# 2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season was the 36th season of operation, 35th season of play, for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The season not only saw the team qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2000–01 season, but saw them advance to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.
After starting the season 7–8–0 through their first 15 games by November 9, 2005, the Sabres were sitting in fifth place in the Northeast Division and were trailing the Northeast Division-leading Ottawa Senators by 11 points. The Sabres then went on to have only eight regulation losses out of their next 50 games; by March 16, 2006, they had improved to 44–16–5 to move within one point of the Northeast Division-leading Senators. Despite having only two players to play all 82 games (Ales Kotalik and Henrik Tallinder), Buffalo would finish the season with a 52–24–6 record for 110 points and a fourth-place finish heading into the playoffs. The season was the first 100–point season in 23 years and tied the 1979–80 club for the second-best point total in franchise history. The Sabres were one of five teams to reach the century mark in power-play goals during the regular season, scoring 101. The Sabres also finished with 25 road wins, another franchise record.
The Sabres were recognized on June 22, 2006, at the NHL Awards Ceremony, when Lindy Ruff edged Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette to win the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in the closest vote in the award's history. Ruff was the second Sabres coach to win the award.

## Regular season

On January 14, 2006, the Sabres defeated the Los Angeles Kings at home by a score of 10–1. Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville each had hat-tricks in the game. It was the first time that the Sabres had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game since February 24, 1993, when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings at home by a score of 10–7.

### Season standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 281 | 239 | 110 |
| 3 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 4 | 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 5 | 13 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs

The Buffalo Sabres earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Buffalo defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-round of the 2006 playoffs in six games. In the second round, the Sabres defeated top-seeded Ottawa in five games. A total of three victories in the series came in overtime, including the series-clinching Game 5, which was won on a short-handed goal by Jason Pominville to send Buffalo to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was the first time in NHL history that a series had been decided on a short-handed overtime goal.
Despite being without some or all of their four top defensemen (Teppo Numminen, Dmitri Kalinin, Jay McKee and Henrik Tallinder), and their top powerplay scorer, Tim Connolly, who had 11 points in eight games in the playoffs, for much of the series, the Sabres fought back from a three-games-to-two deficit to force a seventh game by way of a 2–1 overtime win in Game 6. Buffalo led the Hurricanes 2–1 going into the final period of the deciding game but blew the lead early in the third and gave up two more late goals for a 4–2 final score.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2005–06 regular season :
October: 7–4–0 (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 5NY Islanders4 – 6BuffaloMiller15,7021–0–02Recap
2October 7Boston1 – 4BuffaloMiller13,7712–0–04Recap
3October 8Buffalo0 – 5OttawaMiller19,6612–1–04Recap
4October 10Pittsburgh2 – 3BuffaloOTMiller12,0503–1–06Recap
5October 13Buffalo4 – 3Tampa BaySOMiller20,1844–1–08Recap
6October 15Buffalo2 – 3FloridaMiller17,4264–2–08Recap
7October 20Buffalo4 – 3BostonMiller14,5255–2–010Recap
8October 22NY Rangers1 – 3BuffaloMiller16,3466–2–012Recap
9October 26Washington3 – 2BuffaloMiller8,5526–3–012Recap
10October 28Buffalo2 – 3New JerseyMiller12,3786–4–012Recap
11October 29Buffalo6 – 4NY IslandersBiron13,2267–4–014Recap :
November: 8–5–1 (home: 4–3–1; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
12November 2Ottawa10 – 4BuffaloNoronen13,9057–5–014Recap
13November 4Montreal3 – 2BuffaloBiron18,6907–6–014Recap
14November 5Buffalo2 – 3MontrealBiron21,2737–7–014Recap
15November 9Carolina5 – 3BuffaloBiron13,1067–8–014Recap
16November 11Toronto2 – 5BuffaloBiron18,6908–8–016Recap
17November 12Buffalo1 – 6OttawaBiron19,4148–9–016Recap
18November 15New Jersey1 – 4BuffaloBiron13,0229–9–018Recap
19November 17Washington5 – 8BuffaloBiron12,47110–9–020Recap
20November 19Buffalo3 – 2BostonNoronen17,56511–9–022Recap
21November 22NY Rangers3 – 2BuffaloSOBiron16,01811–9–123Recap
22November 23Buffalo4 – 3NY IslandersSOBiron13,21212–9–125Recap
23November 25Montreal1 – 3BuffaloBiron16,00913–9–127Recap
24November 27Buffalo3 – 2WashingtonBiron11,65814–9–129Recap
25November 29Buffalo3 – 2PittsburghBiron15,11815–9–131Recap :
December: 11–2–1 (home: 5–1–0; road: 6–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
26December 1Buffalo3 – 2MontrealOTBiron21,27416–9–133Recap
27December 2San Jose5 – 0BuffaloNoronen18,00716–10–133Recap
28December 4Buffalo6 – 4ColoradoBiron18,00717–10–135Recap
29December 8Anaheim2 – 3BuffaloOTBiron12,50418–10–137Recap
30December 11Buffalo3 – 2MinnesotaBiron18,56819–10–139Recap
31December 14Dallas3 – 4BuffaloBiron16,57520–10–141Recap
32December 16Buffalo4 – 3PittsburghOTBiron16,64821–10–143Recap
33December 17Pittsburgh3 – 4BuffaloBiron18,69022–10–145Recap
34December 19Buffalo2 – 1PhiladelphiaSOMiller19,57223–10–147Recap
35December 22Buffalo1 – 4FloridaBiron17,82323–11–147Recap
36December 23Buffalo4 – 1Tampa BayMiller21,12024–11–149Recap
37December 26NY Islanders3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69025–11–151Recap
38December 29Buffalo3 – 4TorontoSOBiron19,36425–11–252Recap
39December 30Atlanta1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69026–11–254Recap :
January: 6–4–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
40January 1Florida2 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69026–12–254Recap
41January 5Tampa Bay1 – 3BuffaloMiller18,03227–12–256Recap
42January 7New Jersey3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69027–13–256Recap
43January 12Phoenix2 – 1BuffaloSOBiron18,69027–13–357Recap
44January 14Los Angeles1 – 10BuffaloMiller18,69028–13–359Recap
45January 16Buffalo3 – 1EdmontonMiller16,83929–13–361Recap
46January 19Buffalo1 – 4VancouverMiller18,63029–14–361Recap
47January 21Buffalo1 – 4CalgaryBiron19,28929–15–361Recap
48January 24Buffalo2 – 1NY RangersMiller18,20030–15–363Recap
49January 26Buffalo8 – 4TorontoMiller19,47731–15–365Recap
50January 31Buffalo5 – 2AtlantaMiller14,02132–15–367Recap :
February: 4–0–2 (home: 3–0–1; road: 1–0–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
51February 2Philadelphia2 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69033–15–369Recap
52February 4Ottawa1 – 2BuffaloSOMiller17,45134–15–371Recap
53February 7Buffalo3 – 2MontrealOTMiller21,27335–15–373Recap
54February 9Montreal3 – 2BuffaloOTMiller17,34435–15–474Recap
55February 11Florida3 – 5BuffaloMiller18,69036–15–476Recap
56February 12Buffalo3 – 4CarolinaSOMiller18,73036–15–577Recap :
March: 9–7–1 (home: 6–3–0; road: 3–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
57March 1Atlanta4 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69036–16–577Recap
58March 3Toronto2 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69037–16–579Recap
59March 4Buffalo3 – 2BostonBiron16,06538–16–581Recap
60March 7Boston2 – 3BuffaloMiller18,11739–16–583Recap
61March 9Tampa Bay5 – 8BuffaloMiller17,93440–16–585Recap
62March 11Buffalo6 – 5PhiladelphiaBiron19,71741–16–587Recap
63March 12Boston2 – 6BuffaloBiron18,69042–16–589Recap
64March 14Buffalo6 – 4WashingtonMiller14,38643–16–591Recap
65March 16Toronto1 – 3BuffaloMiller18,69044–16–593Recap
66March 18Buffalo2 – 4OttawaMiller19,94744–17–593Recap
67March 20Buffalo0 – 5AtlantaBiron14,13344–18–593Recap
68March 22Carolina4 – 3BuffaloMiller18,69044–19–593Recap
69March 24Ottawa3 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69044–20–593Recap
70March 25Buffalo4 – 5BostonMiller15,71044–21–593Recap
71March 27Buffalo4 – 5NY RangersSOMiller18,20044–21–694Recap
72March 29Boston3 – 4BuffaloMiller16,26145–21–696Recap
73March 30Buffalo1 – 3New JerseyBiron12,42545–22–696Recap :
April: 7–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 4–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
74April 1Buffalo0 – 7TorontoMiller19,43445–23–696Recap
75April 3Buffalo3 – 2TorontoSOBiron19,32046–23–698Recap
76April 5Ottawa4 – 5BuffaloOTBiron17,62247–23–6100Recap
77April 7Philadelphia4 – 2BuffaloMiller16,90947–24–6100Recap
78April 8Buffalo6 – 2OttawaMiller19,57548–24–6102Recap
79April 12Montreal1 – 3BuffaloMiller18,20149–24–6104Recap
80April 15Buffalo4 – 2MontrealMiller21,27350–24–6106Recap
81April 16Toronto0 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69051–24–6108Recap
82April 18Buffalo4 – 0CarolinaBiron18,73052–24–6110Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2006 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers – Sabres win 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 22Philadelphia2 – 3Buffalo2OTMiller18,690Sabres lead 1–0Recap
2April 24Philadelphia2 – 8BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 2–0Recap
3April 26Buffalo2 – 4PhiladelphiaMiller19,984Sabres lead 2–1Recap
4April 28Buffalo4 – 5PhiladelphiaMiller20,092Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 30Philadelphia0 – 3BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 3–2Recap
6May 2Buffalo7 – 1PhiladelphiaMiller19,967Sabres win 4–2Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Ottawa Senators – Sabres win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 5Buffalo7 – 6OttawaOTMiller19,544Sabres lead 1–0Recap
2May 8Buffalo2 – 1OttawaMiller19,816Sabres lead 2–0Recap
3May 10Ottawa2 – 3BuffaloOTMiller18,690Sabres lead 3–0Recap
4May 11Ottawa2 – 1BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 3–1Recap
5May 13Buffalo3 – 2OttawaOTMiller20,024Sabres win 4–1Recap :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (2) Carolina Hurricanes – Hurricanes win 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 20Buffalo3 – 2CarolinaMiller18,730Sabres lead 1–0Recap
2May 22Buffalo3 – 4CarolinaMiller18,730Series tied 1–1Recap
3May 24Carolina3 – 4BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 2–1Recap
4May 26Carolina4 – 0BuffaloMiller18,690Series tied 2–2Recap
5May 28Buffalo3 – 4CarolinaOTMiller18,730Hurricanes lead 3–2Recap
6May 30Carolina1 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,690Series tied 3–3Recap
7June 1Buffalo2 – 4CarolinaMiller18,730Hurricanes win 4–3Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) 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 | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 61 | Maxim Afinogenov | RW | 77 | 22 | 51 | 73 | 6 | 84 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 10 |
| 23 | Chris Drury | C | 81 | 30 | 37 | 67 | −11 | 32 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 5 | 10 |
| 12 | Ales Kotalik | RW | 82 | 25 | 37 | 62 | −3 | 62 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 8 |
| 48 | Daniel Briere | C | 48 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 3 | 48 | 18 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 | Tim Connolly | C | 63 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 5 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | Thomas Vanek | LW | 81 | 25 | 23 | 48 | −11 | 72 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| 9 | Derek Roy | C | 70 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 1 | 57 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 16 |
| 51 | Brian Campbell | D | 79 | 12 | 32 | 44 | −14 | 16 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −5 | 12 |
| 55 | Jochen Hecht | LW | 64 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 10 | 34 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| 17 | Jean-Pierre Dumont | RW | 54 | 20 | 20 | 40 | −1 | 38 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| 27 | Teppo Numminen | D | 75 | 2 | 38 | 40 | 6 | 36 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 29 | Jason Pominville | RW | 57 | 18 | 12 | 30 | −4 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| 28 | Paul Gaustad | C | 78 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 4 | 65 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| 25 | Mike Grier | RW | 81 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −7 | 28 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| 10 | Henrik Tallinder | D | 82 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 10 | 74 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 16 |
| 45 | Dmitri Kalinin | D | 55 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 54 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | Toni Lydman | D | 75 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 82 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 18 |
| 74 | Jay McKee | D | 75 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 57 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 30 |
| 24 | Taylor Pyatt | LW | 41 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −1 | 33 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −2 | 10 |
| 8 | Rory Fitzpatrick | D | 56 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −18 | 50 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −1 | 16 |
| 22 | Adam Mair | C | 40 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 13 | Jiri Novotny | C | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 20 | Daniel Paille | LW | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Ryan Miller | G | 48 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 38 | Nathan Paetsch | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Chris Thorburn | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | Martin Biron | G | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Jeff Jillson | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
| 35 | Mika Noronen‡ | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 76 | Andrew Peters | LW | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Doug Janik | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 2 |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Ryan Miller | 48 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 1440 | 124 | 2.60 | .914 | 1 | 2862 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 522 | 48 | 2.56 | .908 | 1 | 1123 |
| 43 | Martin Biron | 35 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 980 | 93 | 2.88 | .905 | 1 | 1934 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Mika Noronen‡ | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 77 | 12 | 4.27 | .844 | 0 | 169 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Jack Adams Award | Lindy Ruff |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Ryan Miller (December 26) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Ryan Miller (February 6) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Thomas Vanek | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Chris Thorburn | December 2, 2005 |
| First game | Daniel Paille | December 22, 2005 |
| First game | Nathan Paetsch | January 7, 2006 |
| First game | Jiri Novotny | January 12, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Sabres were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Calgary Flames 3rd-round pick in 2005 | To Buffalo Sabres 3rd-round pick in 20054th-round pick in 2005 |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Washington Capitals 6th-round pick in 2006 | To Buffalo Sabres Rights to Tim Kennedy |
| August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25) | To Calgary Flames 3rd-round pick in 2006 | To Buffalo Sabres Toni Lydman |
| October 4, 2005 (2005-10-04) | To Chicago Blackhawks Milan Bartovic | To Buffalo Sabres Michael Leighton |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Mika Noronen | To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2006 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref |
| August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04) | Teppo Numminen | Dallas Stars | 1-year | Free agency | |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| February 24, 2005 (2005-02-24) | Jason Botterill | | Retirement (UFA) |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | Miroslav Satan | New York Islanders | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08) | Eric Boulton | Atlanta Thrashers | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Norm Milley | Tampa Bay Lightning | Free agency (VI) |
| August 31, 2005 (2005-08-31) | Brandon Smith | Rochester Americans (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Todd Rohloff | Tampa Bay Lightning | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 10, 2005 (2005-09-10) | Brad Brown | Toronto Maple Leafs | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 21, 2005 (2005-09-21) | Tom Askey | HIFK (Liiga) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 13, 2005 (2005-10-13) | Ryan Jorde | Danbury Trashers (UHL) | Free agency (UFA) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Clarke MacArthur | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29) | Rory Fitzpatrick | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29) | Dmitri Kalinin | 1-year | Option exercised |
| August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04) | Taylor Pyatt | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08) | Mike Grier | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Martin Biron | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Brian Campbell | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Ryan Miller | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Maxim Afinogenov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Milan Bartovic | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Daniel Briere | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Tim Connolly | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Jean-Pierre Dumont | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Paul Gaustad | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Jochen Hecht | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Jeff Jillson | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Ales Kotalik | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Jason Pominville | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Michael Ryan | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Henrik Tallinder | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 9, 2005 (2005-09-09) | Jay McKee | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 14, 2005 (2005-09-14) | Sean McMorrow | | Re-signing |
| October 11, 2005 (2005-10-11) | Mark Mancari | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 3, 2006 (2006-05-03) | Drew Stafford | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Mike Card | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Michael Funk | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Dylan Hunter | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Patrick Kaleta | multi-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

As there was no 2004–05 season to set the order for the draft, a lottery was held in which teams were assigned a number of balls, between one and three, based on the number of playoff appearances the team had had in the past three seasons. As the Sabres had missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, they were one of only four teams which had the full allotment of three balls in the lottery. Despite this advantage, the Sabres only ended up with the 13th overall pick.
Buffalo's picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario:
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | NHL team | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 13 | Marek Zagrapan (C) | Slovakia | Buffalo Sabres | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 48 | Philipp Gogulla (W) | Germany | Buffalo Sabres | Kolner Haie (DEL) |
| 3 | 87 | Marc-Andre Gragnani (D) | Canada | Buffalo Sabres (from Calgary Flames) | P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 96 | Chris Butler (D) | United States | Buffalo Sabres (from Calgary Flames) | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) |
| 5 | 142 | Nathan Gerbe (C) | United States | Buffalo Sabres | US National Team Development Program |
| 6 | 182 | Adam Dennis (G) | Canada | Buffalo Sabres | London Knights (OHL) |
| 6 | 191 | Vyacheslav Buravchikov (D) | Russia | Buffalo Sabres (from Minnesota Wild) | Krylia (Russia 2) |
| 7 | 208 | Matt Generous (D) | United States | Buffalo Sabres | New England Junior Falcons (EJHL) |
| 7 | 227 | Andrew Orpik (D) | United States | Buffalo Sabres | Thayer Academy (USHS) |