Ken Campbell of The Hockey News recently started a series outlining NHL rosters and what they would look like in 2019-2020. He posted his version of the Sabres’ 2020 and it inspired me to do my own version of this piece.
Campbell’s version can be found on twitter.
The Sabres have been in a perpetual rebuild, but they may have something special in 2019-20, @THNKenCampbell writes: https://t.co/O6rpzM8Q4V pic.twitter.com/PDxc14cAL7
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) July 20, 2017
After examining the Sabres organization I came up with my own version of what the roster would look like. For this piece I only took into account players within the organization, I didn’t account for free agency or trades.
Buffalo Sabres 2019-2020 Roster
Mittelstadt-Eichel-Reinhart
Nylander-O’Reilly-Okposo
Bailey-Asplund-Baptiste
Pu-Rodrigues-Fasching
Scandella-Ristolainen
Guhle-Beaulieu
McCabe-Borgen
Luukkonen
Ullmark
Wildcards: Antipin, Davidsson, Girgensons, Lehner
It should be taken into account that depending on who the Sabres pick in the draft next year that player could also crack the lineup but for the sake of this post we’re not going to guess who the Sabres could take a year from now.
This Sabres lineup is 4 lines deep with speed, skill and some physicality. The Sabres biggest strength going forward is their depth at Center which is essential to success in the NHL.
The D core is very solid, with players capable of providing some offensive punch along with solid defensive zone play as well.
The goaltending is a bit of a question mark, I believe the current regime wants to move on from Lehner in the near future and hand the reins to Ullmark.
Ullmark will be a solid goalie, but I don’t believe he will be an elite number one. If Ullmark turns into a legitimate starting goalie then the Sabres will have a stellar duo with him and Luukkonen.
There is no doubt that the future is bright for the Sabres and that the playoffs should be an expectation by the time 2020 comes around, and with this lineup the Sabres will have a legitimate chance at bringing a championship to Buffalo.
What do you think the Sabres will look like come 2020? Send us your thoughts to @SabresFanatics and feel free to follow myself @austin_broad
