The 2019–20 Buffalo Sabres season was the 50th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) 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

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) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 16 Pittsburgh 4–5 Buffalo OT Johansson 5,497 1–0–0 2 September 17 Buffalo 1–4 Columbus Hammond – 1–1–0 3 September 20 Buffalo 0–3 Toronto Ullmark 16,232 1–2–0 4 September 21 Toronto 3–5 Buffalo Hutton 17,224 2–2–0 5 September 25 Columbus 3–4 Buffalo OT Hutton 15,788 3–2–0 6 September 28 Buffalo 3–2 Pittsburgh SO Ullmark 18,235 4–2–0 Notes: Game was played at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.

Regular season The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019. 2019–20 game logOctober: 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 2 October 5 New Jersey 2–7 Buffalo Hutton 19,070 2–0–0 4 3 October 7 Buffalo 3–4 Columbus OT Ullmark 14,518 2–0–1 5 4 October 9 Montreal 4–5 Buffalo OT Hutton 15,383 3–0–1 7 5 October 11 Florida 2–3 Buffalo SO Ullmark 15,638 4–0–1 9 6 October 14 Dallas 0–4 Buffalo Hutton 16,595 5–0–1 11 7 October 16 Buffalo 2–5 Anaheim Ullmark 15,193 5–1–1 11 8 October 17 Buffalo 3–0 Los Angeles Hutton 17,605 6–1–1 13 9 October 19 Buffalo 4–3 San Jose Ullmark 17,562 7–1–1 15 10 October 22 San Jose 3–4 Buffalo OT Hutton 15,876 8–1–1 17 11 October 24 Buffalo 2–6 NY Rangers Hutton 16,913 8–2–1 17 12 October 25 Buffalo 2–0 Detroit Ullmark 18,616 9–2–1 19 13 October 28 Arizona 3–2 Buffalo SO Hutton 15,358 9–2–2 20 November: 3–8–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 1–5–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 14 November 1 Buffalo 1–6 Washington Ullmark 18,573 9–3–2 20 15 November 2 NY Islanders 1–0 Buffalo Hutton 19,070 9–4–2 20 16 November 8 Tampa Bay 3–2 Buffalo Ullmark 13,230 9–5–2 20 17 November 9 Buffalo 3–5 Tampa Bay Hutton 13,339 9–6–2 20 18 November 14 Carolina 5–4 Buffalo OT Hutton 16,603 9–6–3 21 19 November 16 Ottawa 2–4 Buffalo Ullmark 18,555 10–6–3 23 20 November 17 Buffalo 1–4 Chicago Hutton 21,334 10–7–3 23 21 November 19 Minnesota 4–1 Buffalo Ullmark 15,522 10–8–3 23 22 November 21 Buffalo 2–3 Boston Ullmark 17,850 10–9–3 23 23 November 24 Buffalo 5–2 Florida Ullmark 14,443 11–9–3 25 24 November 25 Buffalo 2–5 Tampa Bay Hutton 19,092 11–10–3 25 25 November 27 Calgary 3–2 Buffalo OT Ullmark 17,485 11–10–4 26 26 November 29 Toronto 4–6 Buffalo Ullmark 19,070 12–10–4 28 27 November 30 Buffalo 1–2 Toronto OT Hutton 19,250 12–10–5 29 Notes: Game was played at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.December: 5–7–2 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 1–5–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 28 December 2 New Jersey 1–7 Buffalo Ullmark 15,422 13–10–5 31 29 December 5 Buffalo 3–4 Calgary Ullmark 18,085 13–11–5 31 30 December 7 Buffalo 5–6 Vancouver OT Hutton 18,871 13–11–6 32 31 December 8 Buffalo 3–2 Edmonton OT Ullmark 17,227 14–11–6 34 32 December 10 St. Louis 2–5 Buffalo Ullmark 16,521 15–11–6 36 33 December 12 Nashville 3–4 Buffalo Ullmark 17,211 16–11–6 38 34 December 14 Buffalo 2–3 NY Islanders OT Ullmark 13,795 16–11–7 39 35 December 17 Buffalo 3–5 Toronto Ullmark 19,365 16–12–7 39 36 December 19 Buffalo 1–6 Philadelphia Hutton 18,124 16–13–7 39 37 December 21 Los Angeles 2–3 Buffalo Ullmark 17,484 17–13–7 41 38 December 23 Buffalo 1–3 Ottawa Ullmark 11,838 17–14–7 41 39 December 27 Boston 3–0 Buffalo Ullmark 19,070 17–15–7 41 40 December 29 Buffalo 2–3 Boston Ullmark 17,850 17–16–7 41 41 December 31 Tampa Bay 6–4 Buffalo Ullmark 18,465 17–17–7 41 January: 5–5–0 (Home: 3–3–0; Road: 2–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 42 January 2 Edmonton 2–3 Buffalo OT Ullmark 19,070 18–17–7 43 43 January 4 Florida 2–3 Buffalo Ullmark 17,731 19–17–7 45 44 January 9 Buffalo 1–5 St. Louis Ullmark 18,096 19–18–7 45 45 January 11 Vancouver 6–3 Buffalo Hutton 18,509 19–19–7 45 46 January 12 Buffalo 5–1 Detroit Ullmark 18,312 20–19–7 47 47 January 14 Vegas 2–4 Buffalo Ullmark 18,257 21–19–7 49 48 January 16 Buffalo 4–1 Dallas Ullmark 18,532 22–19–7 51 49 January 18 Buffalo 1–2 Nashville Ullmark 17,729 22–20–7 51 50 January 28 Ottawa 5–2 Buffalo Ullmark 16,651 22–21–7 51 51 January 30 Montreal 3–1 Buffalo Hutton 16,604 22–22–7 51 February: 7–6–1 (Home: 5–2–1; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 1 Columbus 1–2 Buffalo OT Hutton 17,650 23–22–7 53 53 February 4 Colorado 6–1 Buffalo Hutton 16,859 23–23–7 53 54 February 6 Detroit 4–3 Buffalo SO Johansson 16,607 23–23–8 54 55 February 7 Buffalo 3–2 NY Rangers Hutton 17,297 24–23–8 56 56 February 9 Anaheim 3–2 Buffalo Johansson 16,131 24–24–8 56 57 February 11 Detroit 2–3 Buffalo Hutton 16,588 25–24–8 58 58 February 13 Columbus 3–4 Buffalo OT Hutton 16,923 26–24–8 60 59 February 16 Toronto 2–5 Buffalo Hutton 19,070 27–24–8 62 60 February 18 Buffalo 4–7 Ottawa Hutton 15,040 27–25–8 62 61 February 22 Buffalo 5–2 Pittsburgh Hutton 18,620 28–25–8 64 62 February 23 Winnipeg 1–2 Buffalo Johansson 17,805 29–25–8 66 63 February 26 Buffalo 2–3 Colorado Hutton 18,020 29–26–8 66 64 February 28 Buffalo 2–4 Vegas Hutton 18,404 29–27–8 66 65 February 29 Buffalo 2–5 Arizona Johansson 17,125 29–28–8 66 March: 1–3–0 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 0–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 66 March 3 Buffalo 1–3 Winnipeg Hutton 15,325 29–29–8 66 67 March 5 Pittsburgh 4–2 Buffalo Johansson 18,236 29–30–8 66 68 March 7 Buffalo 1–3 Philadelphia Hutton 19,781 29–31–8 66 69 March 9 Washington 2–3 Buffalo SO Ullmark 16,539 30–31–8 68 Cancelled games # Date Visitor Home 70 March 12 Buffalo Montreal 71 March 13 Boston Buffalo 72 March 15 Carolina Buffalo 73 March 17 Buffalo Carolina 74 March 19 Buffalo Florida 75 March 21 Chicago Buffalo 76 March 22 NY Rangers Buffalo 77 March 24 Buffalo Montreal 78 March 26 Buffalo NY Islanders 79 March 28 Buffalo Minnesota 80 March 30 Washington Buffalo 81 April 2 Buffalo New Jersey 82 April 4 Philadelphia BuffaloLegend:

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 Ref To Vancouver CanucksSJS's 4th-round pick in 2019WPG's 6th-round pick in 2019To Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2019 To Detroit Red WingsTOR's 6th-round pick in 20197th-round pick in 2019To Buffalo SabresCBJ's 5th-round pick in 2019 To Vegas Golden KnightsSTL's 2nd-round pick in 20215th-round pick in 2022To Buffalo SabresColin Miller To New York Rangers3rd-round pick in 2021To Buffalo SabresJimmy Vesey To Chicago BlackhawksAlexander NylanderTo Buffalo SabresHenri Jokiharju To Montreal CanadiensMarco ScandellaTo Buffalo Sabres4th-round pick in 2020 To Calgary Flames4th-round pick in 2020To Buffalo SabresMichael Frolik To Pittsburgh PenguinsEvan RodriguesConor ShearyTo Buffalo SabresDominik Kahun To New Jersey DevilsConditional 5th round pick in 2021To 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)17 Dylan Cozens C Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)1311 Ryan Johnson D Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)367 Erik Portillo G Frölunda J20 (J20 SuperElit)41022 Aaron Huglen RW Roseau (HS-MN)51433 Filip Cederqvist LW Växjö Lakers (SHL)6160 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