<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article or section appears to be slanted towards recent events . Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events . (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article or section appears to be slanted towards recent events . Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events . (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Sabres, along with the Vancouver Canucks, joined the NHL in the 1970--71 season . Their first owners were Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox, scions of a family long prominent in Western New York and grandsons of the co-founders of the Woolworth's variety store chain; along with Robert O. Swados, a Buffalo attorney . On the team's inaugural board of directors were Robert E. Rich, Jr., later the owner of the Buffalo Bisons minor league baseball team; and George W. Strawbridge, Jr., an heir to the Campbell Soup Company fortune . Buffalo had a history of professional hockey; immediately prior to the Sabres' establishment, the Buffalo Bisons were a pillar of the American Hockey League (AHL), having existed since 1940 (and before that, another Bisons hockey team played from 1928 to 1936), winning the Calder Cup in their final season . </P> <P> Wanting a name other than "bison" (a generic stock name used by Buffalo sports teams for decades), the Knoxes commissioned a name - the - team contest . With names like "Mugwumps", "Buzzing Bees" and "Flying Zeppelins" being entered, the winning choice, "Sabres", was chosen because Seymour Knox felt a sabre, a weapon carried by a leader, could be effective on offense and defense . The Knoxes tried twice before to get an NHL team, first when the NHL expanded in 1967, and again when they attempted to buy the Oakland Seals with the intent of moving them to Buffalo . Their first attempt was thwarted when Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney persuaded his horse racing friends James and Bruce Norris to select Pittsburgh over Buffalo, while the 2nd attempt was due to the NHL not wanting an expansion market to give up on a team so soon . At the time of their creation, the Sabres exercised their option to create their own AHL farm team, the Cincinnati Swords . Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach was hired in the same capacity with the Sabres . </P>

When did the buffalo sabres join the nhl