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State of the Sabres - Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?
-Update- The Sabres have fired Ralph Krueger
The Sabres current state can easily be summed up in one word, Dire. At the time of this article, the Sabres are sitting in last place in the entire NHL. Going into the season who would have thought the Sabres would be looking up in the standings at teams like Detroit and Ottawa? Maybe our luck has taken the first step in turning around with the firing of Ralph Krueger, it was almost scripted that it happened on Saint Patty’s Day.
With the talent on the roster, plus the surprising signing of Taylor Hall, many fans had visions of competing for a playoff spot at the start of the season. Unfortunately those thoughts of success were quickly dampened as the season progressed. When COVID hit the team, and Skinner was benched the team has been painful to watch, to put it lightly.
We are now in a place where the vast majority of Sabres fans are questioning the ability of our current general manager to act. The team’s best player, Jack Eichel, is out for an indefinite period of time. Top pairing defense-man, Jake McCabe, who was playing very good hockey at the beginning of the year, is out for the rest of the season and a UFA. The clear number one goalie, Linus Ullmark, is out for at least one month, and now the team’s most prized prospect, Dylan Cozens, is day-to-day with an upper body injury after taking a very questionable hit.
Now lets talk about the now former coach, Ralph Krueger for a bit. As interesting of a hire as he was, this year in particular has shown that he is not a capable coach at the NHL level. He has clearly lost the ability to motivate his players, most noticeably after benching Jeff Skinner and relegating him to the 4th line. His line combinations have left many Sabres fans and hockey enthusiasts scratching their heads. With the season basically lost at this point, what was he thinking in continuing to play guys like Kyle Okposo over youngsters like Tage Thompson who just recently got back into the line-up. As a fun side note, irony strikes hard in the fact that the last goal scored by the Sabres under Ralph Kruger was by Jeff Skinner.
Another challenge that has just been added is that with the Amerks under COVID protocols, the Sabres are limited in their options for players to be inserted into the line-up that could potentially add some spark to an otherwise uninspired team.
The new GM in Kevyn Adams claimed his frustration during a press conference a couple of weeks ago, and it took the team to have 12 (yes you read that correctly) straight losses to take any action on the state of the team. As a die-hard Sabres fan that is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of the current situation. When your best player and starting goaltender are both hurt, it is fair to say that adversity is expected... but 2 points in 12 games (at the time this article was written) is not acceptable on any level. Now that Adams finally pulled the trigger and got rid of the head coach, what steps will he take next to make this team better?
With Ralph Krueger and former assistant coach Steve Smith now relieved of their duties there is going to be a change of guard behind the Buffalo Sabres bench. Don Granato has been named the interim head coach, with Matt Ellis and Dan Girardi as the new assistants. I for one am looking forward to seeing how Dan Girardi’s role plays an impact on the Sabres current defense core. Rasmus Dahlin has taken a noticeable step back this season, but still has an enormous amount of potential. Looking at this development from a glass half full perspective, working with Dan Girardi will hopefully have some significant benefits to Dahlin’s game that we have witnessed this season.
I think that is enough doom and gloom for one article, lets move onto some of the bright spots that we can look at moving forward.
* It feels so good I have to say it again, Ralph Krueger has been fired. You would be hard pressed to find someone that is unhappy with this move.
* The Sabres still have a true number one center in Jack Eichel, and from all indications he has given publicly he is still committed to seeing this team win.
* Rasmus Dahlin is still young, the former 1st overall pick has time to learn and turn things around. With his skating ability and what we’ve seen from seasons past, given the right coaching he will be a true top-pairing defenseman.
* Dylan Cozens looks like the real deal, maybe he isn’t ready to center the top line, but that was never the intention. When playing on the 2nd and 3rd lines he always seemed to have a positive impact regardless of the line-mates he was playing with.
* Casey Mittelstadt has looked significantly better this season. He has been playing with speed and passion in recent games, and looks to be one of the best players on the ice for the Sabres.
* Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) - is developing in Rochester, and should be ready to make the jump to the NHL in the next year or two.
* Will Borgen looked as advertised, if not better, when called up to play. Unfortunately he did get hurt, but it gives us a taste of the future with this young player.
* The Sabres will almost assuredly get yet another high draft pick in the first round. This draft year is quite a bit less predictable than those in years past, especially with the impact of COVID, but still a high draft pick in the first round should be viewed as a positive for the future.
I will end this list on one of the most pleasant surprises that came form injuries and poor performance on the back-end this season. The call-up and play of Jacob Bryson. This kid looked outstanding in his first taste of NHL action, and has the looks of a top four modern day defenseman written all over him.
Even with all the negatives surrounding this team, and all of the questions that have yet to be answered, there is still hope to be found.
Stay tuned for my next article that will focus on my suggestions to turnaround the current state of the team. Thank you all for the support, I look forward to reading your feedback and interacting in the comments section.