Fast forward to Memorial Day 2026. The Buffalo Sabres have just been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a heroic run that saw them stretch defending champions Florida Panthers to seven games in the Second Round of the playoffs.
The quick and nimble Sabres had sewn up the first Eastern Conference wildcard berth with three games to play in the regular season, thereby finally ending their infamous NHL-record playoff drought that had been threatening to stretch into a third decade.
In the First Round of the postseason, they caught an ageing and exhausted Washington Capitals by surprise, sending Alexander Ovechkin into retirement in a quick five-game series.
Now what?
Back in the summer of 2022, General Manager Kevyn Adams had just completed his second year in the job and things were looking positive. Sabres owner Terry Pegula had then signed GMKA to a “multi-year extension”, which later we learned unofficially was a four-year deal, set to expire with the end of the 2025-26 season.
Former head coach Lindy Ruff was brought back to terminate the unceasing carousel of coaches coming and going, replacing Don Granato on a two-year deal in 2024, which means that he too is out of contract this coming summer.
What should the Sabres do now?
With most of the latest evolution of the ‘core’ all signed to reasonable long-term deals and the salary cup jetting upwards, this is a team that’s primed for bigger things.
If Adams has just delivered the playoffs – which has been his mandate since he was hired – should Buffalo give him an extension? Unsurprisingly, the majority of the fanbase will answer with a resounding ‘No!’, but is there a case to be made for keeping him in the job?
A new general manager coming in would no doubt have a different perspective of how to build the roster and what they would want the Sabres to be, would such upheaval be worth it especially after finally making the postseason?
That’s not even taking into consideration that Adams was hand-picked by Pegula for the role and would the owner want to change horses at this stage, especially given the background chatter about the level of interference in hockey matters that Adams is willing to put up with from Pegula?
How about Ruff and the whole fiasco with the assistant coaches? Should they be brought back on a short-term contract? Or is that decision to be made after that of the GM, especially since a new incoming general manager would want to bring in his own head coach.
Enjoy this thought experiment as we look ahead to the beginning of a new Sabres season on Thursday.