After studying ‘failure-to-thrive’ professional sports franchises for nearly five decades, very little comes as a surprise about how teams find ways to sabotage themselves during any given season. Lifelong fans of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres know exactly what I’m referring to… we bring new meaning to the term ‘long-suffering’.
This year has been no exception in terms unique horror shows displayed by the Sabres. Trying to transition from our darling Bills in the AFC Championship game to the Sabres reaching Mariana Trench level despair ten games into an already abbreviated hockey season would give anyone a case of vertigo. After 18 humiliating losses in a row, Head Coach Ralph Krueger was fired and Assistant Coach Don Granato was named interim head coach.
Probably like most fans of our tragic hockey franchise, I didn’t really expect much from the team after Krueger was fired. It was already a lost season in terms of playoffs, so my focus was mostly on watching younger players develop. The “Workhorse from White Horse” Dylan Cozens play was enough to keep me engaged in what can only be described as the worst nightmare of a hockey season for the Sabres EVER.
Fast forward a few weeks and the Sabres now look like world beaters. At the moment they are the team no playoff bound team wants to face. They have an opportunity to force the Boston Bruins to have to fight for a playoff berth with five games left against them as I write this post.
So how did the Sabres respond to this latest head coach firing? This same team ripped by the international media for not being fit to play in the NHL a few weeks ago wiped the ice at KeyBank Center with Sydney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday. That’s how they responded.
Wut. The. Heck?
Let’s just state this right off the bat… it takes a lot to surprise me by anything the Sabres have done (or not) over the years. We’ve seen about every permutation of loss imaginable by a professional sports franchise. So when the wins started piling up and the team not only raised their level of play but were basically transformed in a matter of weeks, it definitely got my attention.
This type of transformation is not unusual, but the speed at which it has happened is certainly out of the ordinary in terms of turnarounds. It certainly suggests Krueger lost the locker room in a big way because the difference in body language on and off the ice is astounding. Rasmus Dahlin looks like a young man just beginning to find his NHL game. A month ago many of us were legitimately concerned about Dahlin becoming a completely broken player.
So, could it really be as simple as making a coaching change to see such a stark difference in how the Sabres play now versus a month ago?
Maybe.
However, it’s much more likely a combination of intangible noise coming together to make music. Most of us could see the physical talent this Sabres’ team has… but were stymied by their lack of productivity throughout the season. Krueger said a lot of the right things, but he obviously did not practice what he preached. Don Granato has a good read on the pulse of this young group of hockey players and obviously speaks their language.
Early observation, but it seems Granato isn’t trying to put square pegs in round holes. He has a process, just like Sean McDermott in terms of trying to help players become the best version of themselves on their team. Granato is engaging, and his eye contact during press conferences reveals his sense of humor among many other traits that will go a long way in rebuilding a locker room culture. It seems like a no-brainer to let him continue his work and officially give him the title of head coach.
If nothing else, by mere chance alone you would think SOME head coach would create a sustainable winning program for the Sabres. One of the biggest issues keeping the Sabres from being competitive has been the revolving door at the head coach and general manager positions over the last decade. Continuity at the helm with Granato would be a real plus from my view.
Time will tell if Granato is the right guy for the job, so I hope they give him the opportunity to build his own program and see where it goes. It’s not like we have anywhere to go but up from here… I hope. You know you’re a Sabres fan if you’re afraid to say the worst is over.
~The Caboose~