Ralph Krueger was fired by the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. No replacement was announced.
The move comes 12 days after general manager Kevyn Adams called out the Sabres competitiveness and said everything is being evaluated, including Krueger.
Carter Hutton #40 of the Buffalo Sabres defends his goal against Morgan Frost #48 of the Philadelphia Flyers
“Not happy,” Adams said March 5. “Unacceptable where we’re at right now. Part of my job is to raise the standard, the expectations and the accountability in this organization, and we’re not where we need to be. I can hear excuses. I’m just going to be honest with you. But it’s unacceptable.”
Adams will hold a media availability at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
The Sabres (6-18-4), who have lost 12 straight (0-10-2) and 16 of their past 18 (2-14-2) since six of their games were postponed due to NHL COVID-19 protocols, are last in the MassMutual East Division and the NHL with a .286 points percentage. They have been outscored 49-19 in the 12 games.
“It’s not easy right now,” Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo said after a 6-0 loss at home to the Washington Capitals on Monday. “It’s not easy. This is not an easy situation. Guys care; it’s just not happening right now. I don’t know how else to put it. It’s just … it’s tough. We’re in a really tough spot here. Guys are trying and it’s just not working. I don’t know what else to say.”
Krueger, who was in his second season after replacing Phil Housley on May 15, 2019, was 36-49-12 with the Sabres, who have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, the longest active streak in the NHL.
“It was an excellent effort, but we are not rewarded for effort, we are rewarded for results,” Krueger said after a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. “It’s very painful at the moment, frustrating. Opportunity was there. We came here to win and we didn’t get it.
“Not getting it done in a game that we actually had the upper hand is really disappointing at this moment.”
Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers attempts to muscle the puck through four Buffalo Sabres players.
Adams, who replaced Jason Botterill as general manager June 16, made a number of moves this offseason, including signing forward Taylor Hall to a one-year contract Oct. 11 and acquiring center Eric Staal in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Sept. 16.
Hall, who won the Hart Trophy voted as the most valuable player in the NHL in 2017-18, has scored two goals in 28 games. Staal has scored three goals in 28 games, and captain Jack Eichel, who in the offseason said he was “fed up” with losing, has scored two goals in 21 games and is “out for the foreseeable future” with an upper-body injury, Krueger said Saturday.
“We’ve just got to dig deep,” Eichel said Feb. 28. “I don’t have a cliche answer for you. I don’t know. I’m trying to process this all myself, you know? It’s tough. I mean, if we had answers I think we would be spitting them out. I don’t know. We’re trying to figure it out as well.”
Forward Jeff Skinner, who signed an eight-year, $72 million contract ($9 million average annual value) on June 7, 2019, scored his first goal since Feb. 29, 2020 (24 games), in a 5-2 loss at the New York Islanders on March 7 and was a healthy scratch for three straight games from Feb. 22-25. He has scored two goals in 25 games.
Goalie Linus Ullmark, who has been one of the few bright spots this season going 5-4-2 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .919 save percentage, was ruled out for at least a month Feb. 27 because of a lower-body injury.
Krueger is the third NHL coach fired this season. The Montreal Canadiens fired Claude Julien on Feb. 24, replacing him with Dominque Ducharme, and the Calgary Flames fired Geoff Ward on March 4, replacing him with Darryl Sutter.
Image courtesy of NHL.com
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