SabreSpace

'The Sabres' average age is 26, with just five players 30 or older - Patrick, Stu Barnes, Rob Ray, Jason Woolley and Alexei Zhitnik, who turns 30 today.' … [Read more...] about Sabres' baby faces merely disguise experienced team on the rise

'The only Sabre ever named league Most Valuable Player? A goalie. The last Sabre to earn NHL Rookie of the Year? A goalie. The position to bring the most trophies to the Sabres' offices? Goalie. The only Sabre to have an NHL trophy named for him? A goalie. The key player acquired in the 1970 expansion draft? A goalie. The star of the first regular-season game in team … [Read more...] about Some things never change: Sabres find strength in goal

'"The commitment everybody made in the offseason the year before, with some people coming into camp who didn't dedicate themselves in the offseason, it told a whole different story coming into the year that it was going to be push, pull or drag a lot of the time," Ruff said. "This year, we don't have that scenario. From a man-to-man standpoint we … [Read more...] about Sabres ready to build on preseason

'Outlook...Buffalo will surprise the hockey world and slip he playoffs as the East's eighth seed. But Ken Hitchcock's revamped Philadelphia Flyers will summarily bounce the Sabres in the first round.' … [Read more...] about Humiliated Sabres insist brighter days are ahead

'"I've got a contract for a year," Ruff said. "There are players that have that, that are in the last year of their deal. They expect to have a good year. I expect to have a good year. I don't look at that. I just concentrate on one thing, and that's making up for what we did last year."' … [Read more...] about All signs point to uncertain future for Ruff

'"There are much higher expectations from within the team than there are externally," said Patrick. "Most rankings have us quite low. Scott Arniel is our new assistant coach and the other day, he was saying, 'we can be the Minnesota Twins of the NHL.' That's gotta be what we're pushing for."' (Submitted by: Nova Scotian Fan) … [Read more...] about Sabres' drama hurts rebuilding

'Once the Thrashers found out that Kozlov was available, general manager Don Waddell said it took him only a couple of minutes to decide to pull off a draft-day trade with the Sabres, who needed to cut salary.' … [Read more...] about Kozlov reborn

'As of late Tuesday night, the Sabres had sold the equivalent of 7,699 season tickets, or 64 percent of the 12,000-seat goal. The team had sold 10,118 seats for tonight's game, well below the arena capacity of 18,690.' … [Read more...] about A season of uncertainty starts tonight for Sabres

'But if the Sabres hope to win back their disaffected fans and strengthen the franchise, they need to change their identity on the ice. It wasn't so much that they missed the playoffs a year ago, but the way they did it. They were physically soft, an unforgivable offense in Buffalo. Even worse, they were dull as the dictionary on most nights.' … [Read more...] about Sabres must swing for the fences

'The optimistic forecast for a 33-year-old team that has an all-time record of 1,193-951-392-6 (with only seven losing seasons and seven non-playoff seasons) is to somehow finish around .500 and squeeze into the playoffs. Will that best-case scenario be enough to satisfy Buffalo hockey fans and attract enough of them to assure the long-term future of the franchise? … [Read more...] about Sabres open, but who will watch?

'"It's sad because they were the hope in Buffalo to build up that city," Peca said of the Rigas ownership. "But who's to say someone doesn't come in and want to do something special, like what happened here."' … [Read more...] about Once a Contender, Now Buffalo Is Cold as Ice

'A crowd of only 12,000 is expected for Thursday's season opener against the New York Islanders.' … [Read more...] about Aggressive Sabres believe wins will bring back fans

'"We kept Gratton off the ice to see if he can try to skate tomorrow," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We'll make our decision come game time."' … [Read more...] about Gratton questionable for Sabres' opener

'The unstated threat is that if tickets aren't sold, the team could potentially move. But this is a team without an owner, with no real marketable star, no player you "have" to go see. They play a defensive-minded style, and goals are few and far between. Plus, let's be honest - they're not very good. It's easy to see why fans are reluctant … [Read more...] about A season of uncertainty for Sabres

'Gratton, who appeared in all 82 of the team's regular season games in 2001-2002. has been nursing the sore foot since he was hit by a shot in a game against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Sept. 25.' … [Read more...] about Gratton misses practice