As the Buffalo Sabers struggle through another calamitous season, freshman general manager Kevyn Adams said coach Ralph Krueger’s condition is being assessed and frustrated star center Jack Eichel has not requested no change.
The Sabers rank last in the Eastern Division with a 6-12-3 record. His 0.357-point percentage would be the lowest since the 2014-15 season. Buffalo has failed to qualify for the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons. MoneyPuck, a hockey odds website, offers the Sabers a 3.1% chance of reaching the playoffs, the second worst in the NHL, ahead of only Detroit.
“It’s just not good enough. I’m angry. I hope you’re all angry. I hope all our fans are angry. Because that means you care and it’s a good place to start.” Adams said. “I have been empowered by [owners] Terry and Kim Pegula to fix it, and that’s what I’m going to do. “
A widely speculated solution would be to fire Krueger, who has gone 36-43-11 (.461) since taking over the Buffalo bench last season. He is the team’s sixth coach since 2012.
Adams said Krueger, like the rest of the team, is being evaluated as the season goes on. Adams said he is looking at decisions that would affect the Sabers in the short and long term, but that the belief that players have in Krueger is something that has had to balance in their evaluation process.
“We’re very honest with each other,” Adams said. “He understands that the situation we are in is unacceptable, that it is not good enough for planning.”
It has been speculated as to whether Adams might even make the decision to fire Krueger, given the organization’s management structure and the power exercised by owners Terry and Kim Pegula over hockey operations. But Adams said he has “full authority” in hockey decisions, though he talks to “Terry and Kim above all else.”
The other big topic of debate was Eichel, the 24-year-old franchisee who is battling his worst goal campaign in six NHL seasons, with two goals in 19 games. Eichel has 16 points.
Adams would not confirm if Eichel plays due to injury.
“I would never get into what a player deals with on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “If there are updates, it would definitely always be transparent for that kind of thing.”
Last season, it was rumored that Eichel was available at a store and had ordered from Buffalo. His agent, Peter Fish, told TSN’s Bob McKenzie that “Jack wants to win, he’s frustrated, but, no, he doesn’t want to go out.”
Adams said that despite Eichel’s frustration, he “has not asked for any trade” from the Sabers.
“Jack is someone I’ve bounced things from,” Adams said. “He’s talked to me. We have an open dialogue.”
As for Eichel-related business talks, Adams reiterated what he said in the off-season: Teams call him, but he doesn’t buy Eichel.
“Jack is one of the best players in the world,” he said. “If people are going to make a phone call and ask, of course. But that’s how far. To me, Jack is someone when you see the kind of dynamic difference maker he can be, there aren’t many to the league like him “.