2003–04 Buffalo Sabres season
2003-04 Buffalo Sabres | |
---|---|
Division | 5th Northeast |
Conference | 9th Eastern |
2003-04 record | 37–34–7–4 |
Home record | 21–16–4–3 |
Road record | 16–21–3–1 |
Goals for | 220 |
Goals against | 221 |
Team information | |
General manager | Darcy Regier |
Coach | Lindy Ruff |
Captain | Rotating Miroslav Satan (Oct) Chris Drury (Nov, Mar-Apr) James Patrick (Dec) Jean-Pierre Dumont (Jan) Daniel Briere (Feb) |
Arena | HSBC Arena |
Average attendance | 15,289 |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Rochester Americans |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Miroslav Satan (29) |
Assists | Daniel Briere and Jochen Hecht (37) |
Points | Daniel Briere |
Penalty minutes | Andrew Peters (151) |
Plus/minus | Jochen Hecht |
Wins | Martin Biron (26) |
Goals against average | Martin Biron (2.52) |
The 2003–04 Buffalo Sabres season was the 34th season of operation for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] The Sabres failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
Regular season
[edit]On March 17, 2004, Derek Roy scored just 15 seconds into the overtime period to give the Sabres a 4–3 road win over the Atlanta Thrashers.[2] Roy tied the Blackhawks' Mark Bell, who had also scored 15 seconds into the overtime period in Chicago's 4–3 home win over the Detroit Red Wings on December 11, 2003.[3] Both goals would end up being the fastest overtime goals scored during the 2003-04 NHL regular season.[4]
Final standings
[edit]No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
2 | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
3 | 5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
4 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
5 | 9 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
R | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Z- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 245 | 192 | 106 |
2 | Y- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
3 | Y- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 209 | 188 | 101 |
4 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
5 | X- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
6 | X- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 213 | 164 | 100 |
7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
8 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 237 | 210 | 91 |
8.5 | ||||||||||
9 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 4 | 214 | 243 | 78 |
11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 28 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 172 | 209 | 76 |
12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 188 | 221 | 75 |
13 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 206 | 250 | 69 |
14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 23 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 186 | 253 | 59 |
15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 190 | 303 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot
Schedule and results
[edit]2003–04 regular season[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 6–5–0–0 (home: 2–2–0–0; road: 4–3–0–0)
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November: 5–6–2–1 (home: 4–1–1–1; road: 1–5–1–0)
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December: 4–8–1–0 (home: 2–5–1–0; road: 2–3–0–0)
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January: 8–6–2–0 (home: 5–1–1–0; road: 3–5–1–0)
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February: 5–5–1–0 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 1–3–0–0)
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March: 9–2–1–3 (home: 4–1–0–2; road: 5–1–1–1)
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April: 0–2–0–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 0–1–0–0)
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Legend:
Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) Overtime loss (1 point) |
Player statistics
[edit]Scoring
[edit]- Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
- † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Regular season | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
48 | Daniel Briere | C | 82 | 28 | 37 | 65 | −7 | 70 |
81 | Miroslav Satan | LW | 82 | 29 | 28 | 57 | −15 | 30 |
17 | Jean-Pierre Dumont | RW | 77 | 22 | 31 | 53 | −9 | 40 |
23 | Chris Drury | C | 76 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 8 | 68 |
55 | Jochen Hecht | LW | 64 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 17 | 49 |
45 | Dmitri Kalinin | D | 77 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 0 | 42 |
61 | Maxim Afinogenov | RW | 73 | 17 | 14 | 31 | −4 | 57 |
44 | Alexei Zhitnik | D | 68 | 4 | 24 | 28 | −13 | 102 |
12 | Ales Kotalik | RW | 62 | 15 | 11 | 26 | −1 | 41 |
37 | Curtis Brown‡ | C | 68 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 2 | 30 |
24 | Taylor Pyatt | LW | 63 | 8 | 12 | 20 | −7 | 25 |
22 | Adam Mair | C | 81 | 6 | 14 | 20 | −3 | 146 |
9 | Derek Roy | C | 49 | 9 | 10 | 19 | −8 | 12 |
16 | Chris Taylor | C | 54 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −2 | 22 |
8 | Rory Fitzpatrick | D | 60 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −5 | 44 |
3 | James Patrick | D | 55 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
51 | Brian Campbell | D | 53 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −8 | 12 |
10 | Henrik Tallinder | D | 72 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 26 |
15 | Milan Bartovic | RW | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 18 |
25 | Mike Grier† | RW | 14 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 4 |
5 | Andy Delmore‡ | D | 37 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −5 | 29 |
74 | Jay McKee | D | 43 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 41 |
28 | Jason Botterill | LW | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
26 | Eric Boulton | LW | 44 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 110 |
34[a] | Jeff Jillson† | D | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −3 | 19 |
76 | Andrew Peters | LW | 42 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −3 | 151 |
43 | Martin Biron | G | 52 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
4 | Brad Brown† | D | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
35 | Mika Noronen | G | 35 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
33 | Doug Janik | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
30 | Ryan Miller | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
19 | Norm Milley | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
38 | Domenic Pittis | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
29 | Jason Pominville | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending
[edit]Regular season | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
43 | Martin Biron | 52 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 1442 | 125 | 2.52 | .913 | 2 | 2972 |
35 | Mika Noronen | 35 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 821 | 77 | 2.57 | .906 | 2 | 1796 |
30 | Ryan Miller | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 15 | 5.06 | .795 | 0 | 178 |
Awards and records
[edit]Awards
[edit]Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (in-season) |
NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Martin Biron (October 27) | [8] |
NHL YoungStars Game selection | Derek Roy | [9] |
Transactions
[edit]The Sabres were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.[10]
Trades
[edit]Date | Details | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|
June 27, 2003 | To Nashville Predators 3rd-round pick in 2004 |
To Buffalo Sabres Andy Delmore |
[11] |
July 3, 2003 | To Colorado Avalanche Rights to Keith Ballard |
To Buffalo Sabres Steven Reinprecht |
[12] |
July 3, 2003 | To Calgary Flames Steven Reinprecht Rhett Warrener |
To Buffalo Sabres Steve Begin Chris Drury |
[12] |
March 8, 2004 | To Minnesota Wild 4th-round pick in 2005 |
To Buffalo Sabres Brad Brown 6th-round pick in 2005 |
[13] |
March 9, 2004 | To San Jose Sharks Curtis Brown Andy Delmore |
To Buffalo Sabres Jeff Jillson 9th-round pick in 2005 |
[14] |
March 9, 2004 | To Washington Capitals Rights to Jakub Klepis |
To Buffalo Sabres Mike Grier |
[15] |
Players acquired
[edit]Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 12, 2003 | Joel Bouchard | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-year | Free agency | [16] |
July 14, 2003 | Domenic Pittis | Nashville Predators | 1-year | Free agency | [17] |
July 15, 2003 | David Cullen | Minnesota Wild | 1-year | Free agency | [18] |
August 22, 2003 | Brian Chapman | Manitoba Moose (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency | [19] |
Rick Mrozik | Calgary Flames | 1-year | Free agency | [19] | |
October 17, 2003 | Scott Ricci | Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) | Free agency | [20] |
Players lost
[edit]Date | Player | New team | Via[b] | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
July 2, 2003 | Radoslav Hecl | HC Slovan Bratislava (SVK) | Free agency (UFA) | [22] |
July 5, 2003 | Denis Hamel | Ottawa Senators | Free agency (UFA) | [23] |
August 11, 2003 | Peter Ratchuk | Frankfurt Lions (DEL) | Free agency (VI) | [24] |
August 18, 2003 | Francois Methot | Washington Capitals | Free agency (VI) | [25] |
August 27, 2003 | Doug Houda | Retirement (III) | [26] | |
October 3, 2003 | Steve Begin | Montreal Canadiens | Waiver draft | [27] |
Joel Bouchard | New York Rangers | Waiver draft | [27] | |
April 5, 2004 | Domenic Pittis | Kloten Flyers (NLA) | Free agency | [28] |
Signings
[edit]Date | Player | Term | Contract type | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
June 30, 2003 | Brian Campbell | 1-year | Option exercised | [29] |
July 3, 2003 | Rory Fitzpatrick | Re-signing | [30] | |
July 10, 2003 | Jason Botterill | 1-year | Re-signing | [31] |
Chris Taylor | 1-year | Re-signing | [31] | |
July 31, 2003 | Steve Begin | 1-year | Re-signing | [32] |
Tim Connolly | 1-year | Re-signing | [32] | |
Dmitri Kalinin | 1-year | Re-signing | [32] | |
Adam Mair | 3-year | Re-signing | [33] | |
Taylor Pyatt | 1-year | Re-signing | [32] | |
August 1, 2003 | Eric Boulton | 2-year | Re-signing | [34] |
Henrik Tallinder | 1-year | Re-signing | [35] | |
August 7, 2003 | Tom Askey | 2-year | Re-signing | [36] |
Andrew Peters | Re-signing | [36] | ||
August 8, 2003 | Curtis Brown | 1-year | Re-signing | [37] |
Ales Kotalik | 1-year[c] | Re-signing | [38] | |
August 25, 2003 | Chris Drury | 4-year | Re-signing | [39] |
September 15, 2003 | Norm Milley | 1-year | Re-signing | [40] |
September 24, 2003 | Jay McKee | multi-year | Re-signing | [41] |
September 29, 2003 | Miroslav Satan | 2-year | Re-signing | [42] |
October 17, 2003 | Nathan Paetsch | Entry-level | [20] |
Draft picks
[edit]Buffalo's draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.[43]
Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Thomas Vanek | ![]() |
University of Minnesota (NCAA) |
2 | 65 | Branislav Fabry | ![]() |
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) |
3 | 74 | Clarke MacArthur | ![]() |
Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
4 | 106 | Jan Hejda | ![]() |
Slavia Praha (Czech Republic) |
4 | 114 | Denis Ezhov | ![]() |
Lada Togliatti (Russia) |
5 | 150 | Thomas Morrow | ![]() |
Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) |
6 | 172 | Pavel Voroshnin | ![]() |
Mississauga IceDogs (OHL) |
7 | 202 | Nathan Paetsch | ![]() |
Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
8 | 235 | Jeff Weber | ![]() |
Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
9 | 266 | Louis-Philippe Martin | ![]() |
Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- "Buffalo Sabres 2003–04 roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- "2003–04 Buffalo Sabres Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
- ^ "Archives".
- ^ "Archives".
- ^ "2003-04 NHL Schedule and Results".
- ^ "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ "2003-04 Buffalo Sabres Schedule and Results". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ "BIRON HONORED AS NHL'S DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK". Buffalo Sabres. October 27, 2003. Archived from the original on May 6, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "2004 YoungStars Game rosters". ESPN.com. January 24, 2004. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ "BUFFALO SABRES ACQUIRE DEFENSEMAN ANDY DELMORE". Buffalo Sabres. June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "SABRES ACQUIRE CHRIS DRURY FROM CALGARY FLAMES". Buffalo Sabres. July 3, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres Trade for Tough Defender". Buffalo Sabres. March 8, 2004. Archived from the original on April 13, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres Trade for Jillson". Buffalo Sabres. March 9, 2004. Archived from the original on April 14, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres Obtain Grier". Buffalo Sabres. March 9, 2004. Archived from the original on April 14, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "SABRES SIGN FREE AGENT DEFENSEMAN JOEL BOUCHARD". Buffalo Sabres. July 12, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Former AHL scoring champion Domenic Pittis to return to the Rochester Americans". OurSports Central. July 14, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Buffalo Sabres Sign Defenseman David Cullen". OurSports Central. July 15, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Brian Chapman and Rick Mrozik Sign with Sabres". OurSports Central. August 22, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "TRANSACTIONS". Baltimore Sun. October 18, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
SABRES: Signed D Scott Ricci and D Nathan Paetsch
- ^ "2003 NHL free agent list". ESPN.com. July 1, 2003. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ Radoslav Hecl at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 11, 2022
- ^ "Saturday roundup: Sens sign winger Hamel". ESPN.com. July 5, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ Peter Ratchuk at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 11, 2022
- ^ "TRANSACTION". Hartford Courant. August 19, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS--Signed C Francois Methot.
- ^ Doug Houda at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 11, 2022
- ^ a b Graham, Tim (October 4, 2003). "SABRES WAIVE GOODBYE TO BEGIN, BOUCHARD". Buffalo News. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Zwei Kanadier für die Kloten Flyers". Kloten Flyers (in German). April 5, 2004. Archived from the original on April 9, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "SABRES EXTEND QUALIFYING OFFERS TO 14 PLAYERS". Buffalo Sabres. June 30, 2003. Archived from the original on August 11, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Buffalo-bound: Drury goes to Sabres in three-way deal". ESPN.com. July 3, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Taylor and Botterill re-sign with Buffalo". OurSports Central. July 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "THREE SABRES ACCEPT QUALIFYING OFFERS". Buffalo Sabres. July 31, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "SABRES SIGN ADAM MAIR TO MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT". Buffalo Sabres. July 31, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "SABRES SIGN ERIC BOULTON TO MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT". Buffalo Sabres. August 1, 2003. Archived from the original on August 5, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "SABRES DEFENSEMAN HENRIK TALLINDER ACCEPTS QUALIFYING OFFER". Buffalo Sabres. August 1, 2003. Archived from the original on August 5, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Sabres Sign Askey and Peters". OurSports Central. August 7, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres Sign Curtis Brown". Buffalo Sabres. August 8, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres Sign Ales Kotalik". Buffalo Sabres. August 8, 2003. Archived from the original on August 19, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres Ink Chris Drury". Buffalo Sabres. August 25, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "NORM MILLEY". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on January 28, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
15-Sep-03: Re-signed by the Buffalo Sabres.
- ^ "SABRES AGREE TO TERMS WITH JAY McKEE ON MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT". Buffalo Sabres. September 24, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sabres sign Miroslav Satan to two-year contract". ESPN.com. September 29, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "2003 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.