Buffalo Sabres: Top 10 Worst Seasons in Team History
All NHL franchises have had some unbelievably bad seasons. And the Buffalo Sabres are no exception. Here are the 10 worst in team history.
The Buffalo Sabres have a rich history. But like all NHL franchises that have been around for over a half-century, odds are, they suffered through a few ultra-lean years. Ultra-lean as in, among the worst in the NHL. So today, I am looking back through the history books, searching for the 10 worst seasons the Sabres and their fans were forced to endure.
Not all of the seasons listed below are incredibly bad. In fact, some of them were because of expansion or rebuilding purposes. Still though, regardless of the reason, they were long years where fans were probably asking themselves, “Is it next October yet?”
So what were the 10 worst seasons in Buffalo Sabres history? Keep reading for more information.
The 10 worst seasons in Buffalo Sabres history: Season #1 – 1970-71 (63 points)
For most teams in North American professional sports, the inaugural season for any franchise is never a good one. Castoffs and young players who received little chance elsewhere comprise the roster, and the team has little to no chance of succeeding.
That was the case for the 1970-71 Buffalo Sabres, who ironically won their first game in franchise history against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 2-1 outing. Then, they went 1-11-1 over their next 13 games, defeating only the Detroit Red Wings and stalemating the Penguins.
Another ultra-lean period hit the Sabres between December 9th, 1970 and January 3rd, 1971, when they went 3-10-1 and sat at 7-23-6 on the season. By February 27th, they were an abysmal 16-36-11. But they finally came together between February 28th and April 4th, finishing the year 8-3-4.
It was by no means a good year for the Sabres. But they did see their first overall pick, Gilbert Perreault, morph into one of the league’s better players.
1971-72 (51 points)
Following an outstanding finish to their first season as a franchise, many felt the Buffalo Sabres would step forward in 1971-72. Unfortunately, they stepped backward and finished the year 16-43-19, putting together one of the worst seasons in league history.
But, with all bad seasons, there is always good news if you look hard enough. For the Sabres, that good news came in the form of Rick Martin, who later comprised the second portion of the famed French Connection.
Bad outweighed the good, however, with the Sabres once again defeating the Penguins 2-1 to open the season, only to falter to 3-7-2 when November rolled around. After defeating the Philadelphia Flyers on November 5th, the Sabres wouldn’t win again until December 2nd, finishing November with a 1-7-3 record.
Things did not look up for the Sabres in the slightest, and by March 1st, they sat at 13-36-15. At this point, fans were left wondering if the team would ever find relevance in the 1970s or if it was slated to become a long decade.
1973-74 (76 points)
Fans wondering whether the Buffalo Sabres would ever become a relevant team got their answer during the 1972-73 season, when they earned their first playoff appearance. Unfortunately, the 1972-73 squad lost to the Montreal Canadiens four games to one, but it made for high hopes in 1973-74.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. The bad season began with the drafting of Morris Titanic, who has since become one of the biggest if not the biggest draft bust in franchise history. Titanic saw just 19 games of NHL action before a rash of concussions and a knee injury forced him to end his playing career in 1980.
To make matters worse, star defenseman Tim Horton was killed in a car crash on February 21st, 1974 while driving back to Buffalo. He was reportedly clocked at driving over 100 mph (160 kph) during the time of the accident.
The Sabres did have some bright moments, such as Rick Martin’s 52 goals. But other than that, what was supposed to be a season to build on became nothing more than a massive letdown. Fortunately, the Sabres turned things around the following season and remained relevant throughout most of the 1970s.
1986-87 (64 points)
Between 1983-84 and 1991-92, the Buffalo Sabres faced arguably their leanest stretch in franchise history next to their infamous league-record playoff drought that started following the 2010-11 season. Of those lean seasons in the 1980s and early 1990s, the 1986-87 season stands out as the worst.
The Sabres compiled just 64 points that year and started things off at 1-7-2. They were so bad, they would not win more than three games in a row until February 8th through February 22nd. But at this point, they sat at 17-31-6 and well out of playoff contention.
Between January 30th, 1987 and February 26th, however, they at least made things interesting by going 9-2 over that stretch and improving to 23-32-6. However, the Sabres were unable to hold and from February 28th to April 5th, they sunk to a 5-12-2 outing during that period.
Next to their spurt in late January and throughout February, it was a bad season all around. And if you can take one positive out of this equation, it is that things didn’t get that bad for the team again throughout this lean stretch.
1995-96 (73 points)
How bad were the Buffalo Sabres in 1995-96? In all honesty, they were far worse than their 73 points total indicates and if it wasn’t for Dominik Hasek, this may have been the worst team in franchise history. Luckily, Hasek saved it from getting that bad, and considering the circumstances, some historians say 1995-96 was one of the legendary goaltender’s better seasons.
But other than Hasek’s performance and Pat LaFontaine’s 91 points saving the season from becoming a historic failure, there was little to love. Especially when you consider the fact no team had more opportunities on the power play than the Sabres, and they still saw limited success.
While the season was a wash, it did set the stage for what would eventually become one of the more exciting eras in franchise history. One that culminated with a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1999.
2002-03 (72 points)
Following a decent 2000-01 season, the Buffalo Sabres were regressing, putting up just 82 points in 2001-02. But things got even worse in 2002-03 when they won 27 games and accumulated an abysmal 72 points.
Want more fun? How does 190 goals in 82 games sound? That’s just 2.31 goals per game. They won just nine road games, while losing 27 and registering 11 ties slash overtime losses. When was the last time they accumulated 72 or fewer points? The 1986-87 season.
Amazingly, the Sabres started out 2-0-0-0. Then, they went 2-14-4-1 over their next 21 games. By January 3rd, 2003, they were just 8-22-5-2. They did, however, get hot in January, finishing the month with a 7-2-2-2 record. By March 22nd, 2003, this team’s fate was sealed, though they did finish the season strong, which set the stage for a much-improved 2003-04 season.
Unfortunately, they were unable to build on their 85-point season from 2003-04 because of the 2004-05 NHL Lockout. But it eventually set the stage for those unforgettable and outstanding 2005-06, and 2006-07 seasons.
2013-14 (52 points)
In 2012-13, the Buffalo Sabres accumulated 48 points in 48 games, which, had the NHL played the entire season, would have equated to 82 points, which isn’t good, but it’s also not incredibly terrible. Unfortunately, they followed that up with a 52-point season in 2013-14.
This is, to date, arguably the worst season in franchise history, and it saw the team score just 157 goals, equating to an average of 1.91 per game. It was also a year where the Sabres finished 16th in the Eastern Conference by 14 points.
However, the Sabres were in the midst of a complete teardown that saw the Sabres select Sam Reinhart in the following year’s draft. While Sabres fans were mostly okay with the teardown, odds are, they would not have been so hot on it had they known what the teardown eventually turned into – The NHL’s longest playoff drought.
2014-15 (54 points)
If 2013-14 was a bad year for the Buffalo Sabres, 2014-15 was not much better. Once again, they were the worst team in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-51-8, and once again, the poor season would lead them to an early draft pick, this one being, you guessed it, Jack Eichel.
Theoretically, the eventual Eichel/Reinhart combo was supposed to turn the Sabres around. So as with 2013-14, fans weren’t losing sleep over watching a team comprising mainly cast-offs stumble their way to a poor finish.
The Sabres, however, thought they had a few puzzle pieces, with Rasmus Ristolainen, Tyler Myers, and Zemgus Girgensons, to name a few. Myers, however, went to Winnipeg, while Girgensons was still struggling to live up to his status as a former first round pick.
The roster teardown continued, and yet Sabres fans remained a patient bunch. But as fans now know, nothing management did ever came into fruition, especially as the team saw some improvement in 2015-16, and 2016-17.
2017-18 (62 points)
While the Buffalo Sabres drastically tried to rebuild teams throughout the 2010s, everyone in the front office and in the brass forget a golden rule: You cannot routinely fire coaches and expect this thing to work.
It was a season where former Sabres great Phil Housley took control. And with a new coach came a new style. With a new style came a learning curve. And with a learning curve came a 16-point drop-off from the previous season.
Odds are, former coach Dan Bylsma may have survived the Curse of the Pegulas had he not been supposedly in strained relationships with many players, including Eichel (what else is new)?
Per the rumor mill, the Sabres wanted Eichel to sign, but the future Sabres captain would not if Bylsma remained as head coach. This eventually led Housley coming to Buffalo and Eichel to sign his eight-year, $80 million contract. Unfortunately for the Sabres, the Eichel/Reinhart duo put up just 114 points, 50 goals, and 64 assists.
2020-21 (37 points)
And finally, we have reached the 2020-21 season, one that the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to shorten. Therefore, the NHL played just 56 games, but when you do the math, 37 divided by 56 equals just 0.66 points per game. When evened to an 82-game season, you get 54 points, which qualifies for one of the worst in franchise history.
It was a year where Don Granato took over as head coach on March 17th, 2021, and the Sabres were in the middle of an 18-game losing streak. Before Granato’s promotion to interim head coach, the Sabres were 6-18-4, and on pace to finish the year 12-36-8 (32 points).
Granato managed to slightly righten the ship, as he led the Sabres to a 15-34-7 result, finishing the year 9-16-3. While 2020-21 was a waste for the Sabres, they at least had the makings of a core intact, which grew exponentially in 2021-22, especially toward the last two months of the season.
Related Story. Top 10 best seasons in Sabres history. light
Overall, these were the worst seasons in Buffalo Sabres history in my opinion. But what season is not listed do you believe I overlooked? Let me know your answer in the comments and feel free to let me know what your list looks like.
(Statistics and historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)