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Sabres Make Wholesale Changes On The Fly |
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In a stunning development, the Pegulas have fired Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma.
Murray met with owner Terry Pegula on Wednesday in Florida to debrief the 2016-17 season.
Looking at the sudden about face moves of Edmonton and Toronto from tank disasters to playoff contenders must have raised many questions for the Pegulas about their own team and it's perpetual losing says.
Terry and Kim Pegula clearly were not impressed with Murray's synopsis of the failed season. Thus, Murray and Bylsma have been relieved of their duties.
“After reviewing the past season and looking at the future of our organization, Kim and I have decided to relieve General Manager Tim Murray and Head Coach Dan Bylsma of their duties," Pegula said in a statement. "We want to thank Tim and Dan for their hard work and efforts that they have put in during their tenures with the club. We wish them luck. We have begun the process to fill these positions immediately.”
Murray was commander in chief of the tanking campaign that delivered Samson Reinhart and Jack Eichel to the Sabres with consecutive #2 overall draft picks. The 2016-17 Sabres were supposed to contend for a playoff berth but failed at that. The NHL is a performance business. In the end, Murray and Bylsma failed to deliver a playoff contending team and now they are gone.
Bylsma spent two seasons behind the bench in Buffalo, posting a 68-73-23 record. Bylsma was the fourth head coach to join the Sabres since Pegula bought the franchise in 2011. (Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston, and Ted Nolan were the others.)
The Sabres finished last in the Atlantic Division and 15th in the Eastern Conference with 78 points, three less than last season.
The season began with a glut of injuries and ended with the team Fakking apart with a 7-14-2 in its final 23 games.
There has been talk this week about former Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff being considered for the head coaching job should Bylsma be relieved of his duties. On Sunday, Ruff was fired by the Dallas Stars after four seasons in Big D.
Also keep an eye on Nashville Predators assistant coach Phil Housley, Utica Comets head coach Travis Green and Boston University bench boss David Quinn as head coaching candidates.
As for a replacement for Murray, the search is on.
Last week, the LA Kings fired their GM Dean Lombardi along with their head coach Darryl Sutter.
Lombardi has a relationship with Jack Eichel from the time they spent together on Team USA at the IIHF World Championships two years ago. Lombardi and Sutter won two Stanley Cup Championships in Los Angeles. I'm in Los Angeles as I write this and a source tells me that Lombardi isinterested in the Buffalo opportunity.
Tampa AGM Pat Verbeek should also be considered for the Buffalo GM job having assured Steve Yzerman in rebuilding the Bolts into a young, competitive, playoff caliber team.
Chris Drury is AGM for NY Rangers. He and Jack Eichel's agent were teammates at Boston University. Drury will now have three weeks to bond with fellow BU alum Jack Eichel at The IIHF World Championships. I know that Drury lives in Connecticut and likes the be close to his home. Drury and Bill Guerin (Pittsburgh AGM) are leading the efforts in selecting players and staff that will represent the United States the the Worlds next month. Interesting that Eichel was luke warm on the idea of playing at The Worlds last week. Yesterday, Drury recruited Eichel to represent Team USA. Drury will now have six weeks of bonding time with Drury and his agent. Drury and Eichel's agent Peter Fish were teammates on the BU Terriers back in the day. Last summer, it was Drury who scooped Tim Murray on the Jimmy Vesey signing.
My dark horse in the GM race is Tom Fitzgerald who is AGM with New Jersey Devils. Fitzgerald helped build the Pittsburgh Penguins into a Cup winning team in 2009. Fitzgerald is a Boston guy and his son Casey was drafted by the Sabres (3rd round) in 2016. Jack Eichel and Casey Fitzgerald are close personal friends. Casey just completed his sophomore season at Boston College.
Also, don't be surprised if the Pegulas reach out to Pat Lafontaine for a discussion. Lafontaine resigned from the Sabres on March 1, 2014. A day after trading Ryan Miller to St. Louis, LaFontaine abruptly resigned as president of hockey operations on a little more than three months after being brought in to provide a new direction to the Buffalo's cellar dwelling team.
Much more to come.
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