# 2019–20 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2019–20 Buffalo Sabres season was the 50th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.
The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled and the Sabres missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

## Off-season

The Sabres fired head coach Phil Housley on April 7, 2019, amid a dreadful second half of the season, in which the Sabres had only won 16 of their last 57 games after being on the top of the standings in November. The team hired Ralph Krueger as Housley's replacement on May 15. Krueger's lone NHL head coaching experience was at the helm of the Edmonton Oilers during part of the strike-shortened 2012–13 NHL season; he had also coached Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He most recently served as the chairman of Southampton F.C., a position that he held for five years.
On May 20, the Sabres unveiled logos for their upcoming 50th anniversary season.
On August 16, the Sabres unveiled their third jersey for the 2019–20 season and simultaneously announced that they will return to royal blue starting in 2020-21 season.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | p – Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | 100 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | 92 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | 81 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | 78 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | 71 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | 68 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | 62 |
| 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | 39 |

### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | .714 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | .657 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 3 | Washington Capitals | 69 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 31 | 240 | 215 | +25 | .652 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 69 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 31 | 232 | 196 | +36 | .645 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 69 | 40 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 224 | 196 | +28 | .623 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 6 | Carolina Hurricanes | 68 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 222 | 193 | +29 | .596 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 7 | New York Islanders | 68 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 24 | 192 | 193 | −1 | .588 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | .579 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 9 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 70 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 25 | 180 | 187 | −7 | .579 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 10 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | .565 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 11 | New York Rangers | 70 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 31 | 234 | 222 | +12 | .564 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | .500 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 13 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | .493 | |
| 14 | New Jersey Devils | 69 | 28 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 189 | 230 | −41 | .493 | |
| 15 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | .437 | |
| 16 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | .275 | |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The pre-season schedule was published on June 18, 2019.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.
2019–20 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jack Eichel | 68 | 36 | 42 | 78 | 5 | 34 |
| Sam Reinhart | 69 | 22 | 28 | 50 | −15 | 20 |
| Victor Olofsson | 54 | 20 | 22 | 42 | −1 | 6 |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 59 | 4 | 36 | 40 | −7 | 38 |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | 69 | 6 | 27 | 33 | −2 | 46 |
| Marcus Johansson | 60 | 9 | 21 | 30 | −12 | 20 |
| Jeff Skinner | 59 | 14 | 9 | 23 | −22 | 18 |
| Jimmy Vesey | 64 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 12 | 15 |
| Zemgus Girgensons | 69 | 12 | 7 | 19 | −1 | 10 |
| Kyle Okposo | 52 | 9 | 10 | 19 | −3 | 28 |
| Conor Sheary$^‡$ | 55 | 9 | 10 | 19 | −4 | 8 |
| Johan Larsson | 62 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 8 | 26 |
| Brandon Montour | 54 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 28 |
| Henri Jokiharju | 69 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −6 | 32 |
| Jake McCabe | 66 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −11 | 41 |
| Colin Miller | 51 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −9 | 22 |
| Curtis Lazar | 38 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −3 | 9 |
| Evan Rodrigues$^‡$ | 38 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −8 | 10 |
| Casey Mittelstadt | 31 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −5 | 2 |
| Marco Scandella$^‡$ | 31 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Zach Bogosian | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Dominik Kahun$^†$ | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Michael Frolik$^†$ | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
| Vladimir Sobotka | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Rasmus Asplund | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 6 |
| Scott Wilson | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Wayne Simmonds$^†$ | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| John Gilmour | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Sebastien Dea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dalton Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Lawrence Pilut | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 4 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Linus Ullmark | 34 | 34 | 2,026:38 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 91 | 2.69 | 1,066 | .915 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Carter Hutton | 31 | 30 | 1,775:26 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 94 | 3.18 | 918 | .898 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Jonas Johansson | 6 | 5 | 326:44 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 2.94 | 151 | .894 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Transactions

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 22, 2019 (2019-06-22) | To Vancouver CanucksSJS's 4th-round pick in 2019 WPG's 6th-round pick in 2019 | To Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 22, 2019 (2019-06-22) | To Detroit Red WingsTOR's 6th-round pick in 2019 7th-round pick in 2019 | To Buffalo SabresCBJ's 5th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 28, 2019 (2019-06-28) | To Vegas Golden KnightsSTL's 2nd-round pick in 2021 5th-round pick in 2022 | To Buffalo SabresColin Miller |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | To New York Rangers3rd-round pick in 2021 | To Buffalo SabresJimmy Vesey |
| July 9, 2019 (2019-07-09) | To Chicago BlackhawksAlexander Nylander | To Buffalo SabresHenri Jokiharju |
| January 2, 2020 (2020-01-02) | To Montreal CanadiensMarco Scandella | To Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2020 |
| January 2, 2020 (2020-01-02) | To Calgary Flames4th-round pick in 2020 | To Buffalo SabresMichael Frolik |
| February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsEvan Rodrigues Conor Sheary | To Buffalo SabresDominik Kahun |
| February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | To New Jersey DevilsConditional 5th round pick in 2021 | To Buffalo SabresWayne Simmonds |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Jean-Sebastien Dea | from Florida Panthers | 2-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Andrew Hammond | from Minnesota Wild | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Curtis Lazar | from Calgary Flames | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Scott Wedgewood | to Tampa Bay Lightning | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | John Gilmour | from New York Rangers | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Kyle Criscuolo | to Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Danny O'Regan | to New York Rangers | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Matt Tennyson | to New Jersey Devils | 2-year |
| July 6, 2019 (2019-07-06) | Marcus Johansson | from Boston Bruins | 2-year |
| December 30, 2019 (2019-12-30) | Dalton Smith | from Rochester Americans (AHL) | 1-year |
| February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17) | Taylor Leier | from Rochester Americans (AHL) | 1-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team | Ref |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | | from/to | |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | C. J. Smith | 2-year |
| July 6, 2019 (2019-07-06) | Zemgus Girgensons | 1-year |
| July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12) | Johan Larsson | 1-year |
| July 15, 2019 (2019-07-15) | Dylan Cozens | 3-year |
| July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25) | Evan Rodrigues | 1-year |
| August 1, 2019 (2019-08-01) | Remi Elie | 1-year |
| August 3, 2019 (2019-08-03) | Jake McCabe | 2-year |
| August 3, 2019 (2019-08-03) | Linus Ullmark | 1-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 7 | Dylan Cozens | C | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 1 | 31$^1$ | Ryan Johnson | D | United States | Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) |
| 3 | 67 | Erik Portillo | G | Sweden | Frölunda J20 (J20 SuperElit) |
| 4 | 102$^2$ | Aaron Huglen | RW | United States | Roseau (HS-MN) |
| 5 | 143$^3$ | Filip Cederqvist | LW | Sweden | Växjö Lakers (SHL) |
| 6 | 160 | Lukas Rousek | RW | Czech Republic | Sparta Praha (ELH) |
Notes:
* The St. Louis Blues' first-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on July 1, 2018, that sent Ryan O'Reilly to St. Louis in exchange for Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Tage Thompson, a second-round pick in 2021 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
* The Vancouver Canucks' fourth-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent San Jose's fourth-round pick and Winnipeg's sixth-round pick both in 2019 (122nd and 175th overall) to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
* The Columbus Blue Jackets' fifth-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent Toronto's sixth-round pick and a seventh-round both in 2019 (177th and 191st overall) to Detroit in exchange for this pick.