As Buffalo Sabers struggle through another calamitous season, first-year general manager Kevyn Adams said coach Ralph Krueger’s status is being assessed and frustrated star center Jack Eichel has not requested a transaction.
Sabers is in last place in the Eastern Division with a record of 6-12-3. Their percentage of .357 points would be the lowest in the 2014-15 season. Buffalo failed to qualify for the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons. MoneyPuck, a hockey odds site, gives Sabers a 3.1% chance of making the playoffs, second in the NHL, ahead of only Detroit.
“It’s just not good enough. I’m upset. I hope you’re all upset. I hope all our fans are upset. Because that means you care and this is a good place to start,” Adams said. “I was empowered by [owners] Terry and Kim Pegula fix this and I’ll do it. “
A widely speculated solution would be the dismissal of Krueger, who has gone 36-43-11 (.461) since taking over Buffalo last season. He is the sixth head coach of the team since 2012.
Adams said Krueger, like everything else around the team, is evaluated as the season goes on. Adams said he is looking at decisions that would impact the Sabers in the short and long term, but that the players’ faith in Krueger is something that had to balance in its 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.”
It has been speculated that Adams may even make the decision to fire Krueger, given the organization’s managerial structure and the power of owners Terry and Kim Pegula over hockey operations. But Adams said he has “full authority” over hockey decisions, although he talks to “Terry and Kim about anything.”
The other big topic of discussion was Eichel, the 24-year-old franchise player who is battling the worst goal campaign in six NHL seasons, with two goals in 19 games. Eichel has 16 points.
Adams would not confirm if Eichel plays through an injury.
“I would never get into what a player faces from one day to the next,” he said. “If there are updates, it would definitely always be transparent for those kinds of things.”
Last season, there was talk that Eichel was available in a store and that he had asked for it 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 come out.”
Adams said, despite Eichel’s frustration, “he didn’t ask for a trade” from the Sabers.
“Jack is someone I gave up on,” Adams said. “He talked to me. We have an open dialogue.”
Regarding the trade talks involving Eichel, Adams reiterated what he said in the off-season: the teams call him, but do not buy Eichel.
“Jack is one of the best players in the world,” he said. “If people make a phone call and ask, of course. But that’s the extent. For me, Jack is someone when you see what kind of dynamic factor he can do, there aren’t many in the league like him.”