The official Buffalo Sabres colors are royal blue, gold and white. The primary color is royal blue (#003087), paired with gold (#FFB81C) and white (#FFFFFF). These colors run across the team’s logo, jerseys and merchandise, brought back in the 2020-21 rebrand that returned the franchise to its original 1970 identity.
Color Codes Table
Here’s the part designers actually came for. HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone, all in one spot. A quick honesty note on Pantone below the table.
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Blue | #003087 | 0, 48, 135 | 100, 91, 17, 6 | PMS 287 C | |
| Gold | #FFB81C | 255, 184, 28 | 0, 31, 98, 0 | PMS 1235 C | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | None (pure white) |
On the Pantone codes: the Sabres and the NHL don’t publish a full public brand book with locked print specs. PMS 287 C and PMS 1235 C are the widely cited references and they line up closely with the HEX values above. Treat them as accurate matches, not a scan of an internal style guide.
Per-Color Breakdown
The royal blue in the Sabres palette
Royal blue (#003087) is the anchor. It fills the home jersey, dominates the round crest behind the charging buffalo, and carries most of the brand weight in print and on screen. This is the exact deep, saturated blue the franchise wore from 1970 to 1996 before two decades of detours. When the team announced the return in 2019 and shipped it for 2020-21, the whole point was getting back to this specific hue and not the navy that replaced it.
The gold in the Sabres palette
Gold (#FFB81C) is the accent that makes the blue pop. You see it in the sabres crossing under the buffalo, the striping on the sleeves and waist, and the helmet bison decal. It’s warmer and brighter than the muted gold tone the team used in the mid-2000s. Small thing, big difference. Put this gold next to royal and the contrast reads instantly, even from the cheap seats.
The white in the Sabres palette
White (#FFFFFF) does the quiet work. It’s the base of the away sweater and, since 2020, it’s used as thin piping layered on top of the gold stripes, a detail carried over from the 50th anniversary jersey. Before the rebrand the team leaned on silver and gray for that role. Swapping in clean white is a big reason the current set looks sharper than the Adidas-era navy uniforms.
Uniform Colors (Home, Away, Alternate)
Home uniform: royal blue base with three gold stripes on the arms and waist, each trimmed with white piping. The crest sits front and center, no shoulder patches.
Away uniform: white base, royal blue shoulder yoke with gold trim, and a gold stripe framed by two blue stripes on the sleeves and hem.
The Sabres have rotated a black throwback (the old 1990s “Goathead”) and Reverse Retro sets through recent seasons, so the alternate slot changes year to year. The royal-and-gold home and white road looks are the constant.
History and Rebranding
The Sabres hit the ice in 1970 in blue and gold, and kept that basic look for more than 25 years. In 1996 they blew it up: black and red replaced the blue, with the bull’s-head logo fans nicknamed the “Goathead.”
In 2006 came another reset. The team moved to navy blue and gold with the stylized bison crest that earned the not-so-affectionate “Buffaslug” tag. When Adidas took over NHL jersey production in 2017, they stripped the gray out of the set for a cleaner build.
The real turn came in 2019, when Buffalo announced during its 50th anniversary season that royal was coming back. The new royal blue, gold and white uniforms debuted for 2020-21, with silver removed from the crest and buffalo-fur stitching detail carried over from the golden anniversary sweater. That’s the fifth major uniform change in franchise history, and the one that finally gave long-suffering fans their original colors back.
How to Use the Colors
For web and digital work, drop in the HEX values directly: royal blue as #003087, gold as #FFB81C, white as #FFFFFF. For anything headed to a printer, use the CMYK or Pantone references from the table instead, and always pull a test proof before a real run. Ink and paper shift these more than people expect.
One layout tip from experience: avoid gold text on a white background. The contrast falls apart and it gets hard to read. Keep gold as an accent on blue, and let white carry the space.
Here’s a copy-ready CSS block:
“ :root { --sabres-royal-blue: #003087; --sabres-gold: #FFB81C; --sabres-white: #FFFFFF; } `
Relevant Resources
Want the full league reference? Start with the complete set of NHL team color codes, then branch out to the division rivals. The Sabres share the Atlantic with the Toronto Maple Leafs palette, the Montreal Canadiens color set, the Ottawa Senators scheme and the Detroit Red Wings colors.
If you’re building a full palette around this blue-and-gold combo, the gold-based palette collections are a solid place to pull secondary shades that won’t fight the crest.
FAQ on The Buffalo Sabres Colors
What are the Buffalo Sabres colors?
The Buffalo Sabres colors are royal blue, gold and white. Royal blue (#003087) is the primary, backed by gold (#FFB81C) and white. These three run across the logo, jerseys and merchandise of the Buffalo, New York franchise.
What are the Buffalo Sabres color codes (HEX and RGB)?
The HEX codes are #003087 royal blue, #FFB81C gold and #FFFFFF white. In RGB that’s (0, 48, 135), (255, 184, 28) and (255, 255, 255). Use these for any web or digital build.
What is the Buffalo Sabres Pantone color?
Royal blue matches PMS 287 C and gold matches PMS 1235 C. White has no Pantone. The NHL doesn’t publish a full public brand book, so treat these as close, widely cited references rather than an internal spec.
What is the primary color of the Buffalo Sabres?
Royal blue (#003087) is the primary color. It dominates the home jersey and fills the round crest behind the charging buffalo. Gold and white play supporting roles as accent and contrast.
When did the Buffalo Sabres adopt their current colors?
The team debuted the current royal blue, gold and white scheme for the 2020-21 season. It was announced in 2019 during the 50th anniversary, a return to the palette worn from 1970 to 1996.
What were the old Buffalo Sabres colors?
From 1996 to 2006 the Sabres wore black and red with the “Goathead” logo. Then came navy blue and gold (the “Buffaslug” era) from 2006 until the 2020 rebrand brought royal back.
What colors is the Buffalo Sabres jersey?
The home jersey is royal blue with three gold stripes and white piping. The away sweater is white with a royal blue yoke and gold trim. No chest numbers, no shoulder patches.
What do the Buffalo Sabres colors and logo mean?
The crest shows a charging buffalo above two crossed sabres, tying the city name to the weapon. Royal blue and gold carry the heritage look, while the collar nods to the City of Buffalo flag.
Are the Buffalo Sabres colors the same as the St. Louis Blues?
They’re close but not identical. Both lean on blue and gold, yet the St. Louis Blues palette uses a navy-leaning blue and a Vegas-style gold, while Buffalo’s royal (#003087) reads brighter and cleaner.
What gold does the Buffalo Sabres use?
The Sabres gold is #FFB81C, RGB (255, 184, 28), Pantone 1235 C. It’s warmer and brighter than the muted gold of the mid-2000s navy uniforms, and it appears in the striping, crest and helmet bison decal.
Conclusion
The Buffalo Sabres colors come down to three: royal blue (#003087), gold (#FFB81C) and white. Grab the HEX for screens, the CMYK or Pantone 287 C for print.
What makes this palette worth knowing is the story behind it. The 2020-21 rebrand pulled the franchise back to its 1970 roots, ditching the navy “Buffaslug” era for good.
Match the swatches, respect the crest, and your Sabres-themed work will read true to the KeyBank Center faithful.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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