# 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. 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 to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.
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 the 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 game five of the Conference finals. As of 2024, this remains the most recent season the Sabres won a playoff series.

## 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.

## 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. They did not lose a game in regulation until exactly one month into the season, in their thirteenth game, when they lost to Toronto. The Sabres also set an NHL record by winning their first ten road games of the season, not losing outside of HSBC Arena until November 18 in Ottawa. This record would not be broken until 2023, when the Los Angeles Kings won their 11th straight road game to start the season.
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. 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. Briere recorded a goal and four assists in the game, and was named Most Valuable Player of the game. Thomas Vanek was also invited to All-Star Weekend to play in the YoungStars game.
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. 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. 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.
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.
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.

### 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 |
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 :
| 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

## 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 quarterfinals: vs. (8) New York Islanders

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

### Eastern Conference semifinals: 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.

### 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, four games to one.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2006–07 regular season :
October: 10–0–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 6–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 4Buffalo3 – 2CarolinaSOMiller18,8401–0–02Recap
2October 6Montreal4 – 5BuffaloSOMiller18,6902–0–04Recap
3October 7Buffalo4 – 3OttawaBiron19,2023–0–06Recap
4October 13Buffalo3 – 2DetroitSOMiller20,0664–0–08Recap
5October 14NY Rangers4 – 7BuffaloMiller18,6905–0–010Recap
6October 17Philadelphia1 – 9BuffaloMiller18,6906–0–012Recap
7October 20Carolina4 – 5BuffaloMiller18,6907–0–014Recap
8October 21Buffalo6 – 2BostonBiron14,3828–0–016Recap
9October 23Buffalo4 – 1MontrealMiller21,2739–0–018Recap
10October 26Buffalo3 – 0NY IslandersMiller8,86110–0–020Recap
11October 28Atlanta5 – 4BuffaloSOMiller18,69010–0–121Recap :
November: 9–3–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 5–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
12November 2Buffalo5 – 4BostonSOMiller12,54711–0–123Recap
13November 4Toronto4 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69011–1–123Recap
14November 5Buffalo4 – 3NY RangersOTBiron18,20012–1–125Recap
15November 10Florida4 – 5BuffaloOTBiron18,69013–1–127Recap
16November 11Buffalo5 – 4PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,63314–1–129Recap
17November 13Buffalo7 – 4CarolinaBiron14,38715–1–131Recap
18November 15Ottawa4 – 2BuffaloBiron18,69015–2–131Recap
19November 17Pittsburgh2 – 4BuffaloBiron18,69016–2–133Recap
20November 18Buffalo1 – 4OttawaMiller19,77016–3–133Recap
21November 20Tampa Bay2 – 7BuffaloMiller18,69017–3–135Recap
22November 22Toronto4 – 7BuffaloMiller18,69018–3–137Recap
23November 24Montreal2 – 1BuffaloOTMiller18,69018–3–238Recap
24November 26Buffalo3 – 2NY RangersOTMiller18,20019–3–240Recap :
December: 9–4–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 4–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
25December 1NY Rangers3 – 4BuffaloSOMiller18,69020–3–242Recap
26December 2Buffalo4 – 7WashingtonBiron17,16220–4–242Recap
27December 5Buffalo4 – 1Tampa BayMiller20,02521–4–244Recap
28December 7Buffalo1 – 3FloridaMiller15,38521–5–244Recap
29December 9Buffalo3 – 2MontrealSOMiller21,27322–5–246Recap
30December 12Buffalo3 – 2New JerseyMiller11,15623–5–248Recap
31December 14Florida1 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69024–5–250Recap
32December 16Ottawa3 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69024–6–250Recap
33December 19Montreal5 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69024–7–250Recap
34December 21Buffalo7 – 2NashvilleBiron16,61625–7–252Recap
35December 23Buffalo2 – 3St. LouisOTBiron12,51325–7–353Recap
36December 26Washington3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69026–7–355Recap
37December 28Carolina1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69027–7–357Recap
38December 30Atlanta1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69028–7–359Recap :
January: 6–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
39January 1NY Islanders1 – 3BuffaloMiller18,69029–7–361Recap
40January 3Buffalo3 – 6OttawaMiller19,77729–8–361Recap
41January 5Pittsburgh4 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69029–9–361Recap
42January 6Buffalo4 – 3TorontoBiron19,48730–9–363Recap
43January 10Buffalo2 – 1ChicagoMiller14,04131–9–365Recap
44January 11Toronto4 – 2BuffaloBiron18,69031–10–365Recap
45January 13Tampa Bay3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69031–11–365Recap
46January 15Buffalo2 – 3BostonSOMiller15,58531–11–466Recap
47January 17Boston3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69032–11–468Recap
48January 19Vancouver3 – 4BuffaloSOMiller18,69033–11–470Recap
49January 20Buffalo3 – 4MontrealBiron21,27333–12–470Recap
50January 26Buffalo2 – 3ColumbusMiller18,13633–13–470Recap
51January 27Buffalo3 – 5NY IslandersMiller15,21833–14–470Recap
52January 30Boston1 – 7BuffaloBiron18,69034–14–472Recap :
February: 8–2–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 3–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
53February 1Buffalo3 – 1BostonBiron13,85335–14–474Recap
54February 3Buffalo2 – 3New JerseyMiller18,58935–15–474Recap
55February 6Buffalo4 – 3AtlantaSOMiller17,88136–15–476Recap
56February 7Ottawa2 – 3BuffaloBiron18,69037–15–478Recap
57February 10Calgary2 – 3BuffaloSOMiller18,69038–15–480Recap
58February 15Edmonton1 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,69039–15–482Recap
59February 17Boston4 – 3BuffaloSOMiller18,69039–15–583Recap
60February 20Philadelphia3 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69040–15–585Recap
61February 22Ottawa5 – 6BuffaloSOMiller18,69041–15–587Recap
62February 24Buffalo5 – 6OttawaMiller20,04041–16–587Recap
63February 27Buffalo6 – 1TorontoMiller19,58842–16–589Recap :
March: 8–5–2 (home: 5–3–0; road: 3–2–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
64March 2Montreal5 – 8BuffaloMiller18,69043–16–591Recap
65March 3Buffalo3 – 1TorontoMiller19,51544–16–593Recap
66March 7Colorado3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69044–17–593Recap
67March 9Minnesota5 – 1BuffaloMiller18,69044–18–593Recap
68March 10New Jersey3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,69044–19–593Recap
69March 13Buffalo4 – 5PittsburghSOMiller17,13244–19–694Recap
70March 15Buffalo5 – 3FloridaConklin18,11145–19–696Recap
71March 16Buffalo3 – 2Tampa BayMiller21,26446–19–698Recap
72March 18Buffalo3 – 4AtlantaOTMiller18,60246–19–799Recap
73March 21Washington2 – 5BuffaloMiller18,69047–19–7101Recap
74March 23Toronto4 – 5BuffaloMiller18,69048–19–7103Recap
75March 24Buffalo1 – 4TorontoMiller19,57148–20–7103Recap
76March 28New Jersey3 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69049–20–7105Recap
77March 30NY Islanders4 – 6BuffaloMiller18,69050–20–7107Recap
78March 31Buffalo3 – 4MontrealConklin21,27350–21–7107Recap :
April: 3–1–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
79April 3Buffalo4 – 1PittsburghMiller17,13251–21–7109Recap
80April 5Boston2 – 4BuffaloMiller18,69052–21–7111Recap
81April 7Buffalo2 – 0WashingtonMiller18,27753–21–7113Recap
82April 8Buffalo3 – 4PhiladelphiaConklin19,02753–22–7113Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2007 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Islanders – Sabres win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 12NY Islanders1 – 4BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 1–0Recap
2April 14NY Islanders3 – 2BuffaloMiller18,690Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 16Buffalo3 – 2NY IslandersMiller16,234Sabres lead 2–1Recap
4April 18Buffalo4 – 2NY IslandersMiller16,234Sabres lead 3–1Recap
5April 20NY Islanders3 – 4BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres win 4–1Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (6) New York Rangers – Sabres win 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 25NY Rangers2 – 5BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 1–0Recap
2April 27NY Rangers2 – 3BuffaloMiller18,690Sabres lead 2–0Recap
3April 29Buffalo1 – 2NY Rangers2OTMiller18,200Sabres lead 2–1Recap
4May 1Buffalo1 – 2NY RangersMiller18,200Series tied 2–2Recap
5May 4NY Rangers1 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,690Sabres lead 3–2Recap
6May 6Buffalo5 – 4NY RangersMiller18,200Sabres win 4–2Recap :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (4) Ottawa Senators – Senators win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 10Ottawa5 – 2BuffaloMiller18,690Senators lead 1–0Recap
2May 12Ottawa4 – 3Buffalo2OTMiller18,690Senators lead 2–0Recap
3May 14Buffalo0 – 1OttawaMiller20,171Senators lead 3–0Recap
4May 16Buffalo3 – 2OttawaMiller20,294Senators lead 3–1Recap
5May 19Ottawa3 – 2BuffaloOTMiller18,690Senators win 4–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

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

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
* ‡ = 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 | 63 | 40 | 16 | 6 | 1886 | 168 | 2.73 | .911 | 2 | 3692 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 489 | 38 | 2.22 | .922 | 0 | 1029 |
| 43 | Martin Biron‡ | 19 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 533 | 54 | 3.04 | .899 | 0 | 1066 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Ty Conklin† | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 13 | 3.43 | .892 | 0 | 227 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL Plus-Minus Award | Thomas Vanek |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Thomas Vanek (Left Wing) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Daniel Briere |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Brian Campbell |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ryan Miller |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Lindy Ruff (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL First Star of the Month | Ryan Miller (October) |
| League (in-season) | NHL First Star of the Week | Maxim Afinogenov (October 22) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Drew Stafford (March) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Thomas Vanek |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Drew Stafford | November 5, 2006 |
| First game | Mike Card | November 11, 2006 |
| First game | Michael Funk | November 18, 2006 |
| First game | Michael Ryan | November 22, 2006 |
| First game | Andrej Sekera | December 9, 2006 |
| First game | Clarke MacArthur | December 19, 2006 |
| First game | Patrick Kaleta | February 22, 2006 |
| First game | Mark Mancari | February 24, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Sabres were involved in the following transactions from June 20, 2006, the day after the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 6, 2007, the day of the deciding game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10) | To Edmonton OilersRights to Jan Hejda | To Buffalo Sabres7th-round pick in 2007 |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | To Vancouver CanucksTaylor Pyatt | To Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2007 |
| February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) | To Philadelphia Flyers Martin Biron | To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2007 |
| February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th-round pick in 2007 | To Buffalo Sabres Ty Conklin |
| February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) | To Washington Capitals Jiri Novotny1st-round pick in 2007 | To Buffalo Sabres Dainius ZubrusTimo Helbling |
| February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) | To Nashville Predators 4th-round pick in 2007 | To Buffalo Sabres Mikko Lehtonen |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref |
| July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05) | Jaroslav Spacek | Edmonton Oilers | 3-year | Free agency | |
| September 7, 2006 (2006-09-07) | Adam Berkhoel | Atlanta Thrashers | | Free agency | |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Jay McKee | St. Louis Blues | Free agency (III) |
| July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03) | Mike Grier | San Jose Sharks | Free agency (III) |
| July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06) | Doug Janik | Tampa Bay Lightning | Free agency (VI) |
| July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) | Michael Leighton | Anaheim Ducks | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 17, 2006 (2006-07-17) | David Cullen | DEG Metro Stars (DEL) | Free agency (III) |
| August 2, 2006 (2006-08-02) | Chris Taylor | Frankfurt Lions (DEL) | Free agency (III) |
| August 8, 2006 (2006-08-08) | Jean-Pierre Dumont | Nashville Predators | Release (II) |
| August 18, 2006 (2006-08-18) | Rory Fitzpatrick | Vancouver Canucks | Free agency (III) |
| October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03) | Chris Thorburn | Pittsburgh Penguins | Waivers |
| October 4, 2006 (2006-10-04) | Sean McMorrow | Chicago Wolves (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 25, 2006 (2006-10-25) | Jeff Jillson | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) | Free agency (II) |
| June 4, 2007 (2007-06-04) | Timo Helbling | HC Lugano (NLA) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03) | Teppo Numminen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10) | Andrew Peters | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 11, 2006 (2006-07-11) | Brian Campbell | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) | Martin Biron | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Nathan Paetsch | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Derek Roy | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Andrej Sekera | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21) | Henrik Tallinder | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 23, 2006 (2006-07-23) | Ales Kotalik | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 27, 2006 (2006-07-27) | Toni Lydman | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 27, 2006 (2006-07-27) | Jason Pominville | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2006 (2006-07-28) | Tim Connolly | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2006 (2006-07-30) | Paul Gaustad | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2006 (2006-08-01) | Maxim Afinogenov | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2006 (2006-08-03) | Daniel Briere | 1-year | Arbitration award |
| August 6, 2006 (2006-08-06) | Adam Mair | 1-year | Arbitration award |
| August 30, 2006 (2006-08-30) | Dmitri Kalinin | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 8, 2006 (2006-09-08) | Ryan Miller | 3-year | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12) | Jiri Novotny | | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12) | Michael Ryan | | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12) | Chris Thorburn | | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12) | Marek Zagrapan | | Entry-level |
| October 12, 2006 (2006-10-12) | Adam Dennis | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) | Marc-Andre Gragnani | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 3, 2007 (2007-06-03) | Philip Gogulla | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2006 NHL entry draft in Vancouver, British Columbia. 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.