BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres held a throwback Thursday.
The Sabres celebrated 2000s Night at KeyBank Center, on a night when the Columbus Blue Jackets came to town.
Tom Golisano was honored during a pregame ceremony. He bought the team out of bankruptcy in 2003 and stabilized the franchise at a time when the Sabres organization was in dire straits financially.
The Rochester billionaire presided over the most recent run of success for the Sabres, who made back-to-back tips to the Eastern Conference finals in 2006 and 2007.
His former managing partner, Larry Quinn, said Golisano is the reason the Sabres are still here in Western New York.
Also in attendance was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. The league ran the franchise for some time, before Golisano bought the team. He later sold the franchise to the Pegula family in 2011.
Many Sabres from those teams, including Danny Briere and Tim Connolly, were at Thursday night's game.