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2014–15 Buffalo Sabres
Division 8th Atlantic
Conference 16th Eastern
2014–15 record 23–51–8
Home record 14–22–5
Road record 9–29–3
Goals for 161
Goals against 274
Team information
General manager Tim Murray
Coach Ted Nolan
Captain Brian Gionta
Alternate captains Josh Gorges
Matt Moulson
Arena First Niagara Center
Average attendance 18,580[1]
(41 games)
Team leaders
Goals Tyler Ennis (20)
Assists Matt Moulson (28)
Points Tyler Ennis (46)
Penalty minutes Nicolas Deslauriers (71)
Plus/minus Mark Pysyk (+4)
Wins Jhonas Enroth (13)
Goals against average Michal Neuvirth (2.99)

The 2014–15 Buffalo Sabres season was the 45th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[2] The team finished last place overall in the league with 54 points and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Off-season[]

Summer sessions[]

The Sabres held their annual Summer Development Camp for the team's prospects and young players from July 14–18, 2014.[3] The highlight of the camp was the annual Blue-White Game, held on July 15, which drew a crowd of over 8,000 spectators to the First Niagara Center.[4]

The Sabres also sent a team to the Traverse City Prospects Tournament in September.[5]

Training camp[]

The Sabres played in six pre-season exhibition games before the start of the 2014–15 regular season.[6]

Regular season[]

Standings[]

Divisional standings[]

Atlantic Divison (Top 3)
Team GP W L OTL SL GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens x y 82 50 22 5 5 221 189 110
Tampa Bay Lightningx 82 50 24 3 5 262 211 108
Detroit Red Wings x 82 43 25 4 10 235 221 100
Ottawa Senatorsx 82 43 26 6 7 238 215 99
Boston Bruins 82 41 27 4 10 213 211 96
Florida Panthers 82 38 29 5 10 206 223 91
Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 3 5 211 262 68
Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 3 5 161 274 54


Conference standings[]

Atlantic Divison (Top 3)
Team GP W L OTL SL GF GA Pts
New York Rangersx y z p 82 53 22 2 5 252 192 113
Montreal Canadiens x y 82 50 22 5 5 221 189 110
Tampa Bay Lightningx 82 50 24 3 5 262 211 108
Washington Capitalsx 82 45 26 7 4 242 203 101
New York Islandersx 82 47 28 1 6 252 230 101
Detroit Red Wings x 82 43 25 4 10 235 221 100
Ottawa Senatorsx 82 43 26 6 7 238 215 99
Pittsburgh Penguinsx 82 43 27 6 6 221 210 98
Boston Bruins 82 41 27 4 10 213 211 96
Florida Panthers 82 38 29 5 10 206 223 91
Columbus Blue Jackets 82 42 35 3 2 236 250 89
Philadelphia Flyers 82 33 31 7 11 215 234 84
New Jersey Devils 82 32 36 7 7 181 216 78
Carolina Hurricanes 82 30 41 4 7 188 226 71
Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 3 5 211 262 68
Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 3 5 161 274 54


Suspensions/fines[]

Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued
Michal Neuvirth Diving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 886 in Nashville on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at 2:23 of the second period. $2,000.00 February 25, 2015[7]

Schedule and results[]

Pre-season[]

Regular season[]

2014–15 Game Log
Record: 23–49–8 (Home: 14–21–5 ; Road: 9–28–3)

Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player stats[]

Final stats

Skaters

Regular Season[9]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Ennis, TylerTyler Ennis 78 20 26 46 −19 37
Moulson, MattMatt Moulson 77 13 28 41 −11 4
Gionta, BrianBrian Gionta 69 13 22 35 −13 18
Girgensons, ZemgusZemgus Girgensons 61 15 15 30 −16 25
Stewart, ChrisChris Stewart

|| 61 || 11 || 14 || 25 || −30 || 63

Stafford, DrewDrew Stafford

|| 50 || 9 || 15 || 24 || −18 || 39

Foligno, MarcusMarcus Foligno 57 8 12 20 −5 50
Ristolainen, RasmusRasmus Ristolainen 78 8 12 20 −32 26
Flynn, BrianBrian Flynn

|| 54 || 5 || 12 || 17 || −3 || 8

Larsson, JohanJohan Larsson 39 6 10 16 0 12
Deslauriers, NicolasNicolas Deslauriers 82 5 10 15 −24 71
Zadorov, NikitaNikita Zadorov 60 3 12 15 −10 51
Meszaros, AndrejAndrej Meszaros 60 7 7 14 −13 36
Hodgson, CodyCody Hodgson 78 6 7 13 −28 12
Mitchell, TorreyTorrey Mitchell

|| 51 || 6 || 7 || 13 || −6 || 26

Myers, TylerTyler Myers

|| 47 || 4 || 9 || 13 || −15 || 61

Benoit, AndreAndre Benoit 59 1 8 9 −19 20
Weber, MikeMike Weber 64 1 6 7 −22 68
Bogosian, ZachZach Bogosian

|| 21 || 0 || 7 || 7 || −7 || 38

Gorges, JoshJosh Gorges 46 0 6 6 −28 16
Grigorenko, MikhailMikhail Grigorenko 25 3 3 6 −10 2
Strachan, TysonTyson Strachan 46 0 5 5 −30 44
Varone, PhilPhil Varone 28 3 2 5 −14 10
McCormick, CodyCody McCormick 33 1 3 4 −9 40
Kaleta, PatrickPatrick Kaleta 42 0 3 3 −11 36
Dalpe, ZacZac Dalpe 21 1 2 3 −11 4
Pysyk, MarkMark Pysyk 7 2 1 3 4 2
Ellis, MattMatt Ellis 39 1 1 2 −12 4
Schaller, TimTim Schaller 18 1 1 2 −5 2
Ruhwedel, ChadChad Ruhwedel 4 0 1 1 3 0
Reinhart, SamSam Reinhart 9 0 1 1 −1 2
D'Amigo, JerryJerry D'Amigo 9 0 0 0 −4 2
McCabe, JakeJake McCabe 2 0 0 0 0 0
Armia, JoelJoel Armia

|| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

Goaltenders
Regular Season[9]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Enroth, JhonasJhonas Enroth

|| 37 || 35 || 2204 || 13 || 21 || 2 || 120 || 3.27 || 1237 || 0.903 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0

Neuvirth, MichalMichal Neuvirth

|| 27 || 27 || 1544 || 6 || 17 || 3 || 77 || 2.99 || 941 || 0.918 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

Lindback, AndersAnders Lindback

|| 16 || 15 || 891 || 4 || 8 || 2 || 41 || 2.76 || 542 || 0.924 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4

Hackett, MattMatt Hackett 5 4 250 0 4 1 18 4.32 155 0.884 0 0 0 0
Makarov, AndreyAndrey Makarov 1 1 60 0 1 0 3 3.00 36 0.917 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.

Notable achievements[]

Awards[]

Regular Season
Player Award Awarded
Ennis, T.T. Ennis NHL First Star of the Week[10] December 15, 2014
Girgensons, Z.Z. Girgensons NHL All-Star game selection[11] January 10, 2015

Milestones[]

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Reinhart, S.S. Reinhart 1st Career NHL Game October 9, 2014
Moulson, M.M. Moulson 400th Career NHL Game October 13, 2014
S. Reinhart 1st Career NHL Assist
1st Career NHL Point
October 25, 2014
Ennis, T.T. Ennis 100th Career NHL Assist November 5, 2014
Stewart, C.C. Stewart 400th Career NHL Game November 13, 2014
Myers, T.T. Myers 100th Career NHL Assist November 18, 2014
Meszaros, A.A. Meszaros 600th Career NHL Game November 22, 2014
Gionta, B.B. Gionta 800th Career NHL Game November 29, 2014
Schaller, T.T. Schaller 1st Career NHL Game
Enroth, J.J. Enroth 100th Career NHL Game December 11, 2014
Gorges, J.J. Gorges 100th Career NHL Point
Girgensons, Z.Z. Girgensons 100th Career NHL Game December 13, 2014
Ennis, T.T. Ennis 300th Career NHL Game December 20, 2014
Larsson, J.J. Larsson 1st Career NHL Goal December 20, 2014
Schaller, T.T. Schaller 1st Career NHL Goal
1st Career NHL Point
December 21, 2014
Armia, J.J. Armia 1st Career NHL Game December 23, 2014
McCormick, C.C. McCormick 400th Career NHL Game December 31, 2014
J. Gorges 600th Career NHL Game January 29, 2015
B. Gionta 500th Career NHL Point February 20, 2015
M. Moulson 300th Career NHL Point February 22, 2015
Bogosian, Z.Z. Bogosian 400th Career NHL Game February 26, 2015
Dalpe, Z.Z. Dalpe 100th Career NHL Game March 3, 2015
T. Ennis 200th Career NHL Point March 6, 2015
Lindback, A.A. Lindback 100th Career NHL Game March 16, 2015
Ristolainen, R.R. Ristolainen 100th Career NHL Game March 17, 2015
Weber, M.M. Weber 300th Career NHL Game March 20, 2015


Transactions[]

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season:

Trades[]

June 28, 2014 To Washington Capitals
2nd-round pick in 2014
To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2014
3rd-round pick in 2014
[12]
July 1, 2014 To Montreal Canadiens
MIN's 2nd-round pick in 2016
To Buffalo Sabres
Josh Gorges
[13]
July 9, 2014 To Winnipeg Jets
Conditional 7th-round pick in 2015
To Buffalo Sabres
Jordan Samuels-Thomas
[14]
December 16, 2014 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Luke Adam
To Buffalo Sabres
Jerry D'Amigo
[15]
February 11, 2015 To Winnipeg Jets
Tyler Myers
Drew Stafford
Brendan Lemieux
Joel Armia
1st-round pick in 2015
To Buffalo Sabres
Evander Kane
Zach Bogosian
Jason Kasdorf
[16]
February 11, 2015 To Dallas Stars
Jhonas Enroth
To Buffalo Sabres
Anders Lindback
conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016
[17]
March 2, 2015 To Montreal Canadiens
Brian Flynn
To Buffalo Sabres
5th-round pick in 2016
[18]
March 2, 2015 To New York Islanders
Michal Neuvirth
To Buffalo Sabres
Chad Johnson
3rd-round pick in 2016
[19]
March 2, 2015 To Montreal Canadiens
Torrey Mitchell
To Buffalo Sabres
Jack Nevins
7th-round pick in 2016
[20]
March 2, 2015 To Minnesota Wild
Chris Stewart
To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2017
[21]

Free agents acquired[]

Date Player Former team Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2014 Andrej Meszaros Boston Bruins 1-year, $4.125 million [22]
July 1, 2014 Cody McCormick Minnesota Wild 3-years, $4.5 million [23]
July 1, 2014 Brian Gionta Montreal Canadiens 3-years, $12.75 million [24]
July 1, 2014 Matt Moulson Minnesota Wild 5-years, $25 million [25]
July 1, 2014 Tyson Strachan Washington Capitals 1-year, $650,000 [26]
July 13, 2014 Zac Dalpe Vancouver Canucks 1-year, $700,000 [27]
July 23, 2014 Andre Benoit Colorado Avalanche 1-year, $800,000 [28]
November 28, 2014 Jean Dupuy Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3-years, entry-level contract [29]
April 22, 2015 Evan Rodrigues Boston University 2-years, entry-level contract [30]

Free agents lost[]

Date Player New team Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2014 Alexander Sulzer Kölner Haie 5 years [31]
July 1, 2014 Christian Ehrhoff Pittsburgh Penguins 1 year, $4 million [32]
July 1, 2014 Kevin Porter Detroit Red Wings 1 year, $600,000 [33]
July 1, 2014 Cory Conacher New York Islanders 1 year, $600,000 [34]
July 1, 2014 John Scott San Jose Sharks 1 year, $750,000 [35]
July 18, 2014 Matt D'Agostini Geneve-Servette HC undisclosed [36]
August 6, 2014 Connor Knapp Lehigh Valley Phantoms undisclosed [37]
January 30, 2015 Zenon Konopka Sanok Hockey Club 1 year, undisclosed [38]

Claimed via waivers[]

Player Previous team Date

Lost via waivers[]

Player New team Date

Lost via retirement[]

Player

Players released[]

Date Player Via Ref
June 18, 2014 Ville Leino Compliance buyout [39]
June 29, 2014 Christian Ehrhoff Compliance buyout [40]

Player signings[]

Date Player Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2014 Marcus Foligno 2 years, $3.75 million [41]
July 5, 2014 Matt Hackett 1 year, $750,750, two-way contract [42]
July 12, 2014 Sam Reinhart 3 years, $2.775 million, entry-level contract [43]
July 12, 2014 Jordan Samuels-Thomas 1 year, $640,000, entry-level contract [44]
July 16, 2014 Chad Ruhwedel 2 years, $1.3 million [45]
July 17, 2014 Tyler Ennis 5 years, $23 million [46]
July 27, 2014 Luke Adam 1 year, $650,000, two-way contract [47]
November 2, 2014 Justin Bailey 3 years, entry-level contract [48]
November 18, 2014 Arturs Irbe 1 day, emergency contract [49]

Coaching changes[]

Name Date Details
Bryan Trottier[50] August 4, 2014 Named as Assistant Coach
Danny Flynn[50] August 4, 2014 Named as Assistant Coach
Tom Coolen[50] August 4, 2014 Named as Assistant Coach
Arturs Irbe[50] August 4, 2014 Named as Goaltending Coach

Draft picks[]

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Buffalo finished with the league's worst record, but on April 15, 2014, the Florida Panthers won the draft lottery to jump ahead of the Sabres and secure the first overall pick.[51]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 2 Sam Reinhart C Flag of Canada Canada Kootenay Ice (WHL)
2 31 Brendan Lemieux LW Flag of Canada Canada Barrie Colts (OHL)
2 44[a] Eric Cornel C Flag of Canada Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
2 49[b] Vaclav Karabacek RW Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
3 61 Jonas Johansson G Flag of Sweden Sweden Brynas IF (J20 SuperElit)
3 74 Brycen Martin D Flag of Canada Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
5 121 Maxwell Willman C Flag of the United States United States Williston Northampton Wildcats (NEPSAC)
6 151 Christopher Brown C Flag of the United States United States Cranbrook Kingswood
7 181 Victor Olofsson RW Flag of Sweden Sweden MODO Hockey (SHL)
Draft notes
  • a Winnipeg's second-round pick will go to Buffalo as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick to Minnesota, in exchange for Torrey Mitchell, a second-round pick in 2016 and this pick.[52]
  • b Minnesota's second-round pick will go to Buffalo as the result of trade on April 3, 2013 that sent Jason Pominville and a fourth-round pick in 2014 to Minnesota, in exchange for Matt Hackett, Johan Larsson, a first-round pick in 2013 and this pick.[53]
  • Buffalo's fourth-round pick will go to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014 that sent Ilya Bryzgalov to Minnesota, in exchange for this pick.[54]
  • Buffalo's sixth-round pick will not go to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on December 19, 2013 that sent Linus Omark to Buffalo in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[55] Omark did not play enough games for the Sabres, so the pick was never traded.

References[]

  1. 2014–2015 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN. ESPN.
  2. National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books, 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4. 
  3. http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=722300
  4. http://www.wgrz.com/story/sports/nhl/sabres/2014/07/15/sabres-white-beats-blue-5-1-in-scrimmage/12713649/
  5. http://sabrenoise.com/2014/06/23/buffalo-sabres-prospects-participate-traverse-city-tournament/
  6. http://espn.go.com/nhl/team/schedule/_/name/buf/buffalo-sabres
  7. Sabres' Neuvirth fined $2,000 for diving/embellishment. NHL (February 25, 2015).
  8. This figure encompasses ticket sales. Due to a severe lake-effect snowstorm cutting off all traffic south of Buffalo from the arena, actual seated attendance for the November 18 game was estimated at 6,200.
  9. 9.0 9.1 2014–2015 Regular Season Stats – Points – Buffalo Sabres – Statistics. Buffalo Sabres. Retrieved on April 14, 2015.
  10. Ennis, Suter and Lundqvist named stars of the week. NHL (December 15, 2014).
  11. 2015 NHL All-Star selections highlighted by three Columbus Blue Jackets. NHL (January 10, 2015).
  12. 2014 NHL DRAFT: ROUND 2 – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (June 28, 2014).
  13. SABRES ACQUIRE GORGES – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (July 1, 2014).
  14. SABRES ACQUIRE SAMUELS-THOMAS – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (July 10, 2014).
  15. SABRES ACQUIRE D'AMIGO FROM BLUE JACKETS FOR ADAM – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (December 16, 2014).
  16. SABRES ACQUIRE KANE, BOGOSIAN & KASDORF FROM WINNIPEG – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (February 11, 2015).
  17. SABRES ACQUIRE LINDBACK, DRAFT PICK FROM DALLAS – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (February 11, 2015).
  18. SABRES ACQUIRE DRAFT PICK FROM MONTREAL FOR FLYNN – Buffalo Sabres – News. Buffalo Sabres (March 2, 2015).
  19. Goalie trade! Sabres send Neuvirth to Isles for Johnson. NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk (March 2, 2015).
  20. SABRES ACQUIRE NEVINS, PICK FROM MONTREAL FOR MITCHELL. Buffalo Sabres (March 2, 2015).
  21. SABRES ACQUIRE SECOND-ROUND PICK FOR STEWART. Buffalo Sabres (March 2, 2015).
  22. MESZAROS JOINS THE SABRES
  23. McCORMICK RETURNS TO BUFFALO
  24. GIONTA SIGNS THREE-YEAR CONTRACT
  25. MOULSON SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL
  26. SABRES SIGN DEFENSEMAN TYSON STRACHAN
  27. Sabres sign forward Dalpe to one-year contract
  28. SABRES SIGN BENOIT TO 1-YEAR DEAL
  29. SABRES SIGN DUPUY TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
  30. SABRES SIGN FORWARD EVAN RODRIGUES
  31. Former Sabre Alexander Sulzer signs 5-year deal in native Germany. Olean Times Herald. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  32. Penguins Sign Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff
  33. Wings add forward, Michigan native Porter
  34. Conacher Agrees To Terms
  35. Sharks Sign Forward John Scott
  36. D’Agostini signs one-year deal with Swiss club
  37. Wednesday's sports transactions (2014-08-06)
  38. Potrecz, Bill (June 3, 2015). A man for all seasons. St. Catharines Standard. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  39. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=722919
  40. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=724490
  41. FOLIGNO INKED TO NEW DEAL
  42. Hoppe, Bill (July 5, 2014). Report: Sabres re-sign goalie Matt Hackett. Olean Times Herald. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  43. SABRES SIGN REINHART
  44. SABRES SIGN SAMUELS-THOMAS TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
  45. SABRES SIGN RUHWEDEL TO 2-YEAR CONTRACT
  46. SABRES SIGN ENNIS TO MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT
  47. SABRES RE-SIGN ADAM
  48. Hamilton, Paul. The Sabres ink a local second-round pick . WGR. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  49. Hoppe, Bill (November 19, 2014). Brian Gionta's first goals lead Sabres past Sharks. Olean Times Herald. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  50. 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 SABRES ADD FOUR TO NOLAN'S COACHING STAFF
  51. http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/04/15/florida-panthers-win-nhl-draft-lottery-as-buffalo-sabres-drop-to-no-2/
  52. Wild acquire forward Moulson from Sabres. National Hockey League (March 5, 2014). Retrieved on May 17, 2014.
  53. Jason Pominville traded to Wild by Sabres. National Hockey League. Retrieved on May 17, 2014.
  54. Wild add veteran goalie Bryzgalov from Oilers. National Hockey League (May 17, 2014). Retrieved on March 4, 2014.
  55. Sabres get Linus Omark from Oilers for draft pick. National Hockey League (December 19, 2013). Retrieved on June 26, 2014.
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