The 2012–13 Buffalo Sabres season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout. The season was the 15th and final season coached by Lindy Ruff, who was fired after a 6–10–1 start. The Sabres failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season. Off-season Broadcast changes On June 8, 2012, the Sabres announced that Rick Jeanneret, the longest-tenured play-by-play announcer in NHL history, would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame; Jeanneret will also receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. Rob Ray will replace Harry Neale as the full-time color commentator for all Sabres game broadcasts. Neale will join Mike Robitaille, whose role will remain unchanged, and Brian Duff, who will take over as full-time studio host, in the studio. Kevin Sylvester and Danny Gare, who served as the alternate broadcast team in 2011–12, were not originally going to reprise their roles in 2012–13; Sylvester instead revived the Hockey Hotline, a long-discontinued Sabres call-in talk show, for WGR. However, due to Jeanneret suffering an illness, Sylvester was pressed into service to call play-by-play for the first four games of the regular season. Alumni Plaza On July 12, 2012, the Sabres announced that the plaza adjacent to First Niagara Center would be re-branded Alumni Plaza. On October 12, 2012, a bronze French Connection statue was added to the plaza. Other plans included plaques with the name of every player to play a game for the team and fans having to opportunity to buy engraved bricks. Lockout On September 13, 2012, Buffalo Sabres owner Terrence Pegula, along with all 28 other league ownership groups (the League still collectively owns the Phoenix Coyotes), authorized NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to lock-out the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) upon the expiration of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on September 15. The lockout ended at 4:45 am EST on January 6, 2013, lasting days. The lockout reduced the regular season from 82 to 48 games. Overseas Sabres After the announced lockout, players from the team began to sign contracts to play in Europe until resumption of NHL play. Beyond Blue and Gold During the abbreviated training camp the team released the first episodes in a new web-series called Beyond Blue and Gold. The