Who will be the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres?

The Buffalo Sabres will almost certainly need to name a new captain before the 2021 season starts up. Their current captain, Jack Eichel, will almost certainly be traded before the start of next season. This would leave an opening for a new captain to be named.

There are a few candidates that could be a good fit for the next role as captain. The most obvious choice would be Sam Reinhart. He has been a vital piece of the Sabres roster ever since he entered the league. He stepped up big time last year when Eichel was sidelined due to an injury, and he showed that he could perform well as the number one option.

The biggest problem with this suggestion is that there is a decent chance that Reinhart could get traded before next season, just like Eichel. If Reinhart gets dealt, the choice for the next Sabres captain becomes a little more challenging to make.

Suppose Eichel and Reinhart are both off the table. In that case, a potential candidate could be Rasmus Dahlin, especially if the trade rumors surrounding Rasmus Ristolainen come true and he gets traded before next season. Dahlin was the number one overall pick in the 2018 draft, and he was an extremely highly regarded prospect going into the draft. And at only 21 years old, he has a lot of time to develop and become that dominant offensive defenseman that Buffalo drafted him to be.

Although it would be no surprise if Dahlin were dubbed the next Sabres captain, he may not be the top choice. He is still very young and has only played three seasons in the league, so Buffalo may want to go a more veteran route. In that case, Jeff Skinner could be in line to wear the C for Buffalo next year. Yes, he is coming off an extremely lackluster season, but it was obvious that Skinner and former head coach Ralph Krueger never saw eye-to-eye.

We have seen what Skinner is capable of doing in Buffalo; just look at his 2018-2019 season. With all the changes that have occurred and will occur in Buffalo before next season, Skinner could be the most veteran presence on the Sabres. Being named captain could also give him a little more motivation to have a great season next year.

At the moment, though, Jack Eichel is the Sabres captain. That will not change unless he is traded. But unfortunately, with every day that goes by, it looks more and more likely that Eichel has already played his last game in a Sabres uniform.