Division 8th Atlantic 2013–14 record 21–51–10 Road record 8–30–3 | Conference 16th Eastern Home record 13–21–7 Goals for 157 | |
The 2013–14 Buffalo Sabres season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The Sabres moved to the revamped Atlantic Division, which included the previous season's Northeast Division with the addition of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings. Ron Rolston, who started the season as head coach, was fired after 20 games and replaced by Ted Nolan, who had previously coached the team from 1995 to 1997.
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Off-season
Ron Rolston was made the permanent head coach when Darcy Regier removed the interim tag from his title. Regier did not interview any other candidates for the position. Rolston replaced Lindy Ruff who was fired the season before after serving as head coach for nearly 16 seasons.
Training camp
The Sabres' training camp saw the arrival of many highly touted prospects into the Sabres' lineup. Newly acquired first round picks Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov both made the opening day roster along with 2012 first round picks Mikhail Grigorenko, Zemgus Girgensons and 2011 first round pick Joel Armia. Armia and Zadorov were both injured in the pre-season and would not play right away.
The pre-season saw the Sabres involved in a controversial game. In a road game at the Toronto Maple Leafs, a fight between Corey Tropp and Toronto winger Jamie Devane ended with Tropp injured. On the ensuing faceoff, Sabres' enforcer John Scott lined up opposite to Phil Kessel and attempted to engage him in a fight. A line brawl followed in which 209 minutes in penalties were handed out, including 11 fighting majors and 14 ten-minute misconduct penalties. During the fight, Maple Leaf David Clarkson would leave the bench to fight. Clarkson would later be suspended by the NHL for ten regular season games. Phil Kessel received a three-game pre-season game ban for slashing Scott with the intent to injure. Sabres Head Coach Ron Rolston was fined an undisclosed amount for "player selection." The fine was controversial due to the fact that Scott was on the ice the previous shift and the Leafs, being the home team, had last change. Corey Tropp suffered a broken jaw and concussion in the fight.
The day before the start of the regular season, Rolston named the new team captain. With the trade of team captain Jason Pominville the year before, the captaincy had remained vacant. Rolston used a rotating captaincy in the preseason. Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek were named co-captains for the 2013–14 season. Ott will wear the "C" for all road games and Vanek will wear it at home. Christian Ehrhoff will wear an "A" during all games.
Regular Season
Opening the season with a lineup that featured Zemgus Girgensons, Mikhail Grigorenko, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov, the 2013–14 Sabres were the first team since the 1995–96 season to include four teenagers.
On November 13, 2013, General Manager Darcy Regier and Head Coach Ron Rolston were relieved of their duties. Former Sabre Pat LaFontaine was hired as President of Hockey Operations (a position that had been left vacant since the departure of Larry Quinn in 2011) and Ted Nolan was hired as the interim head coach. After hiring Ottawa Senators' Assistant General Manager Tim Murray to the vacant general manager position on January 9, Pat LaFontaine resigned as President of Hockey Operations on March 1, 2014, to return to his previous position with the NHL.
The Sabres made numerous trades leading up to and right before the March 5 trading deadline. On February 28, they traded away veterans Ryan Miller and Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues. Then, on March 5, the NHL trade deadline day, they made three separate trades with the Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings.
Conference standings
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, ME – Metropolitan
bold – Clinched Playoff spot, y – Clinched Division, p – Won Presidents' Trophy (best record in NHL)
Playoffs
The Sabres failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year.
Player stats
Final stats
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Transactions
The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2013–14 season:
Draft picks
Buffalo Sabres' picks at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, to be held in Newark, New Jersey on June 30, 2013.