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. Buffalo missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
==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.
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.http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-host-prospects-tournament-september/ 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.
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.http://www.wkbw.com/news/first-niagara-center-to-receive-new-name 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==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
==Schedule and results==
===Pre-season===
2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)	2016 Pre-season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap 	
1 	September 26 	Minnesota 	2–1 	Buffalo 	 	Ullmark 	— 	0–1–0 	Recap 	
2 	September 27 	Ottawa 	2–3 	Buffalo 	OT 	Lehner 	17,868 	1–1–0 	Recap 	
3 	September 29 	Buffalo 	1–0 	Toronto 	SO 	Nilsson 	— 	2–1–0 	Recap 	
4 	September 30 	Toronto 	8–1 	Buffalo 	 	Kasdorf 	17,866 	2-2-0 	Recap 	
5 	October 4 	Carolina 	0–2 	Buffalo 	 	Lehner 	— 	3–2–0 	Recap 	
6 	October 5 	Buffalo 	2–3 	Carolina 	SO 	Ullmark 	— 	3–2–1 	Recap 	
7 	October 7 	Buffalo 	4–2 	Ottawa 	 	Lehner 	14,216 	4–2–1 	Recap 	
===Regular season===
2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log 	2016–17 Game Log
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October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)	October: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–1–2)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap 	
1 	October 13 	Montreal 	4–1 	Buffalo 	 	Lehner 	19,070 	0–1–0 	0 	Recap 	
2 	October 16 	Buffalo 	6–2 	Edmonton 	 	Lehner 	18,347 	1–1–0 	2 	Recap 	
3 	October 18 	Buffalo 	3–4 	Calgary 	OT 	Lehner 	19,289 	1–1–1 	3 	Recap 	
4 	October 20 	Buffalo 	1–2 	Vancouver 	 	Lehner 	17,809 	1–2–1 	3 	Recap 	
5 	October 25 	Buffalo 	3–4 	Philadelphia 	SO 	Nilsson 	19,209 	1–2–2 	4 	Recap 	
6 	October 27 	Minnesota 	4–0 	Buffalo 	 	Nilsson 	18,122 	1–3–2 	4 	Recap 	
7 	October 29 	Florida 	0–3 	Buffalo 	 	Nilsson 	18,261 	2–3–2 	6 	Recap 	
8 	October 30 	Buffalo 	3–1 	Winnipeg 	 	Lehner 	15,294 	3–3–2 	8 	Recap 	
== Player stats ==
As of April 9, 2017
===Skaters===
 Regular season 
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	61	24	33	57	–13	22
 	72	20	35	55	–1 	10
 	79	17	30	47	−11	8
 	65	19	26	45	–7 	24
 	79	6 	39	45	−9 	58
 	70	28	15	43	–17	113
 	82	15	20	35	–11	22
 	81	14	18	32	–4 	10
 	80	13	10	23	–1 	73
 	76	3 	17	20	–7 	26
 	68	3 	16	19	–5 	34
 	75	7 	9 	16	−7 	18
 	51	5 	8 	13	−10	12
 	36	6 	5 	11	−7 	20
 	56	2 	9 	11	−17	46
 	41	5 	3 	8 	–1 	21
 	52	0 	8 	8 	–3 	29
 	27	0 	7 	7 	3 	16
 	30	4 	2 	6 	–7 	4
 	66	1 	5 	6 	–3 	50
 	47	2 	3 	5 	−26	26
 	14	3 	1 	4 	1 	6
 	32	2 	2 	4 	0 	4
‡† 	40	0 	3 	3 	−3 	19
 	42	0 	2 	2 	−6 	38
 	10	0 	1 	1 	−1 	2
 	4 	0 	1 	1 	–2 	0
 	11	0 	1 	1 	−6 	0
 	4 	0 	1 	1 	2 	0
 	2 	0 	1 	1 	–1 	0
 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0 	4
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	11	0 	0 	0 	−3 	4
===Goaltenders===
 Regular season 
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	59	58	3405:28	23	26	8	152	2.68	1,910	.920	2	0	1	6
 	26	23	1484:15	10	10	4	66 	2.67	857 	.923	1	0	0	0
 	1 	1 	58:44 	0 	1 	0	3 	3.05	36 	.917	0	0	0	0
†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.
==Roster==
==Transactions==
The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 season:
===Trades===
Date	Details	Details	Ref
 	To Florida Panthers
----Mark Pysyk2nd-round pick in 2016STL's 3rd-round pick in 2016	To Buffalo Sabres
----Dmitry KulikovVAN's 2nd-round pick in 2016	
 	To St. Louis Blues
----5th-round pick in 2017	To Buffalo Sabres
----Anders Nilsson	
 	To New York Rangers
----Daniel Catenacci	To Buffalo Sabres
----Mat Bodie	
;Notes
===Free agents acquired===
Date 	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
July 1, 2016 	Kyle Okposo 	New York Islanders 	7 years, $42 million contract 	
July 1, 2016 	Taylor Fedun 	Utica Comets 	1 year, $600,000 two-way contract 	
July 1, 2016 	Justin Falk 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	1 year, $650,000, two-way contract 	
July 2, 2016 	Derek Grant 	Stockton Heat 	1 year, $650,000, two-way contract 	
July 21, 2016 	Erik Burgdoerfer	Hershey Bears 	1 year, $575,000 two-way contract 	
March 30, 2017	C. J. Smith 	UMass Lowell 	2 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract	
May 25, 2017 	Victor Antipin 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	1 year, $1.775 million entry-level contract	
===Free agents lost===
Date 	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016 	Chad Johnson 	Calgary Flames 	1 year, $1.7 million 	Hoppe, Bill (July 1, 2016). Reports: Sabres sign Kyle Okposo to 7-year contract. Olean Times Herald. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
July 1, 2016 	Chad Ruhwedel 	Pittsburgh Penguins	1 year, $575,000 	
July 1, 2016 	Tim Schaller 	Boston Bruins 	1 year, $600,000 	
July 19, 2016	Nathan Lieuwen	San Antonio Rampage	1 year, amount undisclosed 	
===Claimed via waivers===
Player 	Previous team 	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Derek Grant	Nashville Predators	February 6, 2017 	
===Lost via waivers===
Player 	New team 	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Derek Grant	Nashville Predators	January 11, 2017 	
===Lost via retirement===
Player 	Ref
Matt Ellis	Matt Ellis announces retirement
===Players released===
Date	Player	Via	Ref
===Player signings===
Date	Player 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
 	Casey Nelson 	2 years, $1.3 million 	
 	Jake McCabe 	3 years, $4.8 million 	
 	Cole Schneider 	1 year, $600,000 	
 	Marcus Foligno 	1 year, $2.25 million 	
 	Alexander Nylander	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Dan Catenacci 	1 year, $575,000, two-way contract 	
 	Jason Kasdorf 	2 years, $1.15 million, two-way contract 	
 	Zemgus Girgensons 	1 year, $1.15 million 	
 	Rasmus Ristolainen	6 years, $32.4 million 	
 	Justin Falk 	1 year, $650,000 contract extension 	
 	Sean Malone 	2 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract 	
 	Devante Stephens 	3 years, $2.3 million entry-level contract 	
 	Jonas Johansson 	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract	
 	Linus Ullmark 	2 years, $1.5 million 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.
Round	# 	Player 	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	8 	Alexander Nylander	LW 	 	Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)
2 	33 	Rasmus Asplund 	C 	 	Farjestad BK (SHL)
3 	69 	Cliff Pu 	C 	 	London Knights (OHL)
3 	86 	Casey Fitzgerald 	D 	 	Boston College Eagles (HE)
4 	99 	Brett Murray 	LW 	 	Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)
5 	129	Philip Nyberg 	D 	 	Linköpings HC (SHL)
5 	130	Vojtech Budik 	D 	 	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
6 	159	Brandon Hagel 	LW 	 	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
7 	189	Austin Osmanski 	D 	 	Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)
7 	190	Vasily Glotov 	C 	 	Lvy St. Petersburg (MHL)
;Notes
* The Vancouver Canucks' second-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 25, 2016 that sent Mark Pysyk, a second-round pick and St. Louis' third-round pick both in 2016 (38th and 89th overall) to Florida in exchange for Dmitry Kulikov and this pick.
:Florida previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on May 25, 2016 that sent Erik Gudbranson and the Islanders fifth-round pick in 2016 to Vancouver in exchange for Jared McCann, a fourth-round pick in 2016 and this pick.
* The Buffalo Sabres' second-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 25, 2016 that sent Dmitri Kulikov and Vancouver's second-round pick in 2016 (33rd overall) to Buffalo in exchange for Mark Pysyk, St. Louis' third-round pick in 2016 (89th overall) and this pick.
* The Dallas Stars' third-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on February 11, 2015 that sent Jhonas Enroth to Dallas in exchange for Anders Lindback and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Buffalo will receive a third-round pick in 2016 if Enroth wins fewer than four playoff games for the Stars in 2015 – was converted on April 6, 2015 when the Stars were eliminated from playoff contention.
* The Montreal Canadiens' fifth-round pick will go to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015 that sent Brian Flynn to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
* The Montreal Canadiens' seventh-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015 that sent Torrey Mitchell to Montreal in exchange for Jack Nevins and this pick.
==References==
Category:Buffalo Sabres seasons
Buffalo Sabres