2001–02 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2001-02 Buffalo Sabres season was the 32nd for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The Sabres finished in 5th place in the Northeast Division and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

Offseason
The Sabres traded both of their stars, Mike Peca, their former captain and Dominik Hasek in the offseason. Peca was sent to the Islanders for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt. Forward Stu Barnes was named team captain.

Regular season
On October 7, 2001 the Sabres played the New York Rangers in the first pro sports game played in Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. In the game both teams wore special one time jerseys with "New York" written diagonally on the front of the jersey. The jerseys were later auctioned off to raise money for the 9/11 victims fund. The Sabres lost the game 5–4 in overtime.

Schedule and results

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

Scoring

 * 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.

Transactions
The Sabres were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2001, the day after the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 13, 2002, the day of the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

Draft picks
Buffalo's draft picks at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft held at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida.