Skip to main content

Buffalo Sabres (NHL, 1976-77)

1976-77 Sabres Yearbook

      This isn't a program, it's a yearbook from the 1976-77 Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were in their seventh season of operation in NHL, playing at the 16,325-seat Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Floyd Smith was head coach while ex-Leafs coach Punch Imlach was General Manager.

     The 1976-77 Sabres finished with a 48-24-8 record, good enough for second place in the Adams Division, just two points back of Boston and 23 ahead of third place Toronto. Future Hall-of-Famer Gilbert Perreault led the team on offense with 39 goals and 95 points. René Robert (33) and Rick Martin (36), Perreault's French Connection line mates, were the other 30-goal scorers on the Sabres. As a team, the Sabres scored 301 goals, fourth most in the NHL. Attendance for Sabres games was 16,433 per game (101% capacity).

     The Sabres were also fourth-best on defense, surrendering just 220 goals. Of all the players the Sabres used that season, just five had a negative +/- rating. Jerry "King Kong" Korab led the defense in scoring with 14 goals and 47 points in 77 games, to go along with 120 minutes in penalties. Captain Jim Schoenfeld (on the cover of this yearbook) added 7 goals and 32 points in 65 games. Buffalo used four goaltenders this season. Veteran Gerry Desjardins played in 49 games, finishing with a 31-12-6 record with 3 shutouts and a 2.63 GAA. His main backup was rookie Don Edwards, who was 16-7-2 with 2 shutouts and a 2.51 GAA in 25 games. Al Smith (7 games, 0-3-0, 4.30 GAA) and Bob Sauve (4 games, 1-2-0, 3.59 GAA) were the other two net minders. Desjardins and Edwards drew the net minding assignment for the playoffs.

     In the preliminary round, Buffalo made quick work of the Minnesota North Stars, sweeping them aside in two straight (best-of-three), out scoring the North Stars 11-3 in the process. In Round 2, the Sabres ran into the New York Islanders, a rising power in the NHL by then. The Sabres were downed in four straight, but it was a close series, as every game was decided by 1-2 goals. 

     I found this yearbook with a 1976-77 NHL Media Guide at Goodwill in (of all places) Mount Pleasant, Michigan, this past summer. The yearbook is 50 pages long, all in color. There's a team photo in the center, listing all the players on the team roster and their stats for 1975-76. Articles include bios for Punch Imlach and Floyd Smith and one about the French Connection Line. Advertisements include Quasar color televisions, Hockey Digest, Koho Sporting Goods and LNB Liberty National Bank and Trust. 

References:

National Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1976-77, from hockeydb.com

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL, 1998-99)

1998-99 Regular Season: Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks      1998-99 was a memorable season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Maple Leaf Gardens, the Leafs iconic home for the past 68 years, was closing midway through the year, replaced by the Air Canada Center.      Since it's grand opening in 1931, the Gardens had been home to not only the Leafs, but also pro basketball, pro wrestling, rock concerts, boxing, you name it. It saw the highs of 11 Stanley Cup championships to the nadir of the Harold Ballard era of the 1970s and 1980s. The building had become not just a legendary sports arena, but a Canadian cultural shrine.      The Maple Leafs were coming off two straight disappointing seasons by the time 1998-99 rolled around. The team had slumped after making two straight conference finals in the early 1990s, and missed the playoffs altogether in 1997 and 1998.       Major changes were made for the upco...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chatham Wheels (CoHL, 1993-94)

1993-94 Regular Season Wheels vs. Detroit Falcons      The Chatham Wheels were in their second season of play in the Colonial Hockey League. The team was named after the Wheels Inn, a hotel/indoor amusement complex in town that closed in 2009. The Wheels were owned by a group led by Tom Kirkconnell and played their home games at the 3,300-seat Chatham Memorial Arena.       The Wheels were coming off a last place finish in 1992-93, going 24-32-4, 12 points back of 6th place Flint. Attendance was brutal as well, as the team drew just 1,174 per game to Memorial Arena. Changes were made, as longtime junior coach Tom Barrett was hired as Head Coach/GM and Governor, replacing Ron Caron. Barrett added veteran talent to the roster, including former Flint Spirits John Vecchiarelli and Brett MacDonald, and former St. Thomas Wildcats goaltender Kevin Butt, to go along with holdover Jim Ritchie.      Barrett's moves paid off, as the Wheels surged up...
2 comments
Read more

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the...
Post a Comment
Read more