BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres sound like a group of players who wanted a new coach.
In the day-and-a-half since owner Terry Pegula and general manager Kevyn Adams made the decision to fire Don Granato, the sentiment from Adams and the Sabres’ leaders has been that this team needed more accountability, structure and leadership than Granato was giving them this season.
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That tone was striking, particularly considering players like Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Jordan Greenway and Connor Clifton have relationships with Granato that go back to when they were teenagers. But they didn’t shy away from what this team needs in its next bench boss.
“Someone that is going to hold us accountable, someone with experience, good hockey mind, smart and I think somebody who brings energy into this locker room,” Tuch said. “I think at times we weren’t able to maintain energy and, at times, we weren’t able to gather, I guess, and create energy and momentum ourselves. Someone that’s able to do that and able to help us reach our full potential.
“I think Donny did a really good job developing guys in this room, myself included, in helping our games, but our next coach will be one that holds us accountable and one that makes sure that we’re performing to our best or you’re not going to perform at all.”
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Thompson also mentioned accountability and said there needs to be “repercussions” for players who are not playing winning hockey.
“I think at times you can see that we were a great team and other times we were too casual,” Thompson said.
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who is in line to be the next captain, said, “We need a better focus in practice. We need to push ourself. We have to understand that the practice is as important as the game. I think that’s our main focus moving forward.”
And Clifton, who spent the first six years of his career with the Bruins said the Sabres need a “hard, accountable, structure-driven” coach.
“The coaching change, I mean, I’m going to miss Donny, but at the same time I’m excited to see who is going to come in, a new voice and new opportunity to get the Buffalo Sabres into the playoffs,” Clifton said.
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Buffalo’s leaders were echoing the general manager, who spoke Tuesday afternoon about the way the team is “craving accountability and structure” and that the players are “mature enough to handle that push.”
None of these words reflect well on Granato or the rest of the team’s leadership group, which included captain Kyle Okposo until he was traded at the deadline. Adams said the Sabres’ “standard” wasn’t high enough going back to training camp. But he let Granato coach the Sabres to a 73-point pace in October, November and December without making a coaching move. If the players felt this way about accountability and structure, how did Adams miss that? And why didn’t the players do more to hold one another accountable? While they’re saying the right things now, how players respond to Granato’s firing is the only thing that will matter.
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“I hope they realize that it’s just not on Donny,” Tuch said when asked how he hopes his teammates respond. “I hope they realize that a lot of it’s on us in this locker room. I’ve said before, he’s a great guy, he’s an unbelievable guy. I think he’s a great coach. I think he’s going to continue on in his coaching career and have lot of success, and we’re one of the reasons why he’s not coaching behind our bench anymore. We have to realize that and we have to make sure the next guy stays longer than Donny, and the only way to do that is to have success.”
Thompson added: “I would like to say that each time (a coach gets fired) it kind of lights a fire under you because it shows you that you’re replaceable. That’s kind of the business you’re in. So, hopefully the response is intensity. I think comfort can be the death of you and I think we were a little too comfortable this year, so hopefully that’s something that happens as an effect of the coaching change.”
And Dahlin: “First of all, we have to look ourself in the mirror. Us players, we weren’t good enough. We didn’t help Donny at all, honestly.”
Adams and the players had the proper urgent messaging the last two days. Adams is looking for the right things in a head coach, and the players seem ready and willing to accept a harder style of coaching. But Granato’s dismissal shouldn’t be used as a blanket excuse for a season that failed for reasons that go beyond the coach. Granato deserves blame for the team allowing the most first-period goals in the NHL, the lackluster power play and the inability to win the most crucial games. Maybe practices can be harder, and training camp could have been more efficient.
But players need to recognize their part in this, too. It’s one thing to say you want more accountability and structure. The next step is being ready for it. Some players in the Sabres’ locker room haven’t experienced that in their NHL careers. Swapping out the coach won’t fix all that ails the Sabres.
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“A coach is gonna come in here, hold us accountable, give us the structure that we need, put us through practice, whatever the case is,” Greenway said. “But, ultimately, we’re the ones who go out there and play. We’re the ones who go out there and execute the game plan. We’re the ones who have to get the job done. So, yeah, not all of this is on Donny at all. As a matter of fact, I think it’s a big wake-up call for everyone. We as players have to be better as well.”
For his part, Adams said the Sabres’ disappointing season, “starts with me. I take responsibility for this.” Adams seems to recognize firing a coach amplifies the pressure on the job he’s doing as general manager. He’s now fired two coaches. He is the one who recommended the contract extension for Granato prior to the 2022-23 season when Granato had two years left on his deal. Adams is the one who built a roster that didn’t have the forward depth to withstand injuries and scoring regression from multiple players. In the three years Granato coached the Sabres, the team had the lowest payroll in the league twice and the fifth-lowest payroll in the league this season.
This next coaching hire will help define Adams’ tenure as general manager, but so will Adams’ offseason roster decisions. The Sabres have four open roster spots at forward. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Henri Jokiharju and Peyton Krebs are restricted free agents. JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn and Bo Byram are among the players eligible for contract extensions this summer, too. This offseason will be pivotal to the future of the franchise. That’s why the message Adams sent to players by firing Granato needs to sink in.
“The time is now,” Adams said.
(Photo: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)
