2012–13 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2012–13 Buffalo Sabres season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.^[2] The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout. The season was the 15th and final season coached by Lindy Ruff, who was fired after a 6–10–1 start. The Sabres failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season.

2012–13 Buffalo Sabres
Division	5th Northeast
Conference	12th Eastern
2012–13 record	21–21–6
Home record	11–10–3
Road record	10–11–3
Goals for	125
Goals against	143
Team information
General manager	Darcy Regier
Coach	Lindy Ruff (Oct.–Feb.) Ron Rolston (interim, Feb.–Apr.)
Captain	Jason Pominville (Oct.–Apr.) Vacant (Apr.)
Alternate captains	Steve Ott (Apr.) Drew Stafford Thomas Vanek
Arena	First Niagara Center
Average attendance	18,970 (99.5%)[1]
Team leaders
Goals	Thomas Vanek (20)
Assists	Thomas Vanek (21) and Tyler Ennis (21)
Points	Thomas Vanek (41)
Penalty minutes	Steve Ott (93)
Plus/minus	Jochen Hecht, Christian Ehrhoff, and Brian Flynn (+6)
Wins	Ryan Miller (17)
Goals against average	Jhonas Enroth (2.60)
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

Off-season

Broadcast changes

On June 8, 2012, the Sabres announced that Rick Jeanneret, the longest-tenured play-by-play announcer in NHL history,^[3] would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame; Jeanneret will also receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. Rob Ray will replace Harry Neale as the full-time color commentator for all Sabres game broadcasts. Neale will join Mike Robitaille, whose role will remain unchanged, and Brian Duff, who will take over as full-time studio host, in the studio.^[4] Kevin Sylvester and Danny Gare, who served as the alternate broadcast team in 2011–12, were not originally going to reprise their roles in 2012–13; Sylvester instead revived the Hockey Hotline, a long-discontinued Sabres call-in talk show, for WGR.^[5] However, due to Jeanneret suffering an illness, Sylvester was pressed into service to call play-by-play for the first four games of the regular season.^[6]

Alumni Plaza

On July 12, 2012, the Sabres announced that the plaza adjacent to First Niagara Center would be re-branded Alumni Plaza. On October 12, 2012, a bronze French Connection statue was added to the plaza.^[7] Other plans included plaques with the name of every player to play a game for the team and fans having to opportunity to buy engraved bricks.

Lockout

On September 13, 2012, Buffalo Sabres owner Terrence Pegula, along with all 28 other league ownership groups (the League still collectively owns the Phoenix Coyotes), authorized NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to lock-out the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) upon the expiration of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on September 15.^[8] The lockout ended at 4:45 am EST on January 6, 2013, lasting 113 days.^[9] The lockout reduced the regular season from 82 to 48 games.

Overseas Sabres

After the announced lockout, players from the team began to sign contracts to play in Europe until resumption of NHL play.

Overseas Sabres

Player	New team	League
Thomas Vanek	Graz 99ers	Austrian Hockey League[10]
Tyler Ennis	SCL Tigers	Swiss National League[11]
Andrej Sekera	Slovan Bratislava	Kontinental Hockey League[12]
Christian Ehrhoff	Krefeld Pinguine	Deutsche Eishockey Liga[13]
Jhonas Enroth	Huddinge IK	Swedish Division 1[14]
Mike Weber	Lorenskog	GET-ligaen.[15]
Jason Pominville	Adler Mannheim	Deutsche Eishockey Liga[16]
Jochen Hecht	Adler Mannheim	Deutsche Eishockey Liga[17]
Alexander Sulzer	ERC Ingolstadt	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Tyler Myers	Klagenfurt AC	Austrian Hockey League[18]

Beyond Blue and Gold

During the abbreviated training camp the team released the first episodes in a new web-series called Beyond Blue and Gold. The series will run through the season with the goal to give fans an "all-access pass to the entire Sabres organization throughout the entire 2012–13 NHL season."^[19][20]

Regular season

After the lockout, the Sabres had an abbreviated one-week training camp. During the camp, the Sabres' first pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft, Mikhail Grigorenko, played well on a line with off-season trade acquisitions Steve Ott and Ville Leino. At the end of the camp, Grigorenko was put on the opening day roster.^[21] The Sabres were given five games to decide whether to keep him on the roster (and thus pay him a full season's salary) or send him back to his junior team, the Quebec Remparts; in the end, Grigorenko was kept on the roster after Leino suffered an injury. After several weeks of mediocre play and Leino's return to the active roster, Grigorenko returned to the Remparts. He remained with the Remparts until their elimination from the QMJHL playoffs, whereupon he returned to the Sabres.

After an unsuccessful 6–10–1 start, general manager Darcy Regier announced the firing of head coach Lindy Ruff^[22] Ruff coached the team since 1997 and was the team's most successful coach. It was further announced that Ron Rolston, who was the current coach of the Rochester Americans, would replace Ruff on an interim basis. The Sabres performed better under Rolston but were nonetheless eliminated from playoff contention following an 8–4 home loss to the New York Rangers.^[23]

The Sabres allowed the most shorthanded goals in the NHL, with seven.^[24]

Playoffs

The Sabres did not qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Standings

Northeast Division

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Montreal Canadiens	48	29	14	5	26	149	126	+23	63
2	x – Boston Bruins	48	28	14	6	24	131	109	+22	62
3	x – Toronto Maple Leafs	48	26	17	5	26	145	133	+12	57
4	x – Ottawa Senators	48	25	17	6	21	116	104	+12	56
5	Buffalo Sabres	48	21	21	6	14	125	143	−18	48

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Eastern Conference

Pos	Div	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	AT	z – Pittsburgh Penguins	48	36	12	0	33	165	119	+46	72
2	NE	y – Montreal Canadiens	48	29	14	5	26	149	126	+23	63
3	SE	y – Washington Capitals	48	27	18	3	24	149	130	+19	57
4	NE	x – Boston Bruins	48	28	14	6	24	131	109	+22	62
5	NE	x – Toronto Maple Leafs	48	26	17	5	26	145	133	+12	57
6	AT	x – New York Rangers	48	26	18	4	22	130	112	+18	56
7	NE	x – Ottawa Senators	48	25	17	6	21	116	104	+12	56
8	AT	x – New York Islanders	48	24	17	7	20	139	139	0	55
9	SE	Winnipeg Jets	48	24	21	3	22	128	144	−16	51
10	AT	Philadelphia Flyers	48	23	22	3	22	133	141	−8	49
11	AT	New Jersey Devils	48	19	19	10	17	112	129	−17	48
12	NE	Buffalo Sabres	48	21	21	6	14	115	143	−28	48
13	SE	Carolina Hurricanes	48	19	25	4	18	128	160	−32	42
14	SE	Tampa Bay Lightning	48	18	26	4	17	148	150	−2	40
15	SE	Florida Panthers	48	15	27	6	12	112	171	−59	36

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division; z – Clinched conference

Schedule and results

Original regular season schedule

2012–13 Original Schedule (For reference only)
October Game October Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 1 13 Pittsburgh Penguins First Niagara Center 2 16 Detroit Red Wings First Niagara Center 3 19 New York Rangers First Niagara Center 4 20 @ New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5 24 New Jersey Devils First Niagara Center 6 26 @ New Jersey Devils Prudential Center 7 28 Philadelphia Flyers First Niagara Center 8 30 @ Boston Bruins TD Garden
November Game November Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 9 1 Phoenix Coyotes First Niagara Center 10 3 Carolina Hurricanes First Niagara Center 11 6 @ Philadelphia Flyers Wells Fargo Center 12 8 @ San Jose Sharks HP Pavilion at San Jose 13 10 @ Phoenix Coyotes Jobing.com Arena 14 11 @ Anaheim Ducks Honda Center 15 16 Philadelphia Flyers First Niagara Center 16 17 @ Philadelphia Flyers Wells Fargo Center 17 21 Columbus Blue Jackets First Niagara Center 18 24 @New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 19 27 Winnipeg Jets First Niagara Center 20 29 Vancouver Canucks First Niagara Center
December Game December Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 21 1 @Boston Bruins TD Garden 22 3 @Toronto Maple Leafs Air Canada Centre 23 4 San Jose Sharks First Niagara Center 24 6 Montreal Canadiens First Niagara Center 25 8 @Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre 26 11 Ottawa Senators First Niagara Center 27 13 Chicago Blackhawks First Niagara Center 28 15 Montreal Canadiens First Niagara Center 29 17 @Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre 30 20 @Edmonton Oilers Rexall Place 31 22 @Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome 32 23 @Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center 33 26 Washington Capitals First Niagara Center 34 28 @Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center 35 29 @Winnipeg Jets MTS Centre 36 31 Ottawa Senators First Niagara Center
January Game January Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 37 3 Florida Panthers First Niagara Center 38 5 Tampa Bay Lightning First Niagara Center 39 8 @New York Rangers Madison Square Garden 40 9 Boston Bruins First Niagara Center 41 11 @Ottawa Senators Scotiabank Place 42 13 @Chicago Blackhawks United Center 43 15 @Ottawa Senators Scotiabank Place 44 17 New York Islanders First Niagara Center 45 19 Carolina Hurricanes First Niagara Center 46 21 Tampa Bay Lightning First Niagara Center 47 29 Toronto Maple Leafs First Niagara Center 48 31 @Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
February Game February Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 49 3 St. Louis Blues First Niagara Center 50 5 Los Angeles Kings First Niagara Center 51 6 @Boston Bruins TD Garden 52 8 Boston Bruins First Niagara Center 53 10 Ottawa Senators First Niagara Center 54 12 @Ottawa Senators Scotiabank Place 55 15 Montreal Canadiens First Niagara Center 56 17 Pittsburgh Penguins First Niagara Center 57 18 @New York Rangers Madison Square Garden 58 21 @Washington Capitals Verizon Center 59 23 New York Islanders First Niagara Center 60 26 @Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Times Forum 61 28 @Florida Panthers BB&T Center
March Game March Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 62 2 Nashville Predators First Niagara Center 63 5 @Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena 64 7 @New Jersey Devils Prudential Center 65 10 @Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center 66 12 Florida Panthers First Niagara Center 67 14 @Toronto Maple Leafs First Niagara Center 68 16 @Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center 69 17 @Washington Capitals Verizon Center 70 19 Toronto Maple Leafs First Niagara Center 71 21 Winnipeg Jets First Niagara Center 72 23 @Dallas Stars American Airlines Center 73 26 @Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Times Forum 74 28 @Florida Panthers BB&T Center 75 30 Washington Capitals First Niagara Center
April Game April Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 76 2 Toronto Maple Leafs First Niagara Center 77 4 New Jersey Devils First Niagara Center 78 6 @Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre 79 8 @Toronto Maple Leafs Air Canada Centre 80 9 @Winnipeg Jets MTS Centre 81 11 New York Rangers First Niagara Center 82 13 Boston Bruins First Niagara Center
2012–2013 Schedule

Revised regular season schedule

2012–13 Game Log Overall: 21–21–6 (Home: 11–10–3; Away: 10–11–3)
January: 3–3–1 (Home: 1–1–1; Road: 2–2–0) Game January Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 1 20 Philadelphia Flyers 5–2 Miller (1–0–0) First Niagara Center (19,070) 1–0–0 2 21 @Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 Miller (2–0–0) Air Canada Centre (19,475) 2–0–0 3 24 @Carolina Hurricanes 3–6 Enroth (0–1–0) PNC Arena (18,081) 2–1–0 4 25 Carolina Hurricanes 1–3 Miller (2–1–0) First Niagara Center (18,824) 2–2–0 5 27 @Washington Capitals 2–3 Miller (2–2–0) Verizon Center (18,506) 2–3–0 6 29 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–4 (OT) Miller (2–2–1) First Niagara Center (18,801) 2–3–1 7 31 @Boston Bruins 7–4 Miller (3–2–1) TD Garden (17,565) 3–3–1
February: 5–9–0 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 3–4–0) Game February Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 8 2 @Montreal Canadiens 1–6 Miller (3–3–1) Bell Centre (21,273) 3–4–1 9 3 Florida Panthers 3–4 Miller (3–4–1) First Niagara Center (18,831) 3–5–1 10 5 @Ottawa Senators 3–4 Enroth (0–2–0) Scotiabank Place (18,345) 3–6–1 11 7 Montreal Canadiens 5–4 (SO) Miller (4–4–1) First Niagara Center (18,866) 4–6–1 12 9 @New York Islanders 3–2 Miller (5–4–1) Nassau Coliseum (12,608) 5–6–1 13 10 Boston Bruins 1–3 Miller (5–5–1) First Niagara Center (18,869) 5–7–1 14 12 @Ottawa Senators 0–2 Miller (5–6–1) Scotiabank Place (18,429) 5–8–1 15 15 Boston Bruins 4–2 Miller (6–6–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 6–8–1 16 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Miller (6–7–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 6–9–1 17 19 Winnipeg Jets 1–2 Miller (6–8–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 6–10–1 18 21 @Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Miller (6–9–1) Air Canada Centre (19,473) 6–11–1 19 23 New York Islanders 0–4 Miller (6–10–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 6–12–1 20 26 @Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1 Miller (7–10–1) Tampa Bay Times Forum (19,204) 7–12–1 21 28 @Florida Panthers 4–3 (SO) Miller (8–10–1) BB&T Center (15,672) 8–12–1
March: 5–5–5 (Home: 3–1–2; Road: 2–4–3) Game March Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 22 2 New Jersey Devils 4–3 (SO) Miller (9–10–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 9–12–1 23 3 @New York Rangers 2–3 (SO) Miller (9–10–2) Madison Square Garden (17,200) 9–12–2 24 5 @Carolina Hurricanes 3–4 Miller (9–11–2) PNC Arena (15,277) 9–13–2 25 7 @New Jersey Devils 2–3 (SO) Miller (9–11–3) Prudential Center (17,625) 9–13–3 26 10 @Philadelphia Flyers 2–3 Miller (9–12–3) Wells Fargo Center (19,687) 9–14–3 27 12 New York Rangers 3–1 Enroth (1–2–0) First Niagara Center (19,070) 10–14–3 28 16 Ottawa Senators 3–4 (OT) Miller (9–12–4) First Niagara Center (19,070) 10–14–4 29 17 @Washington Capitals 3–5 Miller (9–13–4) Verizon Center (18,506) 10–15–4 30 19 @Montreal Canadiens 3–2 (OT) Enroth (2–2–0) Bell Centre (21,273) 11–15–4 31 21 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–4 (SO) Miller (10–13–4) First Niagara Center (19,070) 12–15–4 32 23 @Montreal Canadiens 2–1 Miller (11–13–4) Bell Centre (21,273) 13–15–4 33 26 @Tampa Bay Lightning 1–2 Miller (11–14–4) Tampa Bay Times Forum (19,204) 13–16–4 34 28 @Florida Panthers 4–5 (SO)[permanent dead link] Miller (11–14–5) BB&T Center (17,044) 13–16–5 35 30 Washington Capitals 3–4 (SO) Enroth (2–2–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 13–16–6 36 31 Boston Bruins 0–2 Miller (11–15–5) First Niagara Center (19,027) 13–17–6
April: 8–4–0 (Home: 5–3–0; Road: 3–1–0) Game April Opponent Score Decision Location/Attendance Record 37 2 @Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Miller (12–15–5) Consol Energy Center (18,642) 14–17–6 38 5 Ottawa Senators 4–2 Miller (13–15–5) First Niagara Center (18,811) 15–17–6 39 7 New Jersey Devils 3–2 (SO) Miller (14–15–5) First Niagara Center (18,703) 16–17–6 40 9 @Winnipeg Jets 1–4 Miller (14–16–5) MTS Centre (15,004) 16–18–6 41 11 Montreal Canadiens 1–5 Miller (14–17–5) First Niagara Center (19,070) 16–19–6 42 13 Philadelphia Flyers 1–0 Enroth (3–2–1) First Niagara Center (19,070) 17–19–6 43 14 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–1 Enroth (4–2–1) First Niagara Center (18,991) 18–19–6 44 17 @Boston Bruins 3–2 (SO) Miller (15–17–5) TD Garden (17,565) 19–19–6 45 19 New York Rangers 4–8 Enroth (4–3–1) First Niagara Center (19,003) 19–20–6 – 20 @Pittsburgh Penguins Game rescheduled to April 23 due to effects on Pittsburgh's schedule resulting from the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect.[25] 46 22 Winnipeg Jets 1–2 Enroth (4–4–1) First Niagara Center (18,654) 19–21–6 47 23 @Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Miller (16–17–5) Consol Energy Center (18,630) 20–21–6 48 26 New York Islanders 2–1 (SO) Miller (17–17–5) First Niagara Center (19,070) 21–21–6
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final regular season stats^[26]

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Thomas Vanek 38 20 21 41 −1 20 Cody Hodgson 48 15 19 34 −4 20 Tyler Ennis 47 10 21 31 −14 16 Jason Pominville‡ 37 10 15 25 1 8 Steve Ott 48 9 15 24 3 93 Christian Ehrhoff 47 5 17 22 6 34 Marcus Foligno 47 5 13 18 −4 41 Drew Stafford 46 6 12 18 −16 21 Jochen Hecht 47 5 9 14 6 18 Andrej Sekera 37 2 10 12 −2 4 Brian Flynn 26 6 5 11 6 0 Nathan Gerbe 42 5 5 10 −3 14 Kevin Porter 31 4 5 9 −1 10 Jordan Leopold‡ 24 2 6 8 −6 14 Tyler Myers 39 3 5 8 −8 32 Mike Weber 42 1 6 7 3 70 Ville Leino 8 2 4 6 0 6 Mikhail Grigorenko 25 1 4 5 −1 0 Mark Pysyk 19 1 4 5 −7 0 Alexander Sulzer 17 3 1 4 3 10 Adam Pardy 17 0 4 4 4 14 Robyn Regehr‡ 29 0 2 2 −4 21 Luke Adam 4 1 0 1 1 2 Patrick Kaleta 34 1 0 1 −4 67 T. J. Brennan‡ 10 1 0 1 −1 6 Cody McCormick 8 0 0 0 −2 10 Matt Ellis 6 0 0 0 0 0 John Scott 34 0 0 0 −1 69 Chad Ruhwedel 7 0 0 0 0 0 Totals* 48 118 203 321 −46 630

*Totals include goaltenders (G/A/Pts/PIM) and bench minors (PIM)

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Ryan Miller	40	39	2302:14	17	17	5	108	2.81	1270	.915	0	0	0	2
Jhonas Enroth	12	9	623:26	4	4	1	27	2.60	332	.919	1	0	0	0
Totals		48	2925:40	21	21	6	135	2.77	1602	.916	1	0	0	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Awards

Regular Season

Player	Award	Awarded
Thomas Vanek	NHL Third Star of the Month	February 1, 2013[27]
Thomas Vanek	NHL First Star of the Week	February 4, 2013[28]

Milestones

Regular Season Player Milestone Reached Mikhail Grigorenko 1st Career NHL Game January 20, 2013 Drew Stafford 400th Career NHL Game January 24, 2013 Mikhail Grigorenko 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point January 29, 2013 1st Career NHL Assist January 31, 2013 Cody Hodgson 100th Career NHL Game February 3, 2013 Tyler Ennis 100th Career NHL Point February 7, 2013 Alexander Sulzer 100th Career NHL Game February 9, 2013 Jordan Leopold 600th Career NHL Game February 12, 2013 Jochen Hecht 800th Career NHL Game Brian Flynn 1st Career NHL Game March 2, 2013 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point March 7, 2013 1st Career NHL Assist March 12, 2013 Mark Pysyk 1st Career NHL Game March 17, 2013 Jordan Leopold 200th Career NHL Point March 19, 2013 Ville Leino 100th Career NHL Point Steve Ott 600th Career NHL Game March 28, 2013 Christian Ehrhoff 600th Career NHL Game March 30, 2013 Mark Pysyk 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point April 2, 2013 Ryan Miller 492nd Career NHL Game (Sabres Goalie Franchise Record) Sabres Career Saves Record April 5, 2013 Chad Ruhwedel 1st Career NHL Game April 13, 2013 Patrick Kaleta 300th Career NHL Game April 17, 2013 Mark Pysyk 1st Career NHL Goal April 19, 2013 Ryan Miller 500th Career NHL Game April 26, 2013

Transactions

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2012–13 season:

Trades

Date	Details
June 22, 2012[29]	To Calgary Flames 1st-round pick (21st overall) in 2012 2nd-round pick (42nd overall) in 2012	To Buffalo Sabres 1st-round pick (14th overall) in 2012
July 2, 2012[30]	To Dallas Stars Derek Roy	To Buffalo Sabres Steve Ott Adam Pardy
March 15, 2013[31]	To Florida Panthers T. J. Brennan	To Buffalo Sabres 5th-round pick in 2013
March 30, 2013[32]	To St. Louis Blues Jordan Leopold	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2013 Conditional 5th-round pick in 2013[a]
April 1, 2013[33]	To Los Angeles Kings Robyn Regehr	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2014 2nd-round pick in 2015
April 3, 2013[34]	To Minnesota Wild Jason Pominville 4th-round pick in 2014	To Buffalo Sabres Matt Hackett Johan Larsson 1st-round pick in 2013 2nd-round pick in 2014

Condition satisfied. Free agents signed Player Former team Contract terms John Scott[35] New York Rangers 1 year, $600,000 Kevin Porter[36] Colorado Avalanche 2 years, $1.075 million Mark Mancari[36] Vancouver Canucks 1 year, $550,000 Nick Tarnasky[37] Vityaz Chekhov 1 year, $525,000 Tim Schaller[38] Providence College 2 years, entry-level contract Chad Ruhwedel[39] University of Massachusetts Lowell 2 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract

Free agents lost Player New team Contract terms Paul Szczechura[40] Lev Praha 1 year, undisclosed Shaone Morrisonn[41] Spartak Moscow Undisclosed Dennis Persson[41] Brynas IF Undisclosed Brad Boyes[42] New York Islanders 1 year, $1 million Michael Ryan[43] Assat 1 year, Undisclosed

Claimed via waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Lost via waivers Player New team Date claimed off waivers Joe Finley[44] New York Islanders January 14, 2013

Lost via retirement Player Player signings Player Date Contract terms Nathan Lieuwen[45] May 5, 2012 3 years, $1.715 million entry-level contract Alexander Sulzer[46] May 21, 2012 1 year, $725,000 contract extension Joel Armia[47][48] June 16, 2012 3 years, $3.825 million entry-level contract David Leggio[36] July 6, 2012 1 year, $550,000 Zemgus Girgensons[49] July 13, 2012 3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract T. J. Brennan[37] July 17, 2012 1 year, $550,000 Mikhail Grigorenko[50] July 18, 2012 3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract Drew Schiestel[51] July 25, 2012 1 year, $577,500 Patrick Kaleta[52] July 31, 2012 3 years, $3.75 million Alex Biega[53] August 2, 2012 1 year, $577,500 Tyler Ennis[54] September 15, 2012 2 years, $5.625 million Jochen Hecht[55] January 13, 2013 1 year, $1 million John Scott[56] May 20, 2013 1 year, $750,000 contract extension Colin Jacobs[57] May 30, 2013 3 years, $1.775 million entry-level contract Jhonas Enroth[58] June 20, 2013 2 years, 2.5 million Mike Weber[59] June 27, 2013 3 years, $5 million contract extension

Draft picks

See also: List of Buffalo Sabres draft picks

Buffalo Sabres' picks at the 2012 NHL entry draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 22 & 23, 2012.^[60]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	12	Mikhail Grigorenko	C	Russia	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
1	14[a]	Zemgus Girgensons	C	Latvia	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
2	44[b]	Jake McCabe	D	United States	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
3	73	Justin Kea	C	Canada	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
5	133	Logan Nelson	C	United States	Victoria Royals (WHL)
6	163	Linus Ullmark	G	Sweden	Modo Hockey Jr. (J20 SuperElit)
7	193	Brady Austin	D	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
7	204[c]	Judd Peterson	C/RW	United States	The Marshall School (USHS-MN)

Draft notes^[61]

• ^a The Calgary Flames's first-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as a result of a June 22, 2012, trade that sent a 2012 first-round pick and a 2012 second-round pick to the Flames in exchange for this pick.
• The Buffalo Sabres' second-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as a result of a June 22, 2012, trade that sent a 2012 first-round pick to the Sabres in exchange for a 2012 first-round pick this pick.
• ^b The Calgary Flames' second-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as a result of a June 25, 2011, trade that sent Chris Butler and Paul Byron to the Flames in exchange for Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik and this pick.
• The Buffalo Sabres' fourth-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a June 29, 2011, trade that sent Christian Ehrhoff to the Sabres in exchange for this pick.
• ^c The Chicago Blackhawks' seventh-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as a result of a June 29, 2011, trade that sent Steve Montador to the Blackhawks in exchange for this pick.

See also

• 2012–13 NHL season