Matt Loede
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The season has not gone the way that the Buffalo Sabres wanted, but instead of plodding along as one of the worst teams in the league, the club decided to fire head coach Ralph Krueger.
Krueger’s firing came Tuesday after the team dropped another contest, this time to the New Jersey Devils. They are in the middle of a 12-game winless streak, and right now the club is an awful 6-18-4.
How bad have things gotten? The Sabres haven’t won a game since February 23rd, and right now boast an NHL-low 16 points, adding just two points in their past 12 games.
Sabers columnist Mike Harrington reports that for now, the team will promote Don Granato to be the team’s new interim head coach.
BREAKING: I've learned Don Granato will be the #Sabres interim coach and Steve Smith has also been fired. Development coaches Matt Ellis and Dan Girardi are going to be behind the bench as assistants.
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) March 17, 2021
This was Krueger’s second season as head coach. Last year, he led Buffalo to a 30-31-8 record, coming up short of making the playoffs.
Krueger was inked to a deal through next season, which pays him a salary of $3.75 million, and the Sabres will have to continue cutting Krueger checks for his services while he sits at home.
Hey Matt,
No choice…had to do something, even though all the players seem to really love the guy.
And gosh…the Swords organization was constantly trumpeting how Ralph has an amazing CV…
Excerpt from a WashPost article:
“As if Krueger’s CV isn’t esoteric enough, he also has been involved with the World Economic Forum as a member of its Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership. Liebherr cited his German-language book, “Teamlife: From Failure to Success,” as a reason she hired him at Southampton.”
“Throughout his career, Ralph has shown the ability to adapt to a variety of high-pressure environments while leading some of the world’s elite players,” the Sabres’ Jason Botterill said in a statement. “His strong communication skills, leadership and diverse background make him a uniquely qualified candidate to lead our team going forward.”
They should just empty the entire roster and start over. Hate to see a new franchise become so successful so quickly while the Sabres can’t get things together. I thought they were turning a corner a few years ago.