1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season
The 1971–72 Buffalo Sabres season was the Buffalo Sabres second season of operation in the National Hockey League.
Offseason
An $8.7 million renovation took place after the 1970–71 inauguration of the Sabres and Buffalo Braves franchises. The arena's roof was raised 24 feet, making room for a new upper level. This raised the total capacity of the arena to over 17,000 for basketball and 15,858 for hockey, making it a more suitable home for the NBA and NHL.Regular season
For the second consecutive season the Sabres had a breakout rookie performance by their first round draft pick. Rick Martin would score 44 goals breaking the NHL rookie scoring record of 38 set the previous season by Gilbert Perreault. Despite the efforts of their young phenoms the Sabres would finish with a worse record than their inaugural season and again miss the Playoffs. During the season Eddie Shack was traded to Pittsburgh for Rene Robert.Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
The Sabres failed to make the playoffs in the 1971–72 season.Player statistics
Regular season
;Scoring| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| 73 | 44 | 30 | 74 | 36 | −38 | 19 | 0 | 5 | |
| 76 | 26 | 48 | 74 | 24 | −40 | 11 | 0 | 1 | |
| 77 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 12 | −28 | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| 76 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 105 | −12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 50 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 34 | −11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 67 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 26 | −22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 33 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 12 | −11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 61 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 98 | −20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 14 | −10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 78 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 38 | −18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 78 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 15 | −23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 46 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 12 | −20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 57 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 52 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 44 | −19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 31 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 43 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 58 | −21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 27 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | −5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 66 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 101 | −33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 34 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 27 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 45 | −21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 19 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 39 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | −12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| 3654 | 63 | 13 | 34 | 14 | 214 | 3.51 | 2 | |
| 1026 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 68 | 3.98 | 0 | |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 282 | 3.62 | 2 |
Awards and records
The Sabres were not awarded any individual or team awards in the 1971–72 season.Transactions
Intra-League Draft
Reverse Draft
Free Agency
Lost via retirement
Roster
Draft picks
NHL draft
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 5 | Rick Martin | Montreal Junior Canadiens | |
| 2 | 19 | Craig Ramsay | Peterborough Petes | |
| 3 | 33 | Bill Hajt | Saskatoon Blades | |
| 4 | 47 | Bob Richer | Trois-Rivières Ducs | |
| 5 | 61 | Steve Warr | Clarkson University | |
| 6 | 75 | Pierre Duguay | Quebec Remparts |