Buffalo Sabres: Top 3 ways to fix the team in 2020
The Buffalo Sabres have been struggling for the past decade. Here’s what they need to do to get back on track this summer.
For the ninth consecutive season, the Buffalo Sabres will not be making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, unless there’s some weird bracket that allows the 25th-best team in the NHL to make the postseason. They will exit the 2010s with zero postseason series wins.
When the Pegulas bought the Sabres in February of 2011, Terry Pegula promised to bring a Stanley Cup to Buffalo. Instead, he has seen his team make just one postseason (2010-11). The Pegulas have owned the Sabres during their lowest of lows.
If the Sabres want to contend next season, they’re going to have to make some significant changes. Here are three changes they need to make.
Hire A President Of Hockey Operations
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The Sabres haven’t had a President of Hockey Operations since March 2014, when Pat Lafontaine stepped down. Since then, their 182 wins are the second-fewest in the NHL, trailing only the Vegas Golden Knights, who have 133. There’s just one problem – the Golden Knights didn’t exist until the 2017-18 season.
A President of Hockey Operations is an advisor who acts as a liaison between the ownership group and the general manager. It has become painfully obvious that the Sabres need one. The Pegulas simply don’t have much interest in the Sabres. If they did, there would be more changes after nearly a decade of not making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hiring a PoHO would create some much-needed accountability within the Sabres organization. Ironically, the best candidate for the job might already be on the ownership’s payroll. That would be their current head coach, Ralph Krueger. Now, Krueger is a perfectly capable coach. However, most of his experience has come in an advisory role. Krueger would be an ideal candidate for the job.