As the Buffalo Sabers struggle through another disastrous season, first-year general manager Kevyn Adams said the status of coach Ralph Krueger is being evaluated and that frustrated star center Jack Eichel is not asking for a trade do not have.
The Sabers are in last place in the Eastern Division with a 6-12-3 record. Their percentage of 0.357 points is the lowest since the 2014-15 season. Buffalo could not qualify for the playoffs in nine seasons. MoneyPuck, a hockey betting website, gives the Sabers a 3.1% chance of reaching the playoffs, the second worst in the NHL, ahead of Detroit.
“It’s just not good enough. I’m angry. I hope everyone’s angry. I’ll hope all of our fans are angry. Because that means you care, and this is a good place to start,” said. ‘I am empowered by [owners] Terry and Kim Pegula to fix it, and that’s what I’m going to do. ‘
One solution that is much speculated is to fire Krueger, who is 36-43-11 (.461), since taking over the Buffalo bench last season. He is the team’s sixth head coach since 2012.
According to Adams, Krueger, like everything around the team, is being evaluated as the season continues. Adams said he is looking at decisions that will affect the Sabers in the short and long term, but that the faith the players have in Krueger is something he had to balance in his evaluation process.
“We are very honest with each other,” Adams said. “He understands that the situation we are in is unacceptable, and that it is not good enough.”
It is speculated that Adams may even make the decision to fire Krueger, given the management structure of the organization and the power that owners Terry and Kim Pegula have over hockey operations. But Adams said he has “full authority” over hockey decisions, even though he talks to “Terry and Kim about everything.”
The other big topic of discussion was Eichel, the 24-year-old franchise player struggling through his worst goal-scoring campaign in six NHL seasons, with two goals in 19 games. Eichel does have 16 points.
Adams will not confirm if Eichel plays through an injury.
“I will never get the things a player deals with on a daily basis,” he said. “If there are updates, it will definitely be transparent for that kind of thing.”
Last season there was a chat about the fact that Eichel was available in a trade and that he asked from Buffalo. His agent, Peter Fish, told Bob McKenzie of TSN that “Jack wants to win, he’s frustrated, but no, he does not want out.”
Adams, despite Eichel’s frustration, said “he did not ask for a trade” from the Sabers.
“Jack is someone I jumped things off,” Adams said. “He talked to me. We have an open dialogue. ‘
As for action talks over Eichel, Adams repeated what he said in the off-season: Teams are calling him, but he is not buying Eichel.
“Jack is one of the best players in the world,” he said. “If people are going to call and ask, of course. But that’s the extent of it. For me, Jack is someone when you see what a dynamic difference he can be, there are not many in the league like him.”