# 1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season

The 1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season was the Buffalo Sabres second season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sabres failed to make the playoffs.

## Offseason

An $8.7 million (approximately $67.5 million in 2024 dollars) renovation took place after the 1970–71 inauguration of the Sabres and Buffalo Braves franchises. The arena's roof was raised 24 feet, making room for a new upper level. This raised the total capacity of the arena to over 17,000 for basketball and 15,858 for hockey, making it a more suitable home for the NBA and NHL.

## Regular season

For the second consecutive season the Sabres had a breakout rookie performance by their first round draft pick. Rick Martin would score 44 goals breaking the NHL rookie scoring record of 38 set the previous season by Gilbert Perreault. Despite the efforts of their young phenoms the Sabres would finish with a worse record than their inaugural season and again miss the Playoffs. During the season Eddie Shack was traded to Pittsburgh for Rene Robert.

### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 54 | 13 | 11 | 330 | 204 | +126 | 119 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 78 | 48 | 17 | 13 | 317 | 192 | +125 | 109 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 46 | 16 | 16 | 307 | 205 | +102 | 108 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 33 | 31 | 14 | 209 | 208 | +1 | 80 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 33 | 35 | 10 | 261 | 262 | −1 | 76 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 203 | 289 | −86 | 51 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 20 | 50 | 8 | 203 | 297 | −94 | 48 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 10, 1971 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 12, 1971 | 1–9 | @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 14, 1971 | 2–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | L | October 16, 1971 | 3–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 1–3–0 |
| 5 | L | October 17, 1971 | 2–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 1–4–0 |
| 6 | W | October 20, 1971 | 7–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 2–4–0 |
| 7 | L | October 21, 1971 | 2–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 2–5–0 |
| 8 | L | October 23, 1971 | 1–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 2–6–0 |
| 9 | L | October 24, 1971 | 2–3 | St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 2–7–0 |
| 10 | W | October 27, 1971 | 3–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 3–7–0 |
| 11 | T | October 30, 1971 | 4–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 3–7–1 |
| 12 | T | October 31, 1971 | 2–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 3–7–2 |
| 13 | T | November 4, 1971 | 4–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 3–7–3 |
| 14 | W | November 5, 1971 | 5–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 4–7–3 |
| 15 | T | November 7, 1971 | 3–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 4–7–4 |
| 16 | L | November 11, 1971 | 2–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 4–8–4 |
| 17 | L | November 13, 1971 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 4–9–4 |
| 18 | T | November 14, 1971 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 4–9–5 |
| 19 | L | November 18, 1971 | 5–7 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 4–10–5 |
| 20 | L | November 21, 1971 | 3–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 4–11–5 |
| 21 | L | November 24, 1971 | 3–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 4–12–5 |
| 22 | L | November 27, 1971 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 4–13–5 |
| 23 | L | November 28, 1971 | 3–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 4–14–5 |
| 24 | L | December 1, 1971 | 2–7 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 4–15–5 |
| 25 | W | December 2, 1971 | 2–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 5–15–5 |
| 26 | L | December 4, 1971 | 1–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 5–16–5 |
| 27 | W | December 5, 1971 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 6–16–5 |
| 28 | L | December 9, 1971 | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 6–17–5 |
| 29 | T | December 11, 1971 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 6–17–6 |
| 30 | L | December 12, 1971 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 6–18–6 |
| 31 | L | December 15, 1971 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 6–19–6 |
| 32 | L | December 16, 1971 | 0–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 6–20–6 |
| 33 | L | December 18, 1971 | 1–8 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 6–21–6 |
| 34 | W | December 19, 1971 | 5–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 7–21–6 |
| 35 | T | December 23, 1971 | 4–4 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 7–21–7 |
| 36 | T | December 25, 1971 | 4–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 7–21–8 |
| 37 | W | December 26, 1971 | 6–3 | St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 8–21–8 |
| 38 | L | December 29, 1971 | 3–7 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 8–22–8 |
| 39 | T | December 31, 1971 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 8–22–9 |
| 40 | T | January 2, 1972 | 4–4 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 8–22–10 |
| 41 | L | January 6, 1972 | 2–5 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 8–23–10 |
| 42 | L | January 9, 1972 | 1–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 8–24–10 |
| 43 | L | January 13, 1972 | 2–5 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 8–25–10 |
| 44 | L | January 15, 1972 | 2–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 8–26–10 |
| 45 | W | January 16, 1972 | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 9–26–10 |
| 46 | W | January 20, 1972 | 1–0 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 10–26–10 |
| 47 | L | January 22, 1972 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 10–27–10 |
| 48 | T | January 23, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 10–27–11 |
| 49 | L | January 26, 1972 | 1–5 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 10–28–11 |
| 50 | L | January 27, 1972 | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 10–29–11 |
| 51 | T | January 30, 1972 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 10–29–12 |
| 52 | L | February 3, 1972 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 10–30–12 |
| 53 | T | February 5, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 10–30–13 |
| 54 | W | February 6, 1972 | 8–2 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 11–30–13 |
| 55 | L | February 10, 1972 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 11–31–13 |
| 56 | L | February 12, 1972 | 1–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 11–32–13 |
| 57 | T | February 13, 1972 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 11–32–14 |
| 58 | L | February 17, 1972 | 0–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 11–33–14 |
| 59 | L | February 19, 1972 | 1–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 11–34–14 |
| 60 | L | February 20, 1972 | 0–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 11–35–14 |
| 61 | W | February 23, 1972 | 2–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 12–35–14 |
| 62 | W | February 24, 1972 | 5–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 13–35–14 |
| 63 | T | February 27, 1972 | 4–4 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 13–35–15 |
| 64 | L | March 1, 1972 | 1–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 13–36–15 |
| 65 | L | March 2, 1972 | 3–4 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 13–37–15 |
| 66 | L | March 5, 1972 | 2–6 | St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 13–38–15 |
| 67 | L | March 8, 1972 | 3–6 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 13–39–15 |
| 68 | L | March 10, 1972 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 13–40–15 |
| 69 | L | March 11, 1972 | 3–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 13–41–15 |
| 70 | W | March 14, 1972 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 14–41–15 |
| 71 | T | March 16, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 14–41–16 |
| 72 | L | March 17, 1972 | 2–6 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 14–42–16 |
| 73 | T | March 19, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 14–42–17 |
| 74 | W | March 22, 1972 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 15–42–17 |
| 75 | T | March 23, 1972 | 4–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 15–42–18 |
| 76 | T | March 26, 1972 | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 15–42–19 |
| 77 | L | March 30, 1972 | 1–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 15–43–19 |
| 78 | W | April 2, 1972 | 3–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 16–43–19 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Rick Martin | 73 | 44 | 30 | 74 | 36 | −38 | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| Gilbert Perreault | 76 | 26 | 48 | 74 | 24 | −40 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Gerry Meehan | 77 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 12 | −28 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Al Hamilton | 76 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 105 | −12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Eddie Shack | 50 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 34 | −11 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Atkinson | 67 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 26 | −22 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Lorentz | 33 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 12 | −11 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Evans | 61 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 98 | −20 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Goyette | 37 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 14 | −10 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Luce | 78 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 38 | −18 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Danny Lawson | 78 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 15 | −23 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Byers | 46 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 12 | −20 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Craig Ramsay | 57 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kevin O'Shea | 52 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 44 | −19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Robitaille | 31 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hillman | 43 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 58 | −21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tracy Pratt | 27 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rene Robert | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | −5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Watson | 66 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 101 | −33 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Wyrozub | 34 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Barrie | 27 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 45 | −21 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dick Duff | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Anderson | 37 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 19 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Zaine | 24 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ray McKay | 39 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | −12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Keenan | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butch Deadmarsh | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gould | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Ball | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Mickey | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Floyd Smith | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Crozier | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Dryden | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Terbenche | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Roger Crozier | 3654 | 63 | 13 | 34 | 14 | 214 | 3.51 | 2 |
| Dave Dryden | 1026 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 68 | 3.98 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 282 | 3.62 | 2 |

## Awards and records

The Sabres were not awarded any individual or team awards in the 1971–72 season.

## Transactions

| Date | Details | Details |
| May 25, 1971 | To Detroit Red Wings Joe Daley | To Buffalo Sabres Don Luce Mike Robitaille |
| November 16, 1971 | To Philadelphia FlyersLarry Keenan | To Buffalo SabresLarry Mickey |
| December 16, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsDoug Barrie Mike Keeler | To Buffalo SabresMike Byers Larry Hillman |
| January 14, 1972 | To New York Rangers2nd-round pick in 1972 (Larry Sacharuk) | Buffalo SabresJim Lorentz |
| March 4, 1972 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsEddie Shack | To Buffalo SabresRené Robert |
| March 5, 1972 | To St. Louis BluesChris Evans | To Buffalo SabresGeorge Morrison 2nd-round pick in 1972 (Larry Carriere) |
| March 5, 1972 | To New York RangersPhil Goyette (Negotiating Rights) | To Buffalo SabresCash |

### Intra-League Draft

| June 8, 1971 | From Chicago BlackhawksRay McKay |
| June 8, 1971 | To Toronto Maple LeafsDon Marshall |
| June 8, 1971 | From Toronto Maple LeafsRene Robert |
| June 8, 1971 | From Montreal CanadiensHugh Harris |
| June 8, 1971 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsRene Robert |
| June 8, 1971 | From Minnesota North StarsDanny Lawson |
| June 8, 1971 | From Pittsburgh PenguinsRod Zaine |
| June 8, 1971 | From Detroit Red WingsTom Miller |
| June 8, 1971 | From Toronto Maple LeafsKen Murray |
| June 8, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsGary Edwards |

### Reverse Draft

| June 7, 1971 | To Providence Reds (AHL)Brian Perry |

### Free Agency

| August 1971 | SignedJohn Gould |
| September 1971 | SignedRick Dudley |
| September 29, 1971 | SignedGary Bromley |

### Lost via retirement

* Player
* Jean-Guy Talbot

## Draft picks
### NHL draft

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 5 | Rick Martin | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) |
| 2 | 19 | Craig Ramsay | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 3 | 33 | Bill Hajt | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 4 | 47 | Bob Richer | Canada | Trois-Rivières Ducs (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 61 | Steve Warr | Canada | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 6 | 75 | Pierre Duguay | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |

## Farm teams

For the 1971–72 season Buffalo's AHL farm team was the Cincinnati Swords. In the team's inaugural season they would post a 30–28–18 record placing 3rd in the West Division which would secure a playoff berth. The first round brought the 2nd seed Hershey Bears who were swept. In the second round the Swords faced off against the 1st seed Baltimore Clippers losing the series 4–2.