After the Buffalo Sabres concluded their 2023-24 season with a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday (April 15), general manager (GM) Kevyn Adams wasted no time in making a change behind the bench by relieving Don Granato of his head coaching duties on Tuesday (April 16). This move comes as no surprise after the Sabres failed to qualify for the postseason and finished seven points behind (84) their 91-point total in 2022-23. This team should be contending now, and Adams addressed that in his statement:
Granato posted a record of 122-125-27 (via Hockey Reference) during his four-year tenure in Buffalo, and played a huge role in the development of core players like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, but it’s time for this team to take the next step. During the 13-year playoff drought, the Sabres have used seven coaches, and now we wonder, who’ll be number eight? Here are three potential candidates.
Seth Appert
During Adams’ Tuesday press conference, he made it clear that he wants experience with this next hire, but opinions can always change and he believes in Appert. Plus, the Sabres have shown they aren’t afraid to go with a guy who has zero NHL head-coaching experience. If they decide to go down that road for a fourth time during the drought, it sounds like Appert would be the only guy they’d consider. The 49-year-old is in his fourth season as head coach of the Sabres’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, and is ready for another playoff run with the Amerks.
“I know they think highly of Seth Appert in this organization, and I felt that, especially with the two playoff runs they’ve had in Rochester the last couple of years, and I thought he’s done a good job of developing players, and you know, I know Kevyn Adams thinks highly of him.“
Paul Hamilton – 04/16/2024
In 2022-23, Appert led the Amerks to a Conference Final appearance, and were able to get six games out of the 12-time Calder Cup winning Hershey Bears in that series. As Hamilton mentioned, Appert has played a key role in developing young players who’re now in the NHL, such as JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn. Also, he has a connection to Tuch, who he tried to recruit when he was the head coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the NCAA (Tuch revealed this to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.) If Appert can have another strong postseason with Rochester to piggyback on what he’s already accomplished, he should definitely be considered for the job.
Lindy Ruff
It’s not often that you see an NHL organization go back to one of their previous head coaches, but it does happen, and Ruff is available after being fired by the New Jersey Devils in early March. Make no mistake about it, if the Sabres wanted to make this decision for the fans, Ruff would be it. The veteran bench boss is the winningest head coach in franchise history with 571 victories, and was there the last time the Sabres made the playoffs (2010-11).
Since being let go by the Sabres in 2013, Ruff has had two more stops as a head coach (Dallas Stars and the Devils), but has failed to have the same kind of stability and success that he had during his 15-year run with the Sabres. However, Ruff is only a year removed from a 52-win season and a second-round playoff appearance with the Devils. Maybe the Sabres are his magic potion.
Craig Berube
Like Ruff, Berube is a veteran coach who has a lot of head coaching experience, and more importantly, has a winning pedigree after hoisting the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues (2019). By the sounds of it, Berube’s a guy who clearly connects with his players, but can also give Adams what he says the Sabres are craving at this point:
Berube has been available ever since he was let go by the Blues back in December, 2023 and his name is already being thrown out there as a desired candidate for the Sabres.
Adams is definitely not happy with the step backwards he saw from his team over the course of the 2023-24 campaign, and rightfully so. This team needs to start building some forward momentum, so the coaching hire has to be the right one. The search has begun.