document_title: Buffalo Sabres

question_text: when did the buffalo sabres join the nhl

question_tokens: when did the buffalo sabres join the nhl

text: Buffalo Sabres

text: History[edit]

text: This article or section appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Early years and the French Connection (1970–1981)[edit]

text: The Sabres, along with the Vancouver Canucks, joined the NHL in the 1970–71 season. Their first owners were Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox, scions of a family long prominent in Western New York and grandsons of the co-founders of the Woolworth's variety store chain; along with Robert O. Swados, a Buffalo attorney. On the team's inaugural board of directors were Robert E. Rich, Jr., later the owner of the Buffalo Bisons minor league baseball team; and George W. Strawbridge, Jr., an heir to the Campbell Soup Company fortune. Buffalo had a history of professional hockey; immediately prior to the Sabres' establishment, the Buffalo Bisons were a pillar of the American Hockey League (AHL), having existed since 1940 (and before that, another Bisons hockey team played from 1928 to 1936), winning the Calder Cup in their final season.[3]

text: Wanting a name other than "bison" (a generic stock name used by Buffalo sports teams for decades), the Knoxes commissioned a name-the-team contest. With names like "Mugwumps", "Buzzing Bees" and "Flying Zeppelins" being entered,[4] the winning choice, "Sabres", was chosen because Seymour Knox felt a sabre, a weapon carried by a leader, could be effective on offense and defense.[A][B] The Knoxes tried twice before to get an NHL team, first when the NHL expanded in 1967, and again when they attempted to buy the Oakland Seals with the intent of moving them to Buffalo. Their first attempt was thwarted when Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney persuaded his horse racing friends James and Bruce Norris to select Pittsburgh over Buffalo,[6] while the 2nd attempt was due to the NHL not wanting an expansion market to give up on a team so soon. At the time of their creation, the Sabres exercised their option to create their own AHL farm team, the Cincinnati Swords. Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach was hired in the same capacity with the Sabres.

text: The year the Sabres debuted (1970) was an important year for major league sports in Buffalo. In addition to the Sabres' debut, the Buffalo Bills officially joined the National Football League (NFL), and the National Basketball Association's Buffalo Braves (NBA) also began to play, sharing Memorial Auditorium with the Sabres. The city of Buffalo went from having no teams in the established major professional sports leagues to three in one off-season, a situation that proved to be unsustainable. Between the Braves and the Sabres, the Sabres would prove to be, by far, the more successful of the two; Paul Snyder, the nouveau riche Braves owner, publicly feuded with the old money Knoxes and the local college basketball scene, eventually losing those feuds and being forced to sell his team in 1976. Subsequent owners of the Braves, in a series of convoluted transactions tied to the ABA–NBA merger, moved the team out of Buffalo.

text: When the Sabres debuted as an expansion team they took the ice to Aram Khachaturian's Armenian war dance, "Sabre Dance".[7] The song has been associated with the team as an unofficial anthem ever since.[8] It is often played between periods and after goals.[9]

text: The consensus was that first pick in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft would be junior phenomenon Gilbert Perreault.  Either the Sabres or the Canucks would get the first pick, to be determined with the spin of a roulette wheel. Perreault was available to the Sabres and Canucks as this was the first year that the Montreal Canadiens did not have a priority right to draft Quebec-born junior players.

text: The Canucks were allocated numbers 1–10 on the wheel, while the Sabres had 11–20. When league president Clarence Campbell spun the wheel, he initially thought the pointer landed on 1. While Campbell was congratulating the Vancouver delegation, Imlach asked Campbell to check again. As it turned out, the pointer was on 11—effectively handing Perreault to the Sabres.[10] Perreault scored 38 goals in his rookie season of 1970–71, at the time a record for most goals scored by a NHL rookie, and he received the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's rookie of the year. Despite Perreault's play, the Sabres finished well out of playoff contention.

text: In the team's second season, 1971–72, rookie Rick Martin, drafted fifth overall by Buffalo in 1971, and Rene Robert, acquired in a late-season trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, joined Perreault and would become one of the league's top forward lines in the 1970s. Martin broke Perreault's record at once with 44 rookie goals. They were nicknamed "The French Connection" after the movie of the same name and in homage to their French-Canadian roots. The Sabres made the playoffs for the first time in 1972–73, just the team's third year in the league, but lost in the quarterfinals in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens.

text: After a subpar year in 1974 that saw them miss the playoffs (as well as aging defenseman Tim Horton's death in a DUI-induced car accident), the Sabres tied for the best record in the NHL in the 1974–75 regular season. Buffalo advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in team history to play against the rough Philadelphia Flyers (who had been recently nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies"), a series which included the legendary Fog Game (Game 3 of the series). Due to unusual heat in Buffalo in May 1975 and the lack of air conditioning in the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, parts of the game were played in heavy fog that made players, officials, and the puck invisible to many spectators. During a face-off and through the fog, Sabres center Jim Lorentz spotted a bat flying across the rink, swung at it with his stick, killing it. It was the only time that any player killed an animal during an NHL game. The Sabres won that game thanks to Rene Robert's goal in overtime. However, Philadelphia would wind up taking the Cup in six games, winning the series 4–2.

text: The French Connection, joined by 50–goal scorer Danny Gare, continued to score prolifically for the Sabres in 1975–76, but the team lost in the quarterfinals to the New York Islanders. The Sabres had success through the late 1970s behind Gare and the French Connection (Perreault, Martin and Robert), but they were unable to return to the Finals despite a Wales Conference championship in 1980 and being the first team to beat the Soviet Olympic Team when they toured the United States. The French Connection era ended with Robert's trade to the Colorado Rockies in 1979 and Martin's trade to the Los Angeles Kings in 1981, by which time Martin's career was essentially finished as the result of a devastating knee injury in 1980.

text: Adams/Northeast Division rivalries (1981–1996)[edit]

text: In 1981–82, the NHL realigned its conferences and adopted an intra-divisional playoff format for the first two rounds. It was the beginning of an era in which the Sabres would finish in the middle of the Adams Division standings with regularity, and then face the near-certainty of having to get past either the Boston Bruins or Canadiens to make it to the conference finals. Aside from first-round victories over Montreal in 1982–83 and Boston in 1992–93, the era saw the Sabres lose to division rivals Boston, the Quebec Nordiques and Montreal in the Adams Division semi-finals (first round) a combined eight times, and miss the playoffs altogether in 1985–86 and 1986–87—only third and fourth times out of the playoffs in franchise history. Perrault reached the 500-goal mark in the 1985–86 season and retired after playing 20 games in 1986–87, 17 years after joining the Sabres as their first draft pick.

text: The Sabres drafted Pierre Turgeon with the first pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, and he quickly made an impact with the team. During his rookie season in 1987–88, he helped the Sabres reach the playoffs for the first time in three years. He was joined in 1989 by Alexander Mogilny, who – with the help of Sabres officials – became the first Soviet player to defect to the NHL, and cleared the way for all other Russian players to follow. In the 1989–90 season, the Sabres would improve to finish with 98 points – third-best in the league – but the playoff futility continued with a first-round loss to Montreal. The Sabres traded Turgeon to the New York Islanders in 1991 as part of a blockbuster seven-player trade that brought Pat LaFontaine to Buffalo.

text: In 1992–93, Dominik Hasek joined the team in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks. In the 1993 playoffs, the Sabres upset the Bruins in a four-game sweep in the Adams Division semi-finals, their first playoff series victory in 10 years. Brad May's series-winning goal in overtime of Game 4 in Buffalo was made famous by Rick Jeanneret's "May Day!" call.  However, the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens swept the Sabres in the division final, with the Sabres losing all four games by a 4–3 score (the last three games in overtime).

text: With the NHL adopting a conference playoff format for the 1993–94 season, the Sabres faced the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference playoffs' first round. Despite Hasek winning a 1–0 (4 OT) goaltending duel with the Devils' Martin Brodeur in Game 6 – the Sabres' longest game ever, which went into quadruple overtime – Buffalo would lose the series in seven games. Another first-round playoff loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season was followed by a fifth-place finish in the Northeast Division in 1995–96, as the team missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years. It was the first season under coach Ted Nolan and the last for the Sabres at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Nolan brought an exciting brand of hockey to Buffalo. During his coaching tenure, Buffalo was referred to as the "hardest-working team in hockey."[11] This season also featured the debut of "walk-on" veteran Randy Burridge, who earned a spot on the roster after he attended training camp on a try-out basis. He scored 25 goals that season and was second in team scoring to Pat LaFontaine. Burridge also earned the Tim Horton Award for being the unsung hero and was voted team Most Valuable Player.

text: The final game in Memorial Auditorium was played on April 14, 1996, a 4–1 victory over the Hartford Whalers. Sabres principal owner Seymour Knox died a month later, on May 22, 1996.

text: The black and red era (1996–2006)[edit]

text: Ted Nolan and the Sabres rebounded in 1996–97, their first at Marine Midland Arena, by winning their first division title in 16 years, with Nolan winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach, Dominik Hasek winning both the Hart and Vezina Trophies (the first goaltender to do so since Montreal's Jacques Plante in 1962), Michael Peca taking home the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL and general manager John Muckler honored as Executive of the Year.

text: However, the regular season success was overshadowed by what had taken place during the playoffs. Tensions between Nolan and Hasek had been high for most of the season; after being scored upon in Game 3 of the first round against the Ottawa Senators, Hasek left the game, forcing backup Steve Shields to step in. Hasek claimed he felt his knee pop, and the team doctor pronounced him day-to-day. Buffalo News columnist Jim Kelley wrote a column that night for the next day's newspaper that detailed the day's events, which irked Hasek. After the Senators won Game 5, Hasek came out of the Sabres' training room and attacked Kelley, tearing his shirt. Despite the fact Hasek issued an apology, things went downhill after the incident. Shields starred as the Sabres rallied to win the series against Ottawa. But before the next series against the Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL announced Hasek had been suspended for three games – with the Sabres informing the league Hasek was healthy (Hasek most likely would not have been suspended had he not been cleared to play). Set to return in Game 4 with the Sabres down by three games to none, Hasek told the Sabres' coaching staff he felt a twinge in his knee and left the ice after the pre-game skate. Shields turned in another season-saving performance as Buffalo staved off elimination with a win in overtime. Again before Game 5, Hasek declared himself unfit to play and Buffalo lost 6–3 and the series.

text: Team president Larry Quinn fired general manager John Muckler, who had a noted feud with Nolan. Hasek, who supported Muckler, openly told reporters at the NHL Awards Ceremony he did not respect Nolan, placing new GM Darcy Regier in a tough position. He offered Nolan just a one-year contract for a reported $500,000. Nolan refused on the grounds his previous contract was for two years. Regier then pulled the contract off the table and did not offer another one, ending Nolan's tenure as Sabres coach. Nolan was offered several jobs from the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders, which he turned down, and was out of the NHL until June 2006 when he was named coach of the Islanders. Former Sabres captain Lindy Ruff was hired as head coach on July 21, 1997, agreeing to a three-year deal. The Sabres organization, after having their most successful season in nearly two decades, had fired both the reigning NHL Executive of the Year (Muckler) and Coach of the Year (Nolan).

text: New owners and return to the Finals[edit]

text: During the 1997–98 season, the Sabres, which had lost $32 million over the previous three seasons and nearly missed payroll in December 1997,[12] were sold by Northrop Knox to John Rigas, owner of Adelphia Communications. Shortly thereafter, Quinn was dismissed and replaced by John Rigas's son, Timothy Rigas. Behind Hasek, left-winger Miroslav Satan (who led the team in scoring), right-winger Donald Audette, center Michael Peca and several role-playing journeymen including Matthew Barnaby, the Sabres reached the Eastern Conference Finals that season, but lost to the Washington Capitals in six games.

text: In 1998–99, Miroslav Satan scored 40 goals. The Sabres would add centers Stu Barnes from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Joe Juneau from the Capitals. Michal Grosek had the best season of his career, and the team finally returned to the Stanley Cup Finals, this time against the Presidents' Trophy winner, the Dallas Stars. In Game 6, Stars winger Brett Hull's triple-overtime goal ended the series, and the Stars were awarded the Cup. In 1999, it was illegal to score a goal if an offensive player's skate entered the crease before the puck did. NHL officials, however, maintained that Hull's two shots in the goal mouth constituted a single possession of the puck since the puck deflected off Hasek. The rule was changed for the following season, allowing players to be inside the goaltender's crease as long as they do not interfere with the goalie.

text: The next year was a disappointing season. The team struggled in the regular season, due to injuries to Hasek as well as other tired and discouraged players. Doug Gilmour was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline and sparked the Sabres to a playoff berth. However, Gilmour was stricken by stomach flu during the post-season, and even the Hasek's return could not prevent a first-round playoff series loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Like the previous season, there would be an officiating controversy. In Game 2, Flyers left wing John LeClair put the puck in the net through a hole in the mesh. While replays appeared to show the puck entering through the "side" of the net, the goal was allowed to stand. The Flyers would win the game 2–1 and go on to win the series 4–1.

text: Captain Michael Peca sat out 2000–01 due to a contract dispute, and was later traded to the New York Islanders in June 2001 for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt. Even so, the Sabres still defeated Philadelphia in six games in the first round of the playoffs (with a resounding 8–0 victory in the series-winning game). In the second round, they faced the underdog Pittsburgh Penguins, led by rejuvenated superstar Mario Lemieux and captain Jaromir Jagr, who had won his fifth Art Ross Trophy that season, losing on a seventh-game overtime goal scored by defenseman Darius Kasparaitis. After lengthy and failed negotiations with their star goaltender, the Sabres traded Hasek to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2001, bringing a five-year era of playoff success to a close. Without Hasek and Peca, the Sabres missed the 2002 playoffs.

text: The first third jersey of the Buffalo Sabres was created in 2000. The primary color was Sabre red, with black and gray stripes on the sleeves. It also featured the word "Buffalo" written on a black stripe outlined by gray near the waist. The logo was a black circle with two sabres crossing each other. The third jersey ran from 2000–2006 when the red jersey was retired.

text: Ownership turmoil and lockout[edit]

text: In May 2002, John Rigas and his sons were indicted for bank, wire and securities fraud for embezzling more than $2 billion from Adelphia. Rigas was later convicted and presently is appealing a sentence of 15 years in prison. The league took control of the team, though the Rigas family remained owners on paper. For a while, there were no interested buyers. After the two-year period of uncertainty, including rumors of relocating to another city or even straight out folding, the team was sold to a consortium led by Rochester, New York, billionaire and former New York gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano and former Sabres president Larry Quinn, whose bid included no government funding. Golisano was introduced as team owner on March 19, 2003.

text: With the 2002–03 season having started under league control, general manager Darcy Regier could make only minimal moves. However, with the consultations of impending new ownership, the team began their rebuilding process around the March 2003 trade deadline by clearing out veteran players. The first to go was winger Rob Ray, who was sent to the Ottawa Senators. The team then sent center and team captain Stu Barnes to the Dallas Stars for young winger Michael Ryan and a draft pick.

text: A third deal sent center Chris Gratton to the Phoenix Coyotes with a draft pick for Danny Briere and a draft pick, adding a player who would play a key role in the Sabres' resurgence in later years. The 2003–04 season saw the team emerge from its financial struggles and, though the Sabres narrowly missed the playoffs, the development of prominent young players. Although the 2004–05 NHL season was canceled due to a labor dispute, the league and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) were able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement in the summer of 2005, thus enabling NHL hockey to return for the 2005–06 season.

text: On January 19, 2005, the Sabres lost their main cable television broadcaster, as the Empire Sports Network (which had been on the air since 1991) ceased operations in a cost-cutting move during the Adelphia scandal and reorganization. (Like the Sabres, Empire had been owned by Adelphia prior to the NHL's seizure of the franchise.) Adelphia sold their rights to Sabres telecasts and for the 2005–06 campaign Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), a New York City-based channel which broadcasts New York Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils games, took over the rights to broadcast Sabres games to television viewers in western New York, with the Sabres controlling all aspects of the broadcast. The agreement was later extended through 2017, then again through 2027.

text: In 2005–06 the Sabres took off, finishing with their best record in over twenty years and clinching their first playoff berth since the 2000–01 season. The team finished the regular season with 52 wins, surpassing the 50–win mark for the first time in franchise history. They also finished with 110 points, their first 100-point season in 23 years and tied the 1979–80 club for the second-best point total in franchise history. The Sabres tied the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes for the most wins in the Eastern Conference. They finished with the fifth-best record in the league, behind Detroit, Ottawa, Dallas and Carolina.

text: Buffalo defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-round of the 2006 playoffs in six games and top-seeded Ottawa in five games. The Sabres advanced to play Carolina in their first Eastern Conference Final since 1999. However injuries began to mount. They were forced to play without four of their top defensemen (Teppo Numminen, Dmitri Kalinin, Jay McKee and Henrik Tallinder), and their top powerplay scorer, Tim Connolly for much of the series. Despite this the Sabres forced the series to seven games before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. The Sabres impressive season was recognized on June 22, 2006, at the NHL Awards Ceremony, when Lindy Ruff edged Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette to win the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in the closest vote in the award's history. Ruff was the second Sabres coach to win the award.

text: Return to blue and gold (2006–2010)[edit]

text: On September 16, 2006, the Sabres unveiled new home and away jerseys featuring midnight blue, maize (gold), silver and white colors. The new logo, a stylized bison, was widely reviled, drawing unfavorable comparisons to a banana slug.[13] Despite the criticism, five of the top 10 player jerseys sold in the first two months of the 2006–07 season were Sabres "slug" designs.[14][15]

text: The Sabres started the 2006–07 season 10–0, setting a new franchise record for consecutive wins to start a season, and becoming just the second team in NHL history (after the 1994 Toronto Maple Leafs) to open a season with a ten-game winning streak. They also set a new league record for consecutive road wins to start a season (eight), which was extended to ten games (tying the team record for consecutive road wins) with a 7–4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on November 13, 2006. The team reached the 50-win plateau for the second time in franchise history. The Sabres won the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in franchise history, giving them the home ice advantage for their entire run in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. They also tied the 1974–75 team's franchise record for points in a season. The team defeated the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers to reach their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. On May 19, however, they were eliminated by the Ottawa Senators after five games.

text: In the April 9, 2007, issue of ESPN the Magazine, the team ranked first of 122 major professional sports franchises in North America. The Sabres were cited for their player accessibility, low ticket prices and exciting brand of hockey.[16]

text: The Sabres lost both co-captains, Daniel Brière (who went to the Philadelphia Flyers) and Chris Drury (who went to the New York Rangers) during the free agency period. The Sabres nearly lost Thomas Vanek to the Edmonton Oilers, who offered him a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet, but the Sabres matched the offer on July 6. After these events, the team changed its policy of not negotiating contracts during the regular season. Long-time Sabres broadcast color commentator Jim Lorentz announced his retirement during the preseason. Hockey Night in Canada's Harry Neale took over the position in October 2007.

text: Post Brière-Drury era[edit]

text: During the 2007–08 season, the Sabres hosted a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 1, 2008, which was played outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.[17] Officially, the game was called the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, known colloquially as the "Ice Bowl" due to it taking place at the same time as college football bowl games. The Sabres lost 2–1 in a shootout. The Sabres failed to qualify for the playoffs and became only the third team in NHL history to go from finishing first overall in the regular season standings to finishing out of the playoffs the following year.

text: On June 10, the Sabres officially announced their new American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, beginning in the 2008–09 season, would be the Portland Pirates from Portland, Maine. This ended their 29-year affiliation with the Rochester Americans. They signed with the Pirates for two seasons, with a parent club option for a third.[18] The Sabres entered the 2008 free agency period quietly, but on July 1 signed goaltender Patrick Lalime to a two-year contract. Three days later, the Sabres acquired Craig Rivet from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round draft pick in each of the next two drafts. The Sabres also extended the contracts of three players: Paul Gaustad (four-year extension), Ryan Miller (five-year extension), and Jason Pominville (five-year extension). Miller was slated to become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season while Pominville was set to become a restricted free agent.

text: On October 8, the Sabres named defenseman Craig Rivet team captain, the first single full-time captain since Stu Barnes's term from 2001–2003. The team was also active at the trade deadline. First, they signed Tim Connolly to a two-year extension worth $4.2 million. They also acquired Mikael Tellqvist from the Phoenix Coyotes for a fourth round pick in the 2010 draft. Then Dominic Moore came from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft. Finally, they received a second-round pick in the 2009 draft from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Ales Kotalik. On April 9, the Buffalo Sabres were eliminated from the playoffs.

text: General manager Darcy Regier announced on the first day of free agency for the following season the Sabres had signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Steve Montador to a two-year contract. They also signed free agent defenseman Joe DiPenta to a one-year contract on July 11. They also extended contracts with three other players: Andrej Sekera to a multi-year deal, Clarke MacArthur to a one-year contract, and Mike Grier to a one-year contract. Grier, having played two seasons with the Sabres, returned after playing the last three with the San Jose Sharks.

text: At the beginning of the season, the Sabres announced the Buffalo Sabres Road Crew, which saw appearances by the Sabres' coaching staff, GM Darcy Regier and broadcasting crew for charity. Four stops were scheduled throughout the season in Tampa, Florida, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, North Carolina, and Atlanta at established Buffalo fan clubs. Many native Western New Yorkers live in those four cities; Sabres fans have been known to have large contingents in attendance, rivaling those of the home teams when playing in Raleigh and Tampa.[19]

text: After only playing two games with Buffalo that season, Daniel Paille was traded to the Boston Bruins on October 20, 2009, for a third round and a conditional fourth round draft selection. Paille's move to Boston marked the first ever trade of a player under contract between the two division rivals in their common 39 years in the NHL.[20] On January 1, the Sabres became the first team to win consecutive games when trailing by three or more goals since the Dallas Stars did it in 2005–06. Buffalo beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4–3 in overtime. It was Buffalo's second straight win in a game it trailed 3–0, following a 4–3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[21] On March 3, the day of the trade deadline, the Sabres made two deals. The first was with the Columbus Blue Jackets, which sent them Nathan Paetsch and a second round draft pick in exchange for Raffi Torres. The Sabres' second and final deal sent Clarke MacArthur to the Atlanta Thrashers for third and fourth round draft picks. On March 27, the Sabres clinched their first playoff berth since 2006–07 with a 7–1 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. On April 6, the Sabres clinched the Northeast Division title by defeating the New York Rangers by a score of 5–2. On April 26, the third-seed Sabres were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the sixth-seeded Boston Bruins in six games.

text: The Sabres unveiled new jerseys on September 18, 2010 that readopted the classic 1970–1996 logo, with a third jersey having an alternate throwback arrangement that pays homage to the AHL's Buffalo Bisons, complete with the team's 40th Anniversary insignia (essentially the original royal blue version of the current logo with the year "1970" inside).[22][23] The roster did not have many significant changes; one of the most notable was the team's decision to waive center Tim Kennedy, a Buffalo native, to avoid paying the award he won in arbitration. Defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman were allowed to leave as free agents, while the team signed veterans Jordan Leopold and Shaone Morrisonn to replace them. Additionally, center Rob Niedermayer was added as a Stanley Cup-winning, veteran presence.

text: The Pegula era (2010–present)[edit]

text: On November 30, 2010, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News reported a story that billionaire Terry Pegula had signed a letter of intent to purchase the Sabres for US$150 million. Pegula was the founder, president and CEO of East Resources, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States before he sold the company.[24] After the report was released, Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn claimed it was "untrue" but refused further comment.[25] The $150 million was later determined to be an undervalued amount, as Forbes magazine had valued the team at just under $170 million in 2010. In December, Pegula officially expressed interest in buying the Sabres for $170 million and submitted a letter of intent to the NHL. In January, Golisano reportedly issued a counteroffer with an asking price of US$175 million.[26] Pegula and Golisano reached an agreement to sell the team on January 29, 2011, with Pegula buying the team for $189 million ($175 million with $14 million in debt included)[27][28] with the Sabres and Golisano officially making an announcement in a press conference on February 3, 2011.[29] League owners approved the sale on February 18.[30]

text: In the conference, it was stated that an unnamed bidder submitted a much higher bid than Pegula's, but made the bid contingent upon moving the team.[31] The description is consistent with that of Jim Balsillie, who has made public his efforts to move a team to Hamilton, Ontario, a move that the Sabres have actively opposed. Terry Pegula named former Pittsburgh Penguins executive Ted Black to be the team president.[32] Pegula was introduced as the Sabres' owner in a public ceremony at HSBC Arena on February 23, accompanied by what would be the final appearance of all three members of The French Connection before Rick Martin's death three weeks later.  Around the 2010–11 trade deadline, the team attempted to trade Craig Rivet, but was unsuccessful. After initially clearing waivers, Rivet entered re-entry waivers and was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.[33] Late on February 27, the team acquired Brad Boyes from the St. Louis Blues for a second round draft pick.[34] This was the Sabres' sole trade of the deadline. After Pegula's official takeover of the team, the Sabres finished the regular season 16–4–4, never losing two consecutive games in that span, and landed the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.[35] Pegula's approach was credited by players, fans, and the public with bringing new energy to the team, sparking a run to the playoffs that seemed improbable only months earlier. On April 8, the Sabres clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 in overtime. The Sabres clinched the seventh seed and faced Philadelphia in the first round. The Sabres had a three games to two lead but lost the series in seven games.

text: The Sabres began the 2011–12 season in part of the NHL premiere series for the first time, playing games in Finland and Germany. The team was particularly well-received during a game against Adler Mannheim in Mannheim, the hometown of Sabres forward Jochen Hecht; a contingent of 65 Adler fans traveled from Germany to Buffalo in February 2012 to witness a Sabres game against the Boston Bruins.[36] Prior to the first game, Lindy Ruff named Jason Pominville the Sabres 13th full-time captain in team history.[37] The Sabres began the season relatively strong but collapsed after a Boston Bruins game in which Bruins forward Milan Lucic hit and injured goaltender Ryan Miller; the subsequent months saw the Sabres collapse to last place in the Eastern Conference. Despite a two-month rally that began in February along with the emergence of rookie forward Marcus Foligno, the Sabres lost the last two games of the regular season and fell three points short of a playoff spot.

text: The 2012–13 NHL lockout eliminated the first part of the 2012–13 season, which ultimately began with a scheduled 48 games.[38] After a 6–10–1 start to the season, long-time coach Lindy Ruff was relieved of his duties by GM Darcy Regier on February 20, 2013, ending 16 seasons as head coach. He was replaced by Ron Rolston, first on an interim basis, then permanently after the season ended.[39] Due to the lockout shortened season, the trade deadline was moved to April 3, 2013. In the days leading up to it, the Sabres were active in trades. On March 15, the Sabres' first trade sent T. J. Brennan to the Florida Panthers for a fifth round pick (originally owned by the Los Angeles Kings) in the 2013 draft.[40] On March 30, the Sabres traded Jordan Leopold to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a second round pick and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2013 draft.[41] On April 1, the Sabres traded Robyn Regehr to the Los Angeles Kings for two-second round draft choices (one in 2014 and the other in the 2015).[42] The final trade came on the day of the trade deadline, April 3. The Sabres sent Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild for Johan Larsson and Matt Hackett. The official announcement came after the 3 p.m. deadline. At the time of the official announcement, it was not clear if there were other parts of the deal as the trade was still pending league approval.[43] It was later revealed draft picks were also involved in the deal. The Wild would receive a fourth round pick in 2014, and the Sabres would receive first round pick in the 2013 draft and a second round pick in 2014.

text: The following season, on November 13, 2013, the team dismissed Regier and Rolston. Former Sabres coach Ted Nolan was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season (he later signed a three-year contract extension) and Pat LaFontaine was named president of hockey operations. On January 9, 2014, Tim Murray was named general manager. On February 28, 2014, Murray made his first major trade, sending star goalie Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forwards Chris Stewart and William Carrier and two draft picks. After just over three months as president of hockey operations, Pat LaFontaine resigned from the Sabres to return to his previous position with the NHL on March 1, 2014.[44] Among highlights in the otherwise bad 2013–14 season included the "butt goal" in which a severely short-staffed Sabres won their December 23 contest against the Phoenix Coyotes when Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith backed into his own goal with the puck lodged in his pants,[45] and the lone NHL appearance of former Lancaster High School goalie Ryan Vinz, who was working as a videographer in the Sabres organization, to suit up as a backup goaltender in the wake of the Ryan Miller trade. The Sabres finished the 2013–14 season last in the league, and again missed the playoffs.

text: Despite winning two more games than the previous season, the 2014–15 season was much like the previous one, with the team sitting near the bottom of the standings the entire season, and finishing last in the league. On March 26, 2015, during a 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes, spectators at the game, ostensibly fans of the Sabres, cheered after a game-winning goal by Coyotes centre Sam Gagner. Said fans were more eager to see the team lose (the Sabres and Coyotes were 29th and 30th in the standings at the time) in the hopes that it would ensure the team would deliberately lose to finish in last place and guarantee a top-two pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, which included two extremely highly touted prospects, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. These spectators' "embrace the tank" philosophy led to criticism from the media and Sabres players for how the fans reacted.[46] However, some praised the fans for how they reacted, saying that they "did the right thing."[47] The Sabres clinched last place, and thus a top-two pick, with a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 10 (this was later confirmed to be a number-two pick after the team, for the second year in a row, lost the draft lottery); the team used the pick to select Eichel. Murray fired Nolan at the end of the season, citing a lack of chemistry and lukewarm relations between them.[48] On May 28, 2015, Dan Bylsma was hired as the 17th head coach in franchise history.

text: The hiring of Bylsma, the drafting of Eichel and 2014 second overall pick Sam Reinhart, the acquisition of star centerman Ryan O'Reilly in the offseason, and the rising performance of youngsters Zemgus Girgensons, Jake McCabe and Rasmus Ristolainen resulted in an improved season in 2015–16. Even though the Sabres again missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, the team managed to finish just under .500 in points percentage while fans and critics have praised these rebuilding efforts by Sabres GM Tim Murray.

text: In summer 2016, the team announced that its television broadcasts would be spun off to their own regional sports network, MSG Western New York. The new network continues to operate under the MSG banner but under Pegula Sports and Entertainment control and features additional programs centered around the Sabres and the Buffalo Bills, which the Pegulas purchased separately in 2014. The team failed to make significant progress, and in fact slightly regressed, in 2016–17, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, leading to the firings of both head coach Dan Bylsma and general manager Tim Murray on April 20, 2017.[49]

text: During the 2017 offseason, the Sabres hired two of their former players as head coach and general manager; Jason Botterill was hired as general manager while Phil Housley will serve as head coach.[50] Among the more notable roster changes for this season was the return of former scoring leader Jason Pominville to the team in a trade that brought him and defenseman Marco Scandella to Buffalo in exchange for sending forwards Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno to the Minnesota Wild.[51]

text: The 2017–18 season finished in last place in the league for the third time in five seasons and won the draft lottery to select first overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft for the first time since 1987. With the pick, the Sabres selected Rasmus Dahlin from Frölunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League.

text: Team information[edit]

text: Broadcasters[edit]

text:
Rick Jeanneret TV and radio play-by-play (1971–present)
Dan Dunleavy play-by-play
Rob Ray Color commentator
Brian Duff Studio host
Martin Biron Studio analyst
Danny Gare Fill-in Studio analyst

text:
Ted Darling TV play-by-play (1970–91) and studio host (1992–93)
Dave Hodge Radio play-by-play (1970–71)
Jim Lorentz Color commentator (1981–2007)
Harry Neale Color Commentator (2007–2012) and Studio analyst (2012–2013)
Brian Blessing Studio host (1995–2003)
Howard Simon radio and TV analyst (1986–2004)
Josh Mora Studio host (2003–2004)
John Gurtler TV play-by-play (1991–95)
Pete Weber Radio play-by-play (1994–96)
Mike Robitaille TV studio analyst (1989–2014)
Kevin Sylvester Fill-in play by play, studio host (2005–16)

text: In-game personalities[edit]

text: Doug Allen sings the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at most home games (except in cases where there is a conflict with his charitable work for the Wesleyan Church)[52] and he is accompanied by organist Curtis Cook.[53] During Tom Golisano's ownership, the team occasionally used the services of singer Ronan Tynan, who sang "God Bless America" while Allen performed the Canadian anthem (in such cases, the U.S. anthem was not performed). When Allen is unavailable, Kevin Kennedy (the regular anthem singer for the Buffalo Bandits) is the usual fill-in; on rare occasions since the Pegulas took over, Black River Entertainment personalities have performed the anthems. The Canadian and U.S. national anthems are sung before every Sabres home game, regardless if the visiting team is Canadian or American, because Buffalo is adjacent to the Canadian border and many spectators come from Canada.

text: Rich Gaenzler, morning host at WGRF, will take over as in-game host beginning in 2018.[54][55] WBFO personality Jay Moran is the current public address announcer; he succeeded Milt Ellis in the position.[55]

text: Minor league affiliates[edit]

text: The Sabres are presently affiliated with two minor league teams, the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, and the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. The Americans play at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. Founded in 1956, the Americans were previously the Sabres AHL affiliate from the 1979–80 season to the 2007–08. During the original Sabres affiliation, the Americans won three Calder Cup championships and finished as runners-up another six times. They finished out of the playoffs only five times in 28 years. The Sabres became re-affiliated with the Americans starting with the 2011–12 season when after buying the Sabres, Pegula purchased the Americans from former owner Curt Styres.[56][57]

text: The Cincinnati Cyclones are based in Cincinnati, Ohio and have been the Sabres ECHL affiliate since the 2017–18 season, after their previous affiliate, the Elmira Jackals, folded. Unlike the Americans, the Cyclones are not owned by Pegula but are instead owned by Nederlander Entertainment. The Sabres previously owned an AHL affiliate in Cincinnati with the Cincinnati Swords in the 1970s.

text: Season-by-season record[edit]

text: This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Sabres. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Buffalo Sabres seasons

text: Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses/SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

text:
Season
GP
W
L
OTL
Pts
GF
GA
Finish
Playoffs

2013–14
82
21
51
10
52
157
248
8th, Atlantic
Did not qualify

2014–15
82
23
51
8
54
161
274
8th, Atlantic
Did not qualify

2015–16
82
35
36
11
81
201
222
7th, Atlantic
Did not qualify

2016–17
82
33
37
12
78
201
237
8th, Atlantic
Did not qualify

2017–18
82
25
45
12
62
199
280
8th, Atlantic
Did not qualify

text: Players and personnel[edit]

text: Current roster[edit]

text: viewtalkedit

text: Updated August 2, 2018.[58][59]

text:
#

Nat

Player

Pos

S/G

Age

Acquired

Birthplace

7001820000000000000♠82

Nathan Beaulieu

D

L

25

2017

Stratford, Ontario

–

Patrik Berglund

C

L

30

2018

Västerås, Sweden

7001470000000000000♠47

Zach Bogosian (A)

D

R

28

2015

Massena, New York

7001260000000000000♠26

Rasmus Dahlin

D

L

18

2018

Trollhattan, Sweden

7000900000000000000♠9

Jack Eichel (A)

C

R

21

2015

North Chelmsford, Massachusetts

7001280000000000000♠28

Zemgus Girgensons

C

L

24

2012

Riga, Latvia

–

Matt Hunwick

D

L

33

2018

Warren, Michigan

–

Carter Hutton

G

L

32

2018

Thunder Bay, Ontario

7001220000000000000♠22

Johan Larsson

LW

L

26

2013

Lau, Sweden

7001190000000000000♠19

Jake McCabe

D

L

24

2014

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

7001370000000000000♠37

Casey Mittelstadt

C

L

19

2017

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

7001210000000000000♠21

Kyle Okposo (A)

RW

R

30

2016

Saint Paul, Minnesota

7001290000000000000♠29

Jason Pominville

RW

R

35

2017

Repentigny, Quebec

7001230000000000000♠23

Sam Reinhart (RFA)

C

R

22

2014

North Vancouver, British Columbia

7001550000000000000♠55

Rasmus Ristolainen

D

R

23

2013

Turku, Finland

7001710000000000000♠71

Evan Rodrigues

C

R

25

2015

Toronto, Ontario

7000600000000000000♠6

Marco Scandella

D

L

28

2017

Montreal, Quebec

–

Conor Sheary

LW

L

26

2018

Melrose, Massachusetts

7001530000000000000♠53

Jeff Skinner

LW

L

26

2018

Markham, Ontario

–

Vladimir Sobotka

C

L

31

2018

Třebíč, Czechoslovakia

–

Tage Thompson

C

R

20

2018

Phoenix, Arizona

7001350000000000000♠35

Linus Ullmark

G

L

25

2012

Lugnvik, Sweden

7001200000000000000♠20

Scott Wilson

LW

L

26

2017

Oakville, Ontario

text: Team captains[edit]

text:
Floyd Smith, 1970–1971
Gerry Meehan, 1971–1974
Jim Schoenfeld, 1974–1977
Danny Gare, 1977–1981
Gilbert Perreault, 1981–1986
Lindy Ruff, 1986–1989
Mike Foligno, 1989–1990
Mike Ramsey, 1991–1992
Pat LaFontaine, 1992–1997
Alexander Mogilny, 1993–1994 (while LaFontaine was injured)
Michael Peca, 1997–2000
Stu Barnes, 2001–2003
Rotating captains, 2003–2004
Miroslav Satan, October 2003
Chris Drury, November 2003
James Patrick, December 2003
Jean-Pierre Dumont, January 2004
Daniel Briere, February 2004
Chris Drury, March–April 2004
Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, 2005–2007 (co-captains)
Rotating captains, 2007–2008
Jochen Hecht, October 2007
Toni Lydman, November 2007
Brian Campbell, December 2007
Jaroslav Spacek, January 2008
Jochen Hecht, February 2008
Jason Pominville, March–April 2008
Craig Rivet, 2008–2011
Jason Pominville, 2011–2013
Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek, October 2013 (co-captains)
Steve Ott, 2013–2014
Brian Gionta, 2014–2017

text: Front office[edit]

text: Jason Botterill, who previously played for the Sabres, was named the team's general manager on May 11, 2017[60] Kim Pegula, as chief operating officer of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, serves as team president.

text: Head coaches[edit]

text: Current head coach Phil Housley was hired on June 15, 2017.

text: Of the 18 head coaches the Sabres have used in their history, seven of them had previously played for the Sabres during their playing career: Floyd Smith, Bill Inglis, Jim Schoenfeld, Craig Ramsay, Rick Dudley, Lindy Ruff and current head coach Phil Housley. Two others, Dan Bylsma and Ted Nolan, had played in the Sabres' farm system.

text: Team and league honors[edit]

text: Hockey Hall of Famers[edit]

text: The Buffalo Sabres has an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Sabres inductees include 11 former players and four builders of the sport.[61] The four individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame includes former general managers, head coaches, and owners. In addition to players and builders, three broadcasters for the Buffalo Sabres were also awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame, Ted Darling in 1994, Rick Jeanneret in 2012, and Harry Neale in 2013.[62][63]

text: Four sports writers from publications based in Buffalo, and St. Catharines, Ontario (which is within Buffalo's media territory), were also awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Recipients of the award include Charlie Barton (Buffalo Courier-Express) in 1985, Dick Johnston (Buffalo News) in 1986, Jack Gatecliff (St. Catharines Standard) in 1995, and Jim Kelley (Buffalo News) in 2004.[61][64]

text:
Buffalo Sabres Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

Affiliation with inductees based on team acknowledgement

Hall of Fame players[61]

Dave AndreychukDale Hawerchuk

Dick DuffTim Horton

Grant FuhrPhil Housley

Clark GilliesPat LaFontaine

Doug GilmourGilbert Perreault

Dominik Hasek

Hall of Fame builders[61]

Scotty Bowman

Punch Imlach

Seymour H. Knox III

Roger Neilson

text: Retired numbers[edit]

text:
Buffalo Sabres retired numbers

No.

Player

Position

Career

Number retirement

2
Tim Horton
D
1972–1974
January 15, 1996

7
Rick Martin
LW
1971–1981
November 15, 1995 1

11
Gilbert Perreault
C
1970–1987
October 17, 1990 1

14
Rene Robert
RW
1972–1979
November 15, 1995 1

16
Pat LaFontaine
C
1991–1997
March 3, 2006

18
Danny Gare
RW
1974–1981
November 22, 2005

39
Dominik Hasek
G
1992–2001
January 13, 2015

text:
1 When the No. 14 of Robert and the No. 7 of Martin were retired, Gilbert Perreault was present, as the entire "French Connection" line was given retirement together. Perreault's No. 11 was lowered and then raised back in the center under the French Connection banner, as shown above.
SHK III and NRK (team founders Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup R. Knox. Two banners bearing their initials and the Sabres blue and gold reside in the KeyBank Center's rafters.)
The number 00 was not allowed on any NHL team, since Martin Biron was the last player to wear that sweater number.
Although number 89 is not officially retired by the team, it has not been reissued since the departure of Alexander Mogilny. Cory Conacher switched to 88 expressly out of deference to Mogilny.[65] Likewise, Ryan Miller, who traditionally wears 39, wore 30 during his time with the Sabres out of deference to Hasek, long before 39 was announced to be retired.[66]
The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.[67]

text: Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame[edit]

text:
1980
Frank Christie
Roger Crozier
George "Punch" Imlach
1982
Tim Horton
Fred T. Hunt
1986
David Forman
Don Luce
Craig Ramsay
1989
Rick Martin
Gilbert Perreault
Rene Robert
1994
Danny Gare
1995
Jim Schoenfeld
Robert O. Swados
1996
Ted Darling
Seymour H. Knox III
Northrup R. Knox

1998
Jack Gatecliff
Larry Playfair
2000
Don Edwards
Bill Hajt
Wayne Redshaw
Robert "Rip" Simonick
2001
Jerry Korab
Mike Racicot
Mike Ramsey
2005
Mike Foligno
Dick Johnston
Pat LaFontaine
Rudy Migay
Robert E. Rich, Jr.
George Strawbridge
2007
Phil Housley

2009
Dave Andreychuk
Milt Ellis
2010
Joe Crozier
Jim Lorentz
2011
Alexander Mogilny
Jim Kelley
2012
Dale Hawerchuk
Rick Jeanneret
2014
Dominik Hasek

text: Scoring leaders[edit]

text: Regular season scoring leaders[edit]

text: These are the top-ten-point-scorers in franchise regular season history.[68] Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

text: *  – current Sabres player

text:
Regular season scoring leaders

Player

Seasons

Pos

GP

G

A

Pts

+/−

PIM

Gilbert Perreault
1970–1987
C
1191
512
814
1326
+42
500

Dave Andreychuk
1982–19932000–2001
LW
837
368
436
804
+28
596

Rick Martin
1971–1981
LW
681
382
313
695
+13
475

Craig Ramsay
1971–1985
LW
1070
252
420
672
+328
201

Phil Housley
1982–1990
D
608
178
380
558
+3
386

Rene Robert
1971–1979
RW
524
222
330
552
+52
401

Don Luce
1971–1981
C
766
216
310
526
+216
304

Mike Foligno
1981–1991
RW
664
247
264
511
+115
1,450

Danny Gare
1974–1982
RW
503
267
233
500
+190
686

Thomas Vanek
2005–2013
LW
599
254
243
497
+29
362

text: Playoff scoring leaders[edit]

text: These are the top-ten playoff point-scorers in franchise playoff history.[69] Figures are updated after each completed NHL season.

text:
Playoff scoring leaders

Player

Seasons

Pos

GP

G

A

Pts

+/−

PIM

Gilbert Perreault
1972–1985
C
90
33
70
103
–
44

Rick Martin
1972–1980
LW
62
24
29
53
–
74

Craig Ramsay
1972–1985
LW
89
17
31
48
–
27

Danny Gare
1974–1981
RW
58
23
21
44
–
147

Rene Robert
1972–1979
RW
47
22
17
39
–
71

Donald Audette
1989–2001
RW
61
15
23
38
−12
26

Don Luce
1972–1980
C
62
17
19
36
–
46

Miroslav Satan
1996–2004
RW
51
14
21
35
−1
14

Dave Andreychuk
1982–19922000–2001
LW
54
13
22
35
–
36

Daniel Briere
2005–2007
RW
34
11
23
34
+3
28

text: NHL awards and trophies[edit]

text:
Presidents' Trophy

2006–07
Prince of Wales Trophy

1974–75, 1979–80, 1998–99
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Don Luce: 1974–75
Pat LaFontaine: 1994–95
Calder Memorial Trophy

Gilbert Perreault: 1970–71
Tom Barrasso: 1983–84
Tyler Myers: 2009–10
Frank J. Selke Trophy

Craig Ramsay: 1984–85
Michael Peca: 1996–97
Hart Memorial Trophy

Dominik Hasek: 1996–97, 1997–98
Jack Adams Award

Ted Nolan: 1996–97
Lindy Ruff: 2005–06

King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Rob Ray: 1998–99
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Gilbert Perreault: 1972–73
Lester B. Pearson Award

Dominik Hasek: 1996–97, 1997–98
Lester Patrick Trophy

Pat LaFontaine: 1996–97
Scotty Bowman: 2000–01
NHL Plus/Minus Award

Thomas Vanek: 2006–07
Vezina Trophy

Don Edwards & Bob Sauve: 1979–80
Tom Barrasso: 1983–84
Dominik Hasek: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01
Ryan Miller: 2009–10
William M. Jennings Trophy

Tom Barrasso & Bob Sauve: 1984–85
Dominik Hasek & Grant Fuhr: 1993–94
Dominik Hasek: 2000–01


document_title: Second Temple

question_text: who led the rebuilding of the temple in jerusalem

root

text: Second Temple

text: Biblical narrative[edit]

text: The accession of Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire in 559 BCE made the re-establishment of the city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple possible.[1][2] According to the closing verses of the second book of Chronicles and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem following a decree from Cyrus the Great (Ezra 1:1–4, 2 Chron 36:22–23), construction started at the original site of Solomon's Temple. After a relatively brief halt due to opposition from peoples who had filled the vacuum during the Jewish captivity (Ezra 4), work resumed c. 521 BCE under Darius the Great (Ezra 5) and was completed during the sixth year of his reign (c. 516 BCE), with the temple dedication taking place the following year.[citation needed]

tag: p

text: These events represent the final section in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible.[1]

text: The original core of the book of Nehemiah, the first-person memoir, may have been combined with the core of the Book of Ezra around 400 BCE. Further editing probably continued into the Hellenistic era.[3]

text: The book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in Susa, is informed that Jerusalem is without walls and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of the province Yehud Medinata and he travels to Jerusalem. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israel's enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of Moses. After 12 years in Jerusalem, he returns to Susa but subsequently revisits Jerusalem. He finds that the Israelites have been backsliding and taking non-Jewish wives, and he stays in Jerusalem to enforce the Law.

text: Based on the biblical account, after the return from Babylonian captivity, arrangements were immediately made to reorganize the desolated Yehud Province after the demise of the Kingdom of Judah seventy years earlier. The body of pilgrims, forming a band of 42,360,[4] having completed the long and dreary journey of some four months, from the banks of the Euphrates to Jerusalem, were animated in all their proceedings by a strong religious impulse, and therefore one of their first concerns was to restore their ancient house of worship by rebuilding their destroyed Temple[5] and reinstituting the sacrificial rituals known as the korbanot.

text: On the invitation of Zerubbabel, the governor, who showed them a remarkable example of liberality by contributing personally 1,000 golden darics, besides other gifts, the people poured their gifts into the sacred treasury with great enthusiasm.[6] First they erected and dedicated the altar of God on the exact spot where it had formerly stood, and they then cleared away the charred heaps of debris which occupied the site of the old temple; and in the second month of the second year (535 BCE), amid great public excitement and rejoicing, the foundations of the Second Temple were laid. A wide interest was felt in this great movement, although it was regarded with mixed feelings by the spectators (Haggai 2:3, Zechariah 4:10).[5]

text: The Samaritans made proposals for co-operation in the work. Zerubbabel and the elders, however, declined all such cooperation, feeling that the Jews must build the Temple without help. Immediately evil reports were spread regarding the Jews. According to Ezra 4:5, the Samaritans sought to "frustrate their purpose" and sent messengers to Ecbatana and Susa, with the result that the work was suspended.[5]

text: Seven years later, Cyrus the Great, who allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple, died (2 Chronicles 36:22–23) and was succeeded by his son Cambyses. On his death, the "false Smerdis", an impostor, occupied the throne for some seven or eight months, and then Darius became king (522 BCE). In the second year of his rule the work of rebuilding the temple was resumed and carried forward to its completion (Ezra 5:6–6:15), under the stimulus of the earnest counsels and admonitions of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. It was ready for consecration in the spring of 516 BCE, more than twenty years after the return from captivity. The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, amid great rejoicings on the part of all the people (Ezra 6:15,16), although it was evident that the Jews were no longer an independent people, but were subject to a foreign power. The Book of Haggai includes a prediction that the glory of the second temple would be greater than that of the first (Haggai 2:9).[5]

text: Some of the original artifacts from the Temple of Solomon are not mentioned in the sources after its destruction in 597 BCE, and are presumed lost. The Second Temple lacked the following holy articles:

text:
The Ark of the Covenant[2][5] containing the Tablets of Stone, before which were placed[7] the pot of manna and Aaron's rod[5]
The Urim and Thummim[2][5] (divination objects contained in the Hoshen)
The holy oil[5]
The sacred fire.[2][5]

tag: ul

text: In the Second Temple, the Kodesh Hakodashim (Holy of Holies) was separated by curtains rather than a wall as in the First Temple. Still, as in the Tabernacle, the Second Temple included:

text:
The Menorah (golden lamp) for the Hekhal
The Table of Showbread
The golden altar of incense, with golden censers.[5]

text: According to the Mishnah (Middot iii. 6), the "Foundation Stone" stood where the Ark used to be, and the High Priest put his censer on it on Yom Kippur.[2]

text: The Second Temple also included many of the original vessels of gold that had been taken by the Babylonians but restored by Cyrus the Great.[5][8] According to the Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 22b),[2] however, the Temple lacked the Shekinah, the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, and the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of Holiness, present in the first.

text: Rabbinical literature[edit]

text: Traditional rabbinic literature state that the Second Temple stood for 420 years and based on the 2nd-century work Seder Olam Rabbah, placed construction in 350 BCE (3408 AM), 166 years later than secular estimates, and destruction in 70 CE (3829 AM).[9]

text: The fifth order, or division, of the Mishnah, known as Kodashim, provides detailed descriptions and discussions of the religious laws connected with Temple service including the sacrifices, the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service. Tractates of the order deal with the sacrifices of animals, birds, and meal offerings, the laws of bringing a sacrifice, such as the sin offering and the guilt offering, and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple (tractate Middot), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple (tractate Tamid).[10][11][12]

text: Rededication by the Maccabees[edit]

text: Following the conquest of Judea by Alexander the Great, it became part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt until 200 BCE, when King Antiochus III the Great of Syria defeated King Ptolemy V Epiphanes of Egypt at the Battle of Paneion.[13] Judea became at that moment part of the Seleucid empire of Syria. When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and its religious services stopped, Judaism was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He also banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the Temple.[14]

text: Following the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid empire, the Second Temple was rededicated and became the religious pillar of the Jewish Hasmonean kingdom, as well as culturally associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

text: Hasmonean dynasty and Roman conquest[edit]

text: There is some evidence from archaeology that further changes to the structure of the Temple and its surroundings were made during the Hasmonean rule. Salome Alexandra, the queen of Hasmonean Kingdom appointed her elder son Hyrcanus II as the high priest of Judaea. Her younger son Aristobulus II was determined to have the throne, and as soon as she died he seized the throne. Hyrcanus, who was in line to be the king, agreed to be contented with being the high priest. Antipater, the governor of Idumæa, encouraged Hyrcanus not to give up his throne. Eventually Hyrcanus fled to Aretas III, king of the Nabateans, and returned with an army to take back the throne. He defeated Aristobulus and besieged Jerusalem. The Roman general Pompey, who was in Syria fighting against the Armenians in the Third Mithridatic War, sent his lieutenant to investigate the conflict in Judaea. Both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus appealed to him for support. Pompey was not diligent in making a decision about this which caused Aristobulus to march off. He was pursued by Pompey and surrendered but his followers closed Jerusalem to Pompey's forces. The Romans besieged and took the city in 63 BCE. The priests continued with the religious practices inside the Temple during the siege. The temple was not looted or harmed by the Romans. Pompey himself, perhaps inadvertently, went into the Holy of Holies and the next day ordered the priests to repurify the Temple and resume the religious practices.[15]

text: Herod's Temple[edit]

text: Reconstruction of the temple under Herod began with a massive expansion of the Temple Mount. Religious worship and temple rituals continued during the construction process.[16] When the Roman emperor Caligula planned to place his own statue inside the temple, Herod's grandson Agrippa I was able to intervene and convince him against this.

text: Construction[edit]

text: Herod's Temple was one of the larger construction projects of the 1st century BCE.[17] Josephus records that Herod was interested in perpetuating his name through building projects, that his construction programs were extensive and paid for by heavy taxes, but that his masterpiece was the Temple of Jerusalem.[17]

text: The old temple built by Zerubbabel was replaced by a magnificent edifice. An agreement was made between Herod and the Jewish religious authorities: the sacrificial rituals, called offerings, were to be continued unabated for the entire time of construction, and the Temple itself would be constructed by the priests. Later the Exodus 30:13 sanctuary shekel was reinstituted to support the temple as the temple tax.

text: Platform[edit]

text: Mt. Moriah had a plateau at the northern end, and steeply declined on the southern slope. It was Herod's plan that the entire mountain be turned into a giant square platform. The Temple Mount was originally intended to be 1600 feet wide by 900 feet broad by 9 stories high, with walls up to 16 feet thick, but had never been finished. To complete it, a trench was dug around the mountain, and huge stone "bricks" were laid. Some of these weighed well over 100 tons, the largest measuring 44.6 feet by 11 feet by 16.5 feet and weighing approximately 567 to 628 tons,[18][19] while most were in the range of 2.5 by 3.5 by 15 feet (approximately 28 tons). King Herod had architects from Greece, Rome and Egypt plan the construction. The blocks were presumably quarried by using pickaxes to create channels. Then they hammered in wooden beams and flushed them with water to force them out. Once they were removed, they were carved into precise squares and numbered at the quarry to show where they would be installed. The final carving would have been done by using harder stones to grind or chisel them to create precise joints. They would have been transported using oxen and specialized carts. Since the quarry was uphill from the temple they had gravity on their side but care needed to be taken to control the descent. Final installation would have been done using pulleys or cranes. Roman pulleys and cranes weren't strong enough to lift the blocks alone so they may have used multiple cranes and levers to position them.[20] As the mountainside began to rise, the western side was carved away to a vertical wall and bricks were carved to create a virtual continuation of the brick face, which was continued for a while until the northern slope reached ground level. Part of the Antonian hill to the north of Moriah was annexed to the complex and the area between was filled up with landfill.

text: The project began with the building of giant underground vaults upon which the temple would be built so it could be larger than the small flat area on top of Mount Moriah. Ground level at the time was at least 20 ft. (6m) below the current level, as can be seen by walking the Western Wall tunnels. Legend has it that the construction of the entire complex lasted only three years, but other sources such as Josephus say that it took far longer, although the Temple itself may have taken that long. During a Passover visit by Jesus the Jews replied that it had been under construction for 46 years.[21] It is possible that the complex was only a few years completed when the future Emperor Titus destroyed the Temple in 70 CE.

text: Court of the Gentiles[edit]

text: This area was primarily a bazaar, with vendors selling souvenirs, sacrificial animals, food, as well as currency changers, exchanging Roman for Tyrian money because the Jews were not allowed to coin their own money and they viewed Roman currency as an abomination to the Lord,[22] as also mentioned in the New Testament account of Jesus and the Money Changers when Jerusalem was packed with Jews who had come for Passover, perhaps numbering 300,000 to 400,000 pilgrims.[23][24] Guides that provided tours of the premises were also available. Jewish males had the unique opportunity to be shown inside the temple itself.

text: The priests, in their white linen robes and tubular hats, were everywhere, directing pilgrims and advising them on what kinds of sacrifices were to be performed.

text: Behind them, as they entered the Court of the Gentiles from the south through the Huldah Gates, was the Royal Porch, which contained a marketplace, administrative quarters, and a synagogue. On the upper floors, the great Jewish sages held court, priests and Levites performed various chores, and from there, tourists were able to observe the events. The Royal Porch is widely accepted to be part of Herod's work; however, recent archaeological finds in the Western Wall tunnels suggest that it was built in the first century during the reign of Agripas, as opposed to the first century BCE,[25] while the theory that Herod began the extension and the Royal Porch is based mainly on Josephus's possibly politically motivated claim. During Herod's reign the porch was not yet open to the public)

text: To the east of the court was Solomon's Porch, and to the north, the soreg, the "middle wall of separation",[26] a stone wall separating the public area from the inner sanctuary where only Jews could enter, described as being 3 cubits high by Josephus (Wars 5.5.2 [3b] 6.2.4).

text: Pinnacle[edit]

text: The accounts of Jesus' temptations in Matthew's and Luke's gospels both suggest that the Second Temple had one or more pinnacles (Greek: το πτερυγιον του ιερου):

text: Then he [Satan] brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here."[27]

text: The Greek word used here is pterugion, which literally means a little wing, or by extension anything like a wing such as a battlement or parapet.[28] The archaeologist Benjamin Mazar thought it referred to the southeast corner of the Temple overlooking the Kidron Valley.[29]

text: Inside the Soreg[edit]

text: According to Josephus, there were ten entrances into the inner courts, four on the south, four on the north, one on the east and one leading east to west from the Court of Women to the court of the Israelites, named the Nicanor Gate.[30] The gates were: On the south side (going from west to east) the Fuel Gate, the Firstling Gate, the Water Gate. On the north side, from west to east, are the Jeconiah Gate, the Offering Gate, the Women's Gate and the Song Gate. On the Eastern side, the Nicanor gate, which is where most Jewish visitors entered. A few pieces of the Soreg have survived to the present day.

text: Within this area was the Court of the Women, open to all Jews, male and female. Even a ritually unclean Cohen could enter to perform various housekeeping duties. There was also a place for lepers (considered ritually unclean), as well as a ritual barbershop for Nazirites. In this, the largest of the temple courts, one could see constant dancing, singing and music.

text: Only men were allowed to enter the Court of the Israelites, where they could observe sacrifices of the high priest in the Court of the Priests. The Court of the Priests was reserved for Levite priests.

text: Temple sanctuary[edit]

text: Between the entrance of the building and the curtain veiling the Holy of Holies were the famous vessels of the temple: the menorah, the incense-burning altar, and various other implements.

text: Pilgrimages[edit]

text: Jews from distant parts of the Roman Empire would arrive by boat at the port of Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv), where they would join a caravan for the three-day trek to the Holy City and would then find lodgings in one of the many hotels or hostelries. Then they changed some of their money from the profane standard Greek and Roman currency for Jewish and Tyrian money, the latter two considered religious.[31][32] The pilgrims would purchase sacrificial animals, usually a pigeon or a lamb, in preparation for the following day's events.

text: The first thing pilgrims would do would be to approach the public entrance on the south side of the Temple Mount complex. They would check their animals, then visit a mikveh, where they would ritually cleanse and purify themselves. The pilgrims would then retrieve their sacrificial animals, and head to the Huldah gates. After ascending a staircase three stories in height, and passing through the gate, the pilgrims would find themselves in the Court of the Gentiles.

text: Destruction[edit]

text: In 66 CE the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. Four years later, in 70 CE, Roman legions under Titus retook and destroyed much of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The Arch of Titus, located in Rome and built to commemorate Titus' victory in Judea, depicts a Roman victory procession with soldiers carrying spoils from the Temple, including the Menorah. According to an inscription on the Colosseum, Emperor Vespasian built the Colosseum with war spoils in 79 CE—possibly from the spoils of the Second Temple.[33]

text: The sects of Judaism that had their base in the Temple dwindled in importance, including the priesthood and the Sadducees.[34]

text: The destruction date according to the Hebrew calendar was the 9th of Av, also known as Tisha B'Av.[35] The Temple itself was located on the site of what today is the Dome of the Rock. The gates let out close to Al-Aqsa Mosque (which came much later).[16] Although Jews continued to inhabit the destroyed city, Emperor Hadrian established a new city called Aelia Capitolina. At the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, many of the Jewish communities were massacred and Jews were banned from living inside Jerusalem. A pagan Roman temple was set up on the former site of Herod's Temple.[15]

text: Archaeology[edit]

text: In 1871, a hewn stone measuring 60 × 90 cm. and engraved with Greek uncials was discovered near a court on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and identified by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau as being the Temple Warning inscription. The stone inscription outlined the prohibition extended unto those who were not of the Jewish nation to proceed beyond the soreg separating the larger Court of the Gentiles and the inner courts. The inscription read in seven lines:

text:
ΜΗΟΕΝΑΑΛΛΟΓΕΝΗΕΙΣΠΟ
ΡΕΥΕΣΟΑΙΕΝΤΟΣΤΟΥΠΕ
ΡΙΤΟΙΕΡΟΝΤΡΥΦΑΚΤΟΥΚΑΙ
ΠΕΡΙΒΟΛΟΥΟΣΔΑΝΛΗ
ΦΘΗΕΑΥΤΩΙΑΙΤΙΟΣΕΣ
ΤΑΙΔΙΑΤΟΕΞΑΚΟΛΟΥ
ΘΕΙΝΘΑΝΑΤΟΝ

text: Translation: "Let no foreigner enter within the parapet and the partition which surrounds the Temple precincts. Anyone caught [violating] will be held accountable for his ensuing death." Today, the stone is preserved in Istanbul's Museum of Antiquities.

text: In 1936 a fragment of a similar Temple warning inscription was found. After 1967, archaeologists found that the wall extended all the way around the Temple Mount and is part of the city wall near the Lions' Gate. Thus, the Western Wall is not the only remaining part of the Temple Mount. Currently, Robinson's Arch (named after American Edward Robinson) remains as the beginning of an arch that spanned the gap between the top of the platform and the higher ground farther away. This had been used by the priests as an entrance. Commoners had entered through the still-extant, but now plugged, gates on the southern side which led through colonnades to the top of the platform. One of these colonnades is still extant and reachable through the Temple Mount. The Southern wall was designed as a grand entrance. Recent archeological digs have found thousands of mikvehs (ceremonial bathtubs) for the ritual purification of the worshipers, as well as a grand stairway leading to the now blocked entrance. Inside the walls, the platform was supported by a series of vaulted archways, now called Solomon's Stables, which still exist and whose current renovation by the Waqf is extremely controversial. The temple itself was constructed of imported white marble that gleamed in the daylight.

text: On September 25, 2007, Yuval Baruch, archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a quarry compound which may have provided King Herod with the stones to build his Temple on the Temple Mount. Coins, pottery and an iron stake found proved the date of the quarrying to be about 19 BCE. Archaeologist Ehud Netzer confirmed that the large outlines of the stone cuts is evidence that it was a massive public project worked by hundreds of slaves.[36]

text: The Magdala stone is thought to be a representation of the Second Temple carved before its destruction in the year 70.[37]

text:
Magdala Stone

Bar Kokhba tetradracm showing the Jerusalem Temple façade 132–135 CE

Arch of Titus showing spoils of Jerusalem Temple

The upper corner of Herod's temple colonnade with ancient Hebrew inscription

text:
The Warning Inscription found in 1871

A copy of the inscription found in 1871

Fragment of Second Temple Warning

The Trumpeting Place inscription, a stone (2.43 × 1 m) with Hebrew inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by Benjamin Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the Second Temple.

text: Second Temple Judaism[edit]

text: The period between the construction of the Second Temple in 515 BCE and its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE witnessed major historical upheavals and significant religious changes that would affect most subsequent Abrahamic religions. The origins of the authority of scripture, of the centrality of law and morality in religion, of the synagogue and of apocalyptic expectations for the future all developed in the Judaism of this period.