The Buffalo Sabres have seen a plethora of strong output from their core players in 2021-22 and it created many candidates for team captain
The Buffalo Sabres had a vacancy at team captain this season and someone will fill that vacancy come October. This time three months ago, it would have been a toss up, considering the Sabres relative inefficiency.
Fast-forward to April 2022, and you can probably name at least seven viable candidates to take over at captain. However, there can only be one true captain and a handful of alternate captains on any given NHL roster.
So we are going to break down the three likeliest candidates to earn the ‘C’ badge next season. And with the choices narrowed to three, it forced us to leave off a few of the team’s fastest-risers.
For example, Tage Thompson did not make the cut. Although Thompson was arguably the team’s best forward in a breakout campaign, there were two names that easily edged him out.
Alex Tuch was another name that drew serious consideration, but he has not been part of the organization long enough to warrant a true argument. Craig Anderson would be an exceptional choice at captain, but he would need to re-sign to generate serious consideration.
The same goes for Victor Olofsson, as he will be a restricted free agent (RFA) following the season. No one had a better second half of the season than Olofsson, and at 26, he is entering the prime of his career. But there is no guarantee he will wear blue and gold.
So that leaves us with three candidates, one of which is the oldest player on the team who is under contract for next season. Another candidate had a career renaissance and a third is transforming into a superstar.
Who are these three candidates and which one of them currently has the best chance to put the ‘C’ patch on the front of their jersey come October? Here are the three candidates.