As the Buffalo Sabers struggle through another disastrous season, freshman general manager Kevyn Adams said coach Ralph Krueger’s status is being evaluated and frustrated star center Jack Eichel has not asked for a trade.
The Sabers are in last place in the East Division with a 6-12-3 record. Their 0.357 point rate 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, gives the Sabers a 3.1% chance of making the playoffs, the second worst in the NHL, ahead of just Detroit.
“It’s just downright not good enough. I’m mad. I hope you’re all mad. I hope all of our fans are mad. Because that means you care, and that’s a good place to start,” Adams said. “I’ve been empowered by [owners] Terry and Kim Pegula to fix this, and that’s what I’m going to do. “
A much-discussed 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 head coach since 2012.
Adams said Krueger, like everything else around 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 the players have in Krueger is something he had to balance in his evaluation process.
“We are very honest with each other,” said Adams. “He understands that the situation we are in is unacceptable, that it is downright not good enough.”
There has been speculation as to whether Adams could even make the decision to fire Krueger, given the organization’s governance structure and the power that owners Terry and Kim Pegula exercise over hockey activities. But Adams said he has “full authority” over hockey decisions, even though he speaks to “Terry and Kim about everything.”
The other big talking point was Eichel, the 24-year-old franchise player struggling with his worst scoring campaign in six NHL seasons, scoring two goals in 19 games. Eichel does have 16 points.
Adams would not confirm whether Eichel is playing through injury.
“I would never go into what a player deals with on a daily basis,” he said. “If there are updates, it would certainly always be transparent to things like that.”
Last off-season, there was a rumor that Eichel was available in a trade and that he had requested 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 get out.”
Adams said, despite Eichel’s frustration, “he has not asked for a trade” from the Sabers.
“Jack is someone I sent things back from,” Adams said. ‘He talked to me. We have an open dialogue. ‘
As for the trade talks involving Eichel, Adams echoed what he said in the off-season: teams call him, but he doesn’t shop Eichel.
“Jack is one of the best players in the world,” he said. “When people call and ask of course. But that’s the magnitude of it. To me Jack is someone when you see what kind of dynamic difference maker he can be, there aren’t many in the league like him.”