The 2020–21 Buffalo Sabres season was the 51st season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the ongoing closure of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. As a result of this realignment the Sabres played this season in the East Division and only played games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season. With an 18th consecutive loss on March 29, 2021, the Sabres equalled the NHL record for the longest losing streak in a season, tied with the 2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins. In that game, the Sabres blew a 3–0 lead and lost 4–3 in overtime. On April 17, the Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention after a 3–2 loss to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

, extending their playoff drought to ten seasons, tying an NHL record. In the Sabres' 18-game losing streak, they were 0–15–3 (two overtime losses and one shootout loss). In the first 34 games, they were 6–23–5 for 17 points. In their final 22 games, they were 9–11–2, ultimately finishing with a 15–34–7 record for 37 points. For the fourth time in eight seasons, the Sabres finished with the worst record in the whole NHL.

Off-season

The Sabres introduced three new jerseys for the season. On August 11, 2020, the Sabres revealed their new uniforms, which was an updated version of the team's original jerseys. The team reintroduced their original royal blue, gold, and white colors, which was worn by the team from 1970 to 1996. On November 16, 2020, the NHL introduced

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"Reverse Retro" jerseys for all 31 teams, which feature throwback uniforms with a modern twist. The Sabres' Reverse Retro jersey is a modern update to the team's first third jersey worn in 2000, with the exception being that it was done in the team's current colors on a white template.

Standings

Divisional standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†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

Trades

Waivers

Draft picks

Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2020 NHL entry draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the

. It was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

. Notes: # The

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

' second-round pick went to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent a second and fourth-round pick both in 2020 (38th and 100th overall) to San Jose in exchange for this pick. # The

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

' seventh-round pick went to the

as the result of a trade on November 10, 2018, that sent Taylor Fedun to Dallas in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Buffalo will receive a seventh-round pick in 2020 if Fedun plays in 25 games during the

2018–19 NHL season The 2018–19 NHL season was the 102nd season of operation (101st season of play) of the National Hockey League. 31 teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 3, 2018, and ended on April 6, 2019. The 2019 S ...

and

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2018–19 season. The playoffs began on April 10, 2019, after the regular season, and they concluded on June 12, 2019, with the St. Louis Blu ...

combined – was converted on January 17, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Buffalo Sabres season

Buffalo Sabres seasons

2020s in Buffalo, New York