FEAR Leads to ANGER. ANGER Leads to HATE. HATE Leads to SUFFERING…
Buffalo Sabres suffering that is. And by that I mean the entire organization and the beleaguered fans of the ever struggling team. No NHL franchise has endured the pain, heartache and embarrassment that we have. We are looking at 14 seasons out of the playoffs unless this team gets on track soon.
So gather around friends as I throw out some random thoughts and opinions about our troubled franchise. I certainly don’t have all the answers. Nobody does. But the big answer is definitely plural, as there are many factors at play here. No one solution.
Ownership
The one constant in this big mess has been Terry Pegula. But is he all to blame? Hardly. But he has been a factor, no doubt. At the end of the day, this is his team. His inexperience in running a pro sports team has been obvious. Many decisions have been questionable and some downright poor. One mistake for me and many others is not bringing in a true hockey mind as President of Hockey Operations. This has been an issue since he bought the team and continues today. Now, coaches and GM’s? For the sake of time we will stick to the current staff. Pegula seems to favor people within the organization and those he is personally familiar with. This has a limiting effect on the Sabres and their lack of success. As far as Kevyn Adams and his performance? A mixed bag for me. As far an Lindy Ruff? Too early to tell but we all expected a better start than this for sure.
Terry needs to expand his vision of the Sabres and trust in looking outside of the team for help. Pay up and bring in successful winners. No more familiar faces and old friends. They need smart hockey people with a tough winner’s mindset.
I feel that Mr. Pegula is a good man with a good heart. A smart man as well. But not hockey smart. He needs to find the right blend of experience and hockey wisdom for his staff, top to bottom. And then he needs to back off and let THEM do their thing. For everyone that wants him to sell the team? I can not get behind that. Who knows what that leads to, with relocation a distinct possibility. But the next wave of decisions by him need to be the right ones. A true hockey mind as Team President would be a good start.
General Manager
As I said earlier, I feel GM Kevyn Adams has had his ups and downs. He certainly took over a team in utter disarray and brought them up to a level of mediocrity at least. But in the sports world of hard realities, that is rarely good enough. As far as trades and free agency, there is truth to his “No palm trees in Buffalo” statement. But there is much more than that. The long playoff drought, the taxes, the weather and the city itself are all factors going against him. Available players with options and no trade lists will continue to elude his trade and signing attempts. I truly believe he is behind the 8 ball in this regard, like no other GM. He has navigated through it with mixed results.
Greenway, Malenstyn, McLeod and Byram are all good players he traded for who contribute in their own ways. The costs for these players have been on the high side though. But Adams will be forever judged by the Eichel and Reinhart trades. Levi and Kulich should both turn into good NHL players from the deal. But it sure is difficult showing patience for these players as Reinhart continues to score in buckets for Florida. And hoist a Cup. As far as Eichel, well Tuch is a nice player, a fairly consistent scorer for us. But he is not a superstar and he has his warts. We all know the Krebs story, he looks to top out as a solid bottom six player now. He has not developed into the highly skilled prospect we dealt for. Meanwhile, down in Rochester, Noah Ostlund is off to a slow injury filled start in his career. We won’t know more on him for a few years. Not exactly a top return for Jack and his Cup win.
On to free agency, not much to talk about here. Zucker has been very good at times, a nice addition in my book. Aube-Kubel has been OK in limited action. Adams was too quiet the summer before last though, relying on the same players to improve. The trouble is, those players ALL had career years. The stars aligned that season. They have not aligned since.
As far as drafting, this is the factor I feel that contributes most to the struggles of the team. Sure they are all young still, as Adams has only been on the job roughly four years. But his top prospects have mostly been on the small and speedy side. And besides Benny, none have shown the consistent heart, hustle and fearlessness that it takes to win in the NHL. Most of our young players on the team and in the minors are on the soft side. Not a good mix to integrate into the top players for Buffalo who also fit this mold. The physical Utah game withstanding, this is not a team you want to go into battle with. Some of this young talent should be better utilized, flipped for veteran heart and soul players. Rough and tumble players, older but not too old, who know how to win.
Depending on how the rest of the season plays out, GM Adams might be done. The only thing that saves him is his good relationship with Terry or of course playoffs for Buffalo. Even if he is replaced, I can see him being reassigned withing the organization. It’s too bad, in better circumstances he probably has more success. I think he is a good, determined man who was handed the toughest GM job in the NHL.
Coaching
Lindy Ruff was brought in to stabilize the team with an experienced coach. His two year deal is just that. I doubt he stays as coach of the team beyond that. I don’t think the Sabres want him too either. He had a great coaching career with Buffalo, no doubt. But this was a nostalgia hire, eluded to earlier as one of Pegula’s problems.
Ruff is a different person now. I don’t see the same passion and fire in him as much. He still commands respect but he has mellowed for sure. I won’t elaborate on him much because I feel that he is a stopgap for Buffalo with his short contract. They needed an EXPERIENCED NAME and Lindy fit the bill. I do suspect that the Sabres feel like Seth Appert is Ruff’s potential successor here. If that is the case, this rinse and repeat cycle will never end.
I am still flabbergasted the team and Lindy did not bring in new assistants from the outside this off season. Assistants with more experience and success elsewhere. Matt Ellis and Marty Wilford still being employed by the Sabres is a joke. There are literally dozens and dozens of better qualified coaches out there in the NHL. Our special teams are awful again and have been for several years. Getting Ellis off the bench is only a slight improvement to adding Seth Appert. This is the continuous problem of hiring from within and hiring familiar faces that won’t seem to go away.
I do not feel that the coach who will guide this team to the promised land is here right now. Ruff might get them straightened out and on the right path at least by next season. He is not the long term answer here though. Neither is Seth Appert. Pegula and Adams/new GM must get this one right after Ruff’s 2 year stint is done. I would consider Lindy for President of Hockey Operations though.
The Players
Where to start? We have a talented team here. Some real skill. But they are a fragile group, mentally and physically. This current Sabres team has maybe 3 or 4 guys built for playoff success. Some of them could mature into that type of player but most won’t. They refuse to take the next step, seemingly fearing it. They are afraid of failing, so they fail. Some don’t want to put in the effort on a nightly basis. Sometimes they do put in the effort but bad habits and old frustration sinks in when the going gets tough. There seems to be an eternal dark cloud that hangs over this team that must be destroyed.
Let us discuss our “high end” talent. With so many high draft picks on this team you would expect better results on the ice. And more dynamic players. We have some good players but none that move the hockey needle like the All Star Darlings of the NHL. (Matthews, Makar, McDavid) Rasmus Dahlin remains the closest thing we have to that. Tage and Tuch have their moments but they can not be relied upon like true top line talent. Meanwhile, our young guns talent are in various states of disappointment. J.J. Peterka hasn’t been scoring at the same clip he did earlier in the year. His defensive game has been shaky as well. Cozens has struggled most of the year but has found better success lately in scoring. He still makes bad decisions out there routinely. And Jack Quinn, his total ineffectiveness this season is beyond disappointing. He has just 1 goal, into an empty net mind you. He looks lost and indecisive out there, with only a handful of games where he showed signs of life. He is now a healthy scratch 2 games in a row. Young players are consistently inconsistent but this group sure picked an inopportune time to all lose their mojo.
On to Owen Power. No complaints from me on his transition and offensive game. He is on track to becoming a regular 60 point type Dman. But his defensive game needs major work as does his physical game. How many goals have we seen go in while Power is standing there watching? I will answer for you, far too many. Yes, maturity will help him round out his game as he gains more experience. But his basic fundamentals of being a defender, especially for a man of his size, are lacking. He needs to be coached up into playing a meaner, tighter coverage, physical game. He will never be a complete player until he embraces this side of his role.
So who stays and who goes from this group? There are times it seems a tweak here and there might do it. There are times it seems a complete overall is in order. For me, it’s something in between. Something in the neighborhood of 3 or 4 forwards and 2 defensemen. Bring in some veteran players with playoff experience. Mentally and physically prepared players. Heart and soul type guys who leave everything out on the ice. Don’t be surprised if a big name player is shipped out in this process. Tuch and Tage are distinct possibilities but Cozens and Quinn are better odds to be moved. Along with Joker, Sammy, Krebs and more.
No matter the lineup, Buffalo needs a strong coaching staff to to run this show. No nonsense experienced coaches with winning track records. The assistants matter too, in fact I find the players generally interact and engage with them more often. Especially on a personal level. We have Average Appert and So-so Wilford teaching this team how to be better hockey players right now. That needs to be put to a stop. Somebody grab Ellis from his “eye in the sky” role and jettison these three into the abyss.
Final Thoughts
A 6 game losing streak on top of a 13 year playoff drought? I know frustration is at an all time high. Sometimes I want to wash my hands of them and walk away. But I can’t. The 40 plus years for the Sabres before this abomination were pretty good times. Great teams with great players. Ups and downs for sure but filled with wonderful memories. In fact, Buffalo had one of the best winning percentages of all teams in the league before this mess started.
Hang in there fellow Sabres fans. There has to be a light at the end of this tunnel, right? There HAS to be…right? Somebody tell me there HAS TO BE!