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 Sabres looked to end their eight-year playoff drought, last making the playoffs in the 2010–11 season.
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 its 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.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Eastern Conference===
==Schedule and results==
===Preseason===
The pre-season schedule was published on June 18, 2019.
2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)	2019 preseason game log: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 16 	Pittsburgh 	4–5 	Buffalo 	OT 	Johansson 	5,497 	1–0–0 	Recap
2 	September 17 	Buffalo 	1–4 	Columbus 	 	Hammond 	— 	1–1–0 	Recap
3 	September 20 	Buffalo 	0–3 	Toronto 	 	Ullmark 	16,232 	1–2–0 	Recap
4 	September 21 	Toronto 	3–5 	Buffalo 	 	Hutton 	17,224 	2–2–0 	Recap
5 	September 25 	Columbus 	3–4 	Buffalo 	OT 	Hutton 	15,788 	3–2–0 	Recap
6 	September 28 	Buffalo 	3–2 	Pittsburgh 	SO 	Ullmark 	18,235 	4–2–0 	Recap
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.
===Regular season===
The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019. 
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October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)	October: 9–2–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–2–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 3 	Buffalo 	3–1 	Pittsburgh 	 	Hutton 	18,616 	1–0–0 	2 	Recap
2 	October 5 	New Jersey 	2–7 	Buffalo 	 	Hutton 	19,070 	2–0–0 	4 	Recap
3 	October 7 	Buffalo 	3–4 	Columbus 	OT 	Ullmark 	14,518 	2–0–1 	5 	Recap
4 	October 9 	Montreal 	4–5 	Buffalo 	OT 	Hutton 	15,383 	3–0–1 	7 	Recap
5 	October 11 	Florida 	2–3 	Buffalo 	SO 	Ullmark 	15,638 	4–0–1 	9 	Recap
6 	October 14 	Dallas 	0–4 	Buffalo 	 	Hutton 	16,595 	5–0–1 	11 	Recap
7 	October 16 	Buffalo 	2–5 	Anaheim 	 	Ullmark 	15,193 	5–1–1 	11 	Recap
8 	October 17 	Buffalo 	3–0 	Los Angeles 	 	Hutton 	17,605 	6–1–1 	13 	Recap
9 	October 19 	Buffalo 	4–3 	San Jose 	 	Ullmark 	17,562 	7–1–1 	15 	Recap
10 	October 22 	San Jose 	3–4 	Buffalo 	OT 	Hutton 	15,876 	8–1–1 	17 	Recap
11 	October 24 	Buffalo 	2–6 	NY Rangers 	 	Hutton 	16,913 	8–2–1 	17 	Recap
12 	October 25 	Buffalo 	2–0 	Detroit 	 	Ullmark 	18,616 	9–2–1 	19 	Recap
13 	October 28 	Arizona 	3–2 	Buffalo 	SO 	Hutton 	15,358 	9–2–2 	20 	Recap
==Player statistics==
===Skaters===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	68	36	42	78	5 	34
 	69	22	28	50	−15	20
 	54	20	22	42	−1 	6
 	59	4 	36	40	−7 	38
 	69	6 	27	33	−2 	46
 	60	9 	21	30	−12	20
 	59	14	9 	23	−22	18
 	64	9 	11	20	12 	15
 	69	12	7 	19	−1 	10
 	52	9 	10	19	−3 	28
‡ 	55	9 	10	19	−4 	8
 	62	6 	12	18	8 	26
 	54	5 	13	18	13 	28
 	69	4 	11	15	−6 	32
 	66	3 	10	13	−11	41
 	51	1 	10	11	−9 	22
 	38	5 	5 	10	−3 	9
‡ 	38	5 	4 	9 	−8 	10
 	31	4 	5 	9 	−5 	2
‡ 	31	3 	6 	9 	9 	8
 	19	1 	4 	5 	0 	10
† 	6 	2 	2 	4 	2 	0
† 	19	1 	3 	4 	−2 	4
 	16	1 	2 	3 	2 	4
 	29	1 	2 	3 	−4 	6
 	6 	1 	1 	2 	1 	2
† 	7 	0 	1 	1 	−4 	2
 	4 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	1 	2
 	13	0 	0 	0 	−4 	4
===Goaltenders===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	34	34	2,026:38	17	14	3	91	2.69	1,066	.915	1	0	0	4
 	31	30	1,775:26	12	14	4	94	3.18	918 	.898	2	0	1	6
 	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 	Ref
 	To Vancouver CanucksSJS's 4th-round pick in 2019WPG's 6th-round pick in 2019	To Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2019 	
 	To Detroit Red WingsTOR's 6th-round pick in 20197th-round pick in 2019 	To Buffalo SabresCBJ's 5th-round pick in 2019	
 	To Vegas Golden KnightsSTL's 2nd-round pick in 20215th-round pick in 2022 	To Buffalo SabresColin Miller 	
 	To New York Rangers3rd-round pick in 2021 	To Buffalo SabresJimmy Vesey 	
 	To Chicago BlackhawksAlexander Nylander 	To Buffalo SabresHenri Jokiharju 	
 	To Montreal CanadiensMarco Scandella 	To Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2020 	
 	To Calgary Flames4th-round pick in 2020 	To Buffalo SabresMichael Frolík 	
 	To Pittsburgh PenguinsEvan RodriguesConor Sheary 	To Buffalo SabresDominik Kahun 	
 	To New Jersey DevilsConditional 5th round pick in 2021 	To Buffalo SabresWayne Simmonds 	
===Free agents===
Date	Player 	Team 	Contract term	Ref
 	Jean-Sebastien Dea	from Florida Panthers 	2-year 	
 	Andrew Hammond 	from Minnesota Wild 	1-year 	
 	Curtis Lazar 	from Calgary Flames 	1-year 	
 	Scott Wedgewood 	to Tampa Bay Lightning 	1-year 	
 	John Gilmour 	from New York Rangers 	1-year 	
 	Kyle Criscuolo 	to Philadelphia Flyers 	1-year 	
 	Danny O'Regan 	to New York Rangers 	1-year 	
 	Matt Tennyson 	to New Jersey Devils 	2-year 	
 	Marcus Johansson 	from Boston Bruins 	2-year 	
 	Dalton Smith 	from Rochester Americans (AHL)	1-year 	
 	Taylor Leier 	from Rochester Americans (AHL)	1-year 	
===Waivers===
Date	Player	Team 	Ref
 	 	from/to	
===Contract terminations===
Date	Player	Via	Ref
 	 	 	
===Retirement===
Date	Player	Ref
 	 	
===Signings===
Date	Player 	Contract term	Ref
 	C. J. Smith 	2-year 	
 	Zemgus Girgensons	1-year 	
 	Johan Larsson 	1-year 	
 	Dylan Cozens 	3-year 	
 	Evan Rodrigues 	1-year 	
 	Remi Elie 	1-year 	
 	Jake McCabe 	2-year 	
 	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 	 	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
1 	311 	Ryan Johnson 	D 	 	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
3 	67 	Erik Portillo 	G 	 	Frölunda J20 (J20 SuperElit)
4 	1022	Aaron Huglen 	RW 	 	Roseau (HS-MN)
5 	1433	Filip Cederqvist	LW 	 	Växjö Lakers (SHL)
6 	160 	Lukas Rousek 	RW 	 	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.
==References==
Category:Buffalo Sabres seasons
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