 | −4 | 32 |
| 44 | Alexei Zhitnik | D | 82 | 1 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 80 |
| 5 | Jason Woolley | D | 59 | 8 | 20 | 28 | −6 | 34 |
| 25 | Vaclav Varada | RW | 76 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −7 | 82 |
| 13 | Vyacheslav Kozlov | LW | 38 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 16 |
| 24 | Taylor Pyatt | LW | 48 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 35 |
| 9 | Erik Rasmussen | LW | 69 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −1 | 34 |
| 3 | James Patrick | D | 56 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| 45 | Dmitri Kalinin | D | 58 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −6 | 26 |
| 74 | Jay McKee | D | 81 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 43 |
| 4 | Rhett Warrener | D | 65 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 113 |
| 42 | Richard Smehlik | D | 60 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −9 | 22 |
| 55 | Denis Hamel | LW | 61 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −1 | 28 |
| 51 | Brian Campbell | D | 29 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 26 | Eric Boulton | LW | 35 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −1 | 129 |
| 32 | Rob Ray | RW | 71 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −3 | 200 |
| 12 | Ales Kotalik | RW | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
| 43 | Martin Biron | G | 72 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 8 |
| 29 | Bob Corkum† | C | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 19 | Norm Milley | RW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Bob Essensa | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 8 | Rory Fitzpatrick | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 35 | Mika Noronen | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 10 | Henrik Tallinder | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 43 | Martin Biron | 72 | 31 | 28 | 10 | 1781 | 151 | 2.22 | .915 | 4 | 4085 |
| 35 | Mika Noronen | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 217 | 23 | 2.66 | .894 | 0 | 518 |
| 31 | Bob Essensa | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 113 | 17 | 2.91 | .850 | 0 | 350 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Alexei Zhitnik | |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Tim Connolly | |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Ales Kotalik | November 12, 2001 |
| First game | Norm Milley | January 25, 2002 |
| First game | Henrik Tallinder | April 12, 2002 |

## Transactions

The Sabres were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2001, the day after the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 13, 2002, the day of the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 24, 2001 (2001-06-24) | To Buffalo Sabres 5th-round pick in 20018th-round pick in 20019th-round pick in 2001 | To San Jose Sharks 5th-round pick in 2001 |
| June 24, 2001 (2001-06-24) | To Buffalo Sabres Tim ConnollyTaylor Pyatt | To New York Islanders Rights to Michael Peca |
| June 30, 2001 (2001-06-30) | To Buffalo Sabres Vyacheslav Kozlov1st-round pick in 2002Future considerations | To Detroit Red Wings Dominik Hasek |
| March 19, 2002 (2002-03-19) | To Buffalo Sabres Bob Corkum | To Atlanta Thrashers 5th-round pick in 2002 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| August 2, 2001 (2001-08-02) | Christian Matte | Minnesota Wild | Free agency |
| August 3, 2001 (2001-08-03) | Bob Essensa | Vancouver Canucks | Free agency |
| August 9, 2001 (2001-08-09) | Tom Askey | Rochester Americans (AHL) | Free agency |
| August 9, 2001 (2001-08-09) | Mario Larocque | Tampa Bay Lightning | Free agency |
| August 14, 2001 (2001-08-14) | Rory Fitzpatrick | Edmonton Oilers | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | Vladimir Tsyplakov | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| July 2, 2001 (2001-07-02) | Donald Audette | Dallas Stars | Free agency (III) |
| July 4, 2001 (2001-07-04) | Steve Heinze | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (III) |
| July 13, 2001 (2001-07-13) | Dave Andreychuk | Tampa Bay Lightning | Free agency (III) |
| August 23, 2001 (2001-08-23) | Jason Holland | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (VI) |
| October 6, 2001 (2001-10-06) | Doug Gilmour | Montreal Canadiens | Free agency (III) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2001 (2001-06-26) | Stu Barnes | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 26, 2001 (2001-06-26) | James Patrick | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 28, 2001 (2001-06-28) | Richard Smehlik | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 28, 2001 (2001-06-28) | Vaclav Varada | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 30, 2001 (2001-06-30) | Dominik Hasek | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 3, 2001 (2001-07-03) | Rob Ray | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2001 (2001-07-16) | Ales Kotalik | | Entry-level |
| July 16, 2001 (2001-07-16) | Henrik Tallinder | | Entry-level |
| July 23, 2001 (2001-07-23) | Doug Janik | | Entry-level |
| July 30, 2001 (2001-07-30) | Chris Taylor | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2001 (2001-07-31) | Rhett Warrener | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2001 (2001-08-02) | Doug Houda | | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2001 (2001-08-08) | Miroslav Satan | 2-year | Arbitration award |
| August 20, 2001 (2001-08-20) | Eric Boulton | multi-year | Re-signing |
| September 6, 2001 (2001-09-06) | Jean-Pierre Dumont | 3-year | Re-signing |
| September 7, 2001 (2001-09-07) | Denis Hamel | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 11, 2001 (2001-09-11) | Alexei Zhitnik | 2-year | Re-signing |
| October 2, 2001 (2001-10-02) | Erik Rasmussen | 2-year | Re-signing |
| January 15, 2002 (2002-01-15) | Stu Barnes | 3-year | Extension |
| June 1, 2002 (2002-06-01) | Paul Gaustad | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2002 (2002-06-01) | Sean McMorrow | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Buffalo's draft picks at the 2001 NHL entry draft held at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 22 | Jiri Novotny | Czech Republic | HC České Budějovice (Czech Republic) |
| 2 | 32 | Derek Roy | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 2 | 50 | Chris Thorburn | Canada | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 2 | 55 | Jason Pominville | United States | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 155 | Michal Vondrka | Czech Republic | HC České Budějovice (Czech Republic) |
| 8 | 234 | Carl Aslund | Sweden | Huddinge IK (Sweden) |
| 8 | 247 | Marek Dubec | Slovakia | Vsetín HC (Czech Republic) |
| 9 | 279 | Ryan Jorde | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |