The Buffalo Sabres have relieved head coach Don Granato of his duties after missing the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season. The Sabres have also fired assistant coach Jason Christie as well as video coordinator Matt Smith. The team will now be looking for their eighth coach since last making the playoffs in 2010-11 and have had Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston, Ted Nolan, Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger and now Granato behind the bench.
Buffalo came into this season with playoff expectations after narrowly missing the postseason last year finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference with 91 points. However, this year they took a step back to just 84 points and were eliminated from postseason contention last week. Many factors led to Buffalo’s ultimate demise, but one of the key contributors was that many of the Sabres top scorers took a big step back this season offensively. Alex Tuch dropped from 79 points to 59, Tage Thompson missed time and went from 94 points to 56, and Rasmus Dahlin fell from 73 points to 59. The biggest falloff was Jeff Skinner who had 83 points last year but tumbled to 46 this season. Unfortunately for Granato, he wasn’t able to get more offense from the Sabres depth players and it ultimately cost him his job.
The 56-year-old was hired by the Sabres midway through the 2020-21 season and went on to coach an additional three years in Buffalo, finishing with a record of 121-125-27 which equates to a .512 points percentage. He began his NHL coaching career as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2017 and could very well end up as an assistant once again after a tumultuous time with the Sabres.
As for Buffalo, they will once again be looking for a new bench boss as they look to end the second-longest playoff drought in all of North American professional sports.
Anybody giving Jordan Greenway top 5 minutes deserves to be fired!
All arrows point to the return of Lindy Ruff!!!
NOOOOOO!!!!!
I would take him back in a New York Minute
Despite the nooooooo from Buffalo Bob Below
LINDY RUFF ROCKS
I forgot about Disco Dan Bylsma. Sabres players hated him.
To many games the Sabres came out flat in the 1st. To many games the Sabres looked unmotivated. The other coaches definitely had Granato figured out. The power play not getting on track the whole season bogged down the scoring. Positives were the hits did increase, UPL emerged & the team when it showed up to play was hard to beat. The Sabres should have made this move no later than game 41. The team needs a HC that will establish better structure & accountability.
Tage Thompson broke his wrist, came back still hurting and will still end up with ~30 goals. That’s not a fault, that’s effort.
So 1 player out of 23. I knew Tage was not at 100%. Take out Clifton’s hits & there would have been no improvement. Granato played a soft simple system. The league had him figured out. Imagine a new HC getting a A effort game like game 82 (with 10+ more hits) 62+ games a year. That’s a playoff team.
Maybe? I fully agree the Sabres (minus Clifton) don’t hit/play physical enough (especially Owen Power), but the problem when projecting forward is other teams also try to improve every off-season.
I think a lot of the shortcomings this year were the result of Adams overvaluing his own prospects, like penciling in Levi in goal off his late ’23 run, then taking another few months to sort out UPL as everyday starter vs AAAA guys like Comrie. Yes, they have a bunch of prospects on the verge, but obviously AHL success doesn’t always translate immediately.
Peterka took a nice step forward this year and Quinn looked good when he played but his injury luck is terrible. I think the fact that they still played hard even when all but eliminated says a lot about Granato’s coaching. He just wasn’t given a full toolbox. The other problem is that free agents don’t necessarily want to go to BUF and a bubble team, so you don’t get the ability to fill blanks in without an overpay in $ or term. Would be interesting if Philly parts with Torts, that could be what the Sabres need to make the jump.
Sometimes numbers don’t tell the whole story.
But sometimes they do.
Look up the most physical teams, playoff teams & playoff success.
Wait until the dust settles in a few cities before bringing in a new coach.
Figure out your goaltending.
Look into an asst who works well with young D.
Bruce there it is
Heh. I love Gabby, but I don’t know how well he’d do in Buffalo. Aside from that he’ll turn 70 next season, he’s much better taking a team that’s already good and turning them into high achievers. Don’t know how well he’d do with a perennial also-ran.
I liked Granato, he did a decent job, but the Sabres laid an egg every time something was on the line
They beat the best teams in the league, then would go on a losing streak
They never made any sense
If Benoit Groulx doesn’t get Sens Head job then Buffalo should be all over him..