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.^[1] 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.

2006–07 Buffalo Sabres
Presidents' Trophy winners
Northeast Division champions
Division	1st Northeast
Conference	1st Eastern
2006–07 record	53–22–7
Home record	28–10–3
Road record	25–12–4
Goals for	308
Goals against	242
Team information
General manager	Darcy Regier
Coach	Lindy Ruff
Captain	Daniel Briere and Chris Drury
Alternate captains	Teppo Numminen
Arena	HSBC Arena
Average attendance	18,690
Team leaders
Goals	Thomas Vanek (43)
Assists	Daniel Briere (63)
Points	Daniel Briere (95)
Penalty minutes	Adam Mair (128)
Plus/minus	Thomas Vanek (+47)
Wins	Ryan Miller (40)
Goals against average	Ryan Miller (2.73)
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

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.^[2]

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.^[3] They did not lose a game in regulation until exactly one month into the season, in their thirteenth game, when they lost to Toronto.^[4] The Sabres also set an NHL record by winning their first ten road games of the season,^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7] Briere recorded a goal and four assists in the game, and was named Most Valuable Player of the game.^[8] Thomas Vanek was also invited to All-Star Weekend to play in the YoungStars game.^[9]

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.^[10] 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.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

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

^[15]

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^[16]

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

Main article: 2007 Stanley Cup 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[17]
October: 10–0–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 6–0–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 4 Buffalo 3 – 2 Carolina SO Miller 18,840 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 6 Montreal 4 – 5 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 7 Buffalo 4 – 3 Ottawa Biron 19,202 3–0–0 6 Recap 4 October 13 Buffalo 3 – 2 Detroit SO Miller 20,066 4–0–0 8 Recap 5 October 14 NY Rangers 4 – 7 Buffalo Miller 18,690 5–0–0 10 Recap 6 October 17 Philadelphia 1 – 9 Buffalo Miller 18,690 6–0–0 12 Recap 7 October 20 Carolina 4 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 7–0–0 14 Recap 8 October 21 Buffalo 6 – 2 Boston Biron 14,382 8–0–0 16 Recap 9 October 23 Buffalo 4 – 1 Montreal Miller 21,273 9–0–0 18 Recap 10 October 26 Buffalo 3 – 0 NY Islanders Miller 8,861 10–0–0 20 Recap 11 October 28 Atlanta 5 – 4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 10–0–1 21 Recap
November: 9–3–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 5–1–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 12 November 2 Buffalo 5 – 4 Boston SO Miller 12,547 11–0–1 23 Recap 13 November 4 Toronto 4 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 11–1–1 23 Recap 14 November 5 Buffalo 4 – 3 NY Rangers OT Biron 18,200 12–1–1 25 Recap 15 November 10 Florida 4 – 5 Buffalo OT Biron 18,690 13–1–1 27 Recap 16 November 11 Buffalo 5 – 4 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,633 14–1–1 29 Recap 17 November 13 Buffalo 7 – 4 Carolina Biron 14,387 15–1–1 31 Recap 18 November 15 Ottawa 4 – 2 Buffalo Biron 18,690 15–2–1 31 Recap 19 November 17 Pittsburgh 2 – 4 Buffalo Biron 18,690 16–2–1 33 Recap 20 November 18 Buffalo 1 – 4 Ottawa Miller 19,770 16–3–1 33 Recap 21 November 20 Tampa Bay 2 – 7 Buffalo Miller 18,690 17–3–1 35 Recap 22 November 22 Toronto 4 – 7 Buffalo Miller 18,690 18–3–1 37 Recap 23 November 24 Montreal 2 – 1 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 18–3–2 38 Recap 24 November 26 Buffalo 3 – 2 NY Rangers OT Miller 18,200 19–3–2 40 Recap
December: 9–4–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 4–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 25 December 1 NY Rangers 3 – 4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 20–3–2 42 Recap 26 December 2 Buffalo 4 – 7 Washington Biron 17,162 20–4–2 42 Recap 27 December 5 Buffalo 4 – 1 Tampa Bay Miller 20,025 21–4–2 44 Recap 28 December 7 Buffalo 1 – 3 Florida Miller 15,385 21–5–2 44 Recap 29 December 9 Buffalo 3 – 2 Montreal SO Miller 21,273 22–5–2 46 Recap 30 December 12 Buffalo 3 – 2 New Jersey Miller 11,156 23–5–2 48 Recap 31 December 14 Florida 1 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 24–5–2 50 Recap 32 December 16 Ottawa 3 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 24–6–2 50 Recap 33 December 19 Montreal 5 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 24–7–2 50 Recap 34 December 21 Buffalo 7 – 2 Nashville Biron 16,616 25–7–2 52 Recap 35 December 23 Buffalo 2 – 3 St. Louis OT Biron 12,513 25–7–3 53 Recap 36 December 26 Washington 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 26–7–3 55 Recap 37 December 28 Carolina 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 27–7–3 57 Recap 38 December 30 Atlanta 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 28–7–3 59 Recap
January: 6–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 39 January 1 NY Islanders 1 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 29–7–3 61 Recap 40 January 3 Buffalo 3 – 6 Ottawa Miller 19,777 29–8–3 61 Recap 41 January 5 Pittsburgh 4 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 29–9–3 61 Recap 42 January 6 Buffalo 4 – 3 Toronto Biron 19,487 30–9–3 63 Recap 43 January 10 Buffalo 2 – 1 Chicago Miller 14,041 31–9–3 65 Recap 44 January 11 Toronto 4 – 2 Buffalo Biron 18,690 31–10–3 65 Recap 45 January 13 Tampa Bay 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 31–11–3 65 Recap 46 January 15 Buffalo 2 – 3 Boston SO Miller 15,585 31–11–4 66 Recap 47 January 17 Boston 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 32–11–4 68 Recap 48 January 19 Vancouver 3 – 4 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 33–11–4 70 Recap 49 January 20 Buffalo 3 – 4 Montreal Biron 21,273 33–12–4 70 Recap 50 January 26 Buffalo 2 – 3 Columbus Miller 18,136 33–13–4 70 Recap 51 January 27 Buffalo 3 – 5 NY Islanders Miller 15,218 33–14–4 70 Recap 52 January 30 Boston 1 – 7 Buffalo Biron 18,690 34–14–4 72 Recap
February: 8–2–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 3–2–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 53 February 1 Buffalo 3 – 1 Boston Biron 13,853 35–14–4 74 Recap 54 February 3 Buffalo 2 – 3 New Jersey Miller 18,589 35–15–4 74 Recap 55 February 6 Buffalo 4 – 3 Atlanta SO Miller 17,881 36–15–4 76 Recap 56 February 7 Ottawa 2 – 3 Buffalo Biron 18,690 37–15–4 78 Recap 57 February 10 Calgary 2 – 3 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 38–15–4 80 Recap 58 February 15 Edmonton 1 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 39–15–4 82 Recap 59 February 17 Boston 4 – 3 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 39–15–5 83 Recap 60 February 20 Philadelphia 3 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 40–15–5 85 Recap 61 February 22 Ottawa 5 – 6 Buffalo SO Miller 18,690 41–15–5 87 Recap 62 February 24 Buffalo 5 – 6 Ottawa Miller 20,040 41–16–5 87 Recap 63 February 27 Buffalo 6 – 1 Toronto Miller 19,588 42–16–5 89 Recap
March: 8–5–2 (home: 5–3–0; road: 3–2–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 64 March 2 Montreal 5 – 8 Buffalo Miller 18,690 43–16–5 91 Recap 65 March 3 Buffalo 3 – 1 Toronto Miller 19,515 44–16–5 93 Recap 66 March 7 Colorado 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–17–5 93 Recap 67 March 9 Minnesota 5 – 1 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–18–5 93 Recap 68 March 10 New Jersey 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 44–19–5 93 Recap 69 March 13 Buffalo 4 – 5 Pittsburgh SO Miller 17,132 44–19–6 94 Recap 70 March 15 Buffalo 5 – 3 Florida Conklin 18,111 45–19–6 96 Recap 71 March 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 Tampa Bay Miller 21,264 46–19–6 98 Recap 72 March 18 Buffalo 3 – 4 Atlanta OT Miller 18,602 46–19–7 99 Recap 73 March 21 Washington 2 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 47–19–7 101 Recap 74 March 23 Toronto 4 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 48–19–7 103 Recap 75 March 24 Buffalo 1 – 4 Toronto Miller 19,571 48–20–7 103 Recap 76 March 28 New Jersey 3 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 49–20–7 105 Recap 77 March 30 NY Islanders 4 – 6 Buffalo Miller 18,690 50–20–7 107 Recap 78 March 31 Buffalo 3 – 4 Montreal Conklin 21,273 50–21–7 107 Recap
April: 3–1–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 2–1–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 79 April 3 Buffalo 4 – 1 Pittsburgh Miller 17,132 51–21–7 109 Recap 80 April 5 Boston 2 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 52–21–7 111 Recap 81 April 7 Buffalo 2 – 0 Washington Miller 18,277 53–21–7 113 Recap 82 April 8 Buffalo 3 – 4 Philadelphia Conklin 19,027 53–22–7 113 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2007 Stanley Cup playoffs[17]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Islanders – Sabres win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 12 NY Islanders 1 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 1–0 Recap 2 April 14 NY Islanders 3 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 April 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 NY Islanders Miller 16,234 Sabres lead 2–1 Recap 4 April 18 Buffalo 4 – 2 NY Islanders Miller 16,234 Sabres lead 3–1 Recap 5 April 20 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres win 4–1 Recap
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (6) New York Rangers – Sabres win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 25 NY Rangers 2 – 5 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 1–0 Recap 2 April 27 NY Rangers 2 – 3 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 2–0 Recap 3 April 29 Buffalo 1 – 2 NY Rangers 2OT Miller 18,200 Sabres lead 2–1 Recap 4 May 1 Buffalo 1 – 2 NY Rangers Miller 18,200 Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 May 4 NY Rangers 1 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 Sabres lead 3–2 Recap 6 May 6 Buffalo 5 – 4 NY Rangers Miller 18,200 Sabres win 4–2 Recap
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (4) Ottawa Senators – Senators win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 10 Ottawa 5 – 2 Buffalo Miller 18,690 Senators lead 1–0 Recap 2 May 12 Ottawa 4 – 3 Buffalo 2OT Miller 18,690 Senators lead 2–0 Recap 3 May 14 Buffalo 0 – 1 Ottawa Miller 20,171 Senators lead 3–0 Recap 4 May 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 Ottawa Miller 20,294 Senators lead 3–1 Recap 5 May 19 Ottawa 3 – 2 Buffalo OT Miller 18,690 Senators win 4–1 Recap
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						Playoffs
			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										Playoffs
		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	Ref
League (annual)	NHL Plus-Minus Award	Thomas Vanek	[18]
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Thomas Vanek (Left Wing)	[19]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Daniel Briere[lower-alpha 1]	[21]
		Brian Campbell[lower-alpha 1]
		Ryan Miller[lower-alpha 1]
		Lindy Ruff (coach)
	NHL First Star of the Month	Ryan Miller (October)	[22]
	NHL First Star of the Week	Maxim Afinogenov (October 22)	[23]
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Drew Stafford (March)	[24]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Thomas Vanek	[25]

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.^[26]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 10, 2006	To Edmonton Oilers Rights to Jan Hejda	To Buffalo Sabres 7th-round pick in 2007	[27]
July 14, 2006	To Vancouver Canucks Taylor Pyatt	To Buffalo Sabres 4th-round pick in 2007	[28]
February 27, 2007	To Philadelphia Flyers Martin Biron	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2007	[29]
February 27, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th-round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Ty Conklin	[30]
February 27, 2007	To Washington Capitals Jiri Novotny 1st-round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Dainius Zubrus Timo Helbling	[31]
February 27, 2007	To Nashville Predators 4th-round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Mikko Lehtonen	[32]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05)	Jaroslav Spacek	Edmonton Oilers	3-year	Free agency	[33]
September 7, 2006 (2006-09-07)	Adam Berkhoel	Atlanta Thrashers		Free agency	[34]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[lower-alpha 2]	Ref
July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01)	Jay McKee	St. Louis Blues	Free agency (III)	[36]
July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03)	Mike Grier	San Jose Sharks	Free agency (III)	[37]
July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06)	Doug Janik	Tampa Bay Lightning	Free agency (VI)	[38]
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13)	Michael Leighton	Anaheim Ducks	Free agency (UFA)	[39]
July 17, 2006 (2006-07-17)	David Cullen	DEG Metro Stars (DEL)	Free agency (III)	[40]
August 2, 2006 (2006-08-02)	Chris Taylor	Frankfurt Lions (DEL)	Free agency (III)	[41]
August 8, 2006 (2006-08-08)	Jean-Pierre Dumont	Nashville Predators[lower-alpha 3]	Release (II)[lower-alpha 4]	[43]
August 18, 2006 (2006-08-18)	Rory Fitzpatrick	Vancouver Canucks	Free agency (III)	[44]
October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03)	Chris Thorburn	Pittsburgh Penguins	Waivers	[45]
October 4, 2006 (2006-10-04)	Sean McMorrow	Chicago Wolves (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[46]
October 25, 2006 (2006-10-25)	Jeff Jillson	Eisbaren Berlin (DEL)	Free agency (II)	[47]
June 4, 2007 (2007-06-04)	Timo Helbling	HC Lugano (NLA)	Free agency	[48]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
July 3, 2006 (2006-07-03)	Teppo Numminen	1-year	Re-signing	[49]
July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10)	Andrew Peters	1-year	Re-signing	[27]
July 11, 2006 (2006-07-11)	Brian Campbell	multi-year	Re-signing	[50]
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13)	Martin Biron	1-year	Re-signing	[51]
July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14)	Nathan Paetsch	1-year	Re-signing	[52]
	Derek Roy	1-year	Re-signing	[52]
	Andrej Sekera	3-year	Entry-level	[52]
July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21)	Henrik Tallinder	multi-year	Re-signing	[53]
July 23, 2006 (2006-07-23)	Ales Kotalik	multi-year	Re-signing	[54]
July 27, 2006 (2006-07-27)	Toni Lydman	multi-year	Re-signing	[55]
	Jason Pominville	multi-year	Re-signing	[55]
July 28, 2006 (2006-07-28)	Tim Connolly	3-year	Re-signing	[56]
July 30, 2006 (2006-07-30)	Paul Gaustad	2-year	Re-signing	[57]
August 1, 2006 (2006-08-01)	Maxim Afinogenov	3-year	Re-signing	[58]
August 3, 2006 (2006-08-03)	Daniel Briere	1-year	Arbitration award	[59]
August 6, 2006 (2006-08-06)	Adam Mair	1-year	Arbitration award	[60]
August 30, 2006 (2006-08-30)	Dmitri Kalinin	2-year	Re-signing	[61]
September 8, 2006 (2006-09-08)	Ryan Miller	3-year	Re-signing	[62]
September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12)	Jiri Novotny		Re-signing	[63]
	Michael Ryan		Re-signing	[63]
	Chris Thorburn		Re-signing	[63]
	Marek Zagrapan		Entry-level	[63]
October 12, 2006 (2006-10-12)	Adam Dennis	3-year	Entry-level	[64]
June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01)	Marc-Andre Gragnani	3-year	Entry-level	[65]
June 3, 2007 (2007-06-03)	Philip Gogulla	3-year	Entry-level	[66]

Draft picks

Buffalo's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[67] 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.

See also

• 2006–07 NHL season

Notes

1. Briere, Campbell, and Miller were voted to the starting lineup.^[20]
2. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[35]
3. Dumont signed with Nashville on August 29.^[42]
4. Dumont received a $2.9 million arbitration award on August 2. Buffalo elected to “walk away” from the award, making Dumont an unrestricted free agent.

References

• "Buffalo Sabres 2006-07 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
• "2006-07 Buffalo Sabres Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.

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40. "David Cullen". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2024. 17-Jul-06: Signed with the Dusseldorfer EG of the Deutsche Liga (Germany).
41. "Chris Taylor". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2024. 02-Aug-06: Signed with the Frankfurt Lions of the Deutsche Liga (Germany).
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External links

• NHL Team Salaries - Buffalo Sabres from nhlnumbers.com