Looking ahead for the Buffalo Sabres: Decision looms on Jeff Skinner

As each NHL team is eliminated from playoff contention -- either mathematically or by losing in the postseason -- we'll take a look at why its quest for the Stanley Cup fell short in 2018-19, along with three keys to its offseason, impact prospects for 2019-20 and a way-too-early prediction on what 2019-20 will hold.

What went wrong

The Buffalo Sabres entered the season with three key acquisitions: winger Jeff Skinner, acquired in a trade with Carolina; defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the first overall pick in the 2018 draft; and goalie Carter Hutton, signed away from the Blues.

The good news: They all worked out well, especially with Skinner's career-redefining season playing with Buffalo star Jack Eichel. Skinner had 37 goals, matching his career best, through 73 games.

The bad news: Not much else worked out. The Sabres couldn't score (25th in goals) or defend (23rd in goals against), and a 6-11-4 stretch in the middle of the season torpedoed them.

They remain a team with more questions than answers as general manager Jason Botterill enters his third offseason.

Keys to the offseason

Smart contracts for Skinner, Rodrigues. It's safe to assume that Skinner just wanted the sum total of his best offensive season before the final negotiations on contract numbers with the Sabres. By all accounts, he likes playing in Buffalo and loves playing with Eichel. It wouldn't be an unconditional disaster if he walked in free agency, given that the Sabres acquired him for Cliff Pu, but it would still be a disaster.

Evan Rodrigues, 25, has turned out to be a real asset in the bottom six, and he needs a new deal. Since he is a restricted free agent, it'll be easier to sign Rodrigues to a more reasonable deal than Skinner, who is coming off his monster season with looming UFA status. But Botterill needs to get both signed, long term, and without drastic overpayment. Which, again, will be tough in Skinner's case.

Blue-line decisions. Dahlin looks every bit the franchise defenseman he was projected to become. With Zach Bogosian, the recently acquired Brandon Montour and Casey Nelson, the Sabres have four good options on the blue line.

The real dilemmas: Rasmus Ristolainen, 24 years old and a minus-39; and Marco Scandella, 29, who was one of Botterill's first big acquisitions in 2017 and by 2019 has inspired a subtly titled petition called "Get Marco Scandella Off the Buffalo Sabres." His time has dropped by nearly six minutes on average from last season, and he has one more year at $4 million left. Ristolainen, however, is at $5.4 million annually through 2022. His offensive upside could attract trade suitors and could bring back a top-six forward the team needs. But it's that upside that might end up compelling the Sabres to keep him.

Botterill needs a home run. Scandella has fallen out of favor after being the big move in summer of 2017. The following summer saw the Ryan O'Reilly trade, in which Botterill moved a disenchanted center to the Blues in a blockbuster deal. O'Reilly responded with the best offensive season of his career (0.95 points per game through 73 games). The Sabres saw Patrik Berglund quit on the team, Tage Thompson fail to take advantage of his chances and Vladimir Sobotka post a minus-13. (Kudos for flipping the Blues' first for Montour, however.)

Botterill needs a strong offseason. Maybe that's finding a way to get that Kyle Okposo deal ($6 million in average annual value through 2023) off the books despite his trade protection. Maybe that's flipping Ristolainen. Maybe that's adding a top-six winger through trade or free agency. Whatever it is, Botterill arguably has two strikes on him in the last two summers. He needs to connect in the 2019 offseason,

Win that draft lottery again. Of course, adding Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko would be the easiest way to upgrade that forward group in a momentous way.

Impact prospects for 2019-20

Alexander Nylander, RW, age 21: After two mostly frustrating -- or at least underwhelming -- seasons in the AHL, Nylander is putting things together a bit more now. He looked solid in a recent call-up as the Sabres try to really get him going. A skill player like Nylander should perform with better skill around him, and the very brief indication during his short stint in Buffalo suggests that to be true. The Sabres are going to need him on the roster next season to provide scoring depth. Nylander is going to need a big summer of hard work to make sure he's physically prepared for the demands of an NHL schedule, because he has the skill level to compete and contribute. It's time for him to take the next step.

Lawrence Pilut, D, age 23: Pilut is right on the cusp of losing prospect status, but it's hard to imagine he won't be a full-time member of the blue line next season. Signed as a free agent last spring, Pilut has showcased the skill that helped make him the top defenseman in Sweden's pro league. His production in the AHL has been strong as he is averaging nearly a point per game in that circuit, but it hasn't translated in his NHL stints just yet. Pilut has just six points in 25 NHL games. The Sabres' current D corps still has a lot of players under contract for next season, so Pilut needs to show that he can bring the points with him to grab an NHL roster spot early next season.

Victor Olofsson, LW, age 23: After such a great season in 2017-18 with Frolunda in the SHL, Olofsson has made a smooth, impressive transition to North America. He's averaging 0.87 points per game in the AHL and is among the top scorers in his age group. He has shown the skill level needed to provide some scoring help. Olofsson is another affordable option to fill out scoring depth and should push for a spot right out of training camp. He is starting to look like a real success story as a seventh-round draft pick who has only gotten better since being selected in 2014, a reminder that the path to the NHL is often more marathon than sprint.

Realistic expectation for 2019-20

Owner Terry Pegula said the Sabres' "reason for existence is to win the Stanley Cup." That was in 2011, the last time they made the playoffs.

Buffalo had a better record at the end of Eichel's rookie season in 2016 (with a points percentage of .494) than it had at the time of its elimination in 2019 (.411). That's unacceptable. One assumes that Phil Housley remains the head coach, for stability's sake and because this is more a problem with construction than coaching.

But if the Sabres are doing another fade by mid-December next season, he'll be toast. Next season is a critical one that, at a minimum, has them sniffing the playoff bubble. One shudders to think what happens if they finish double digits away from it again.