What Kevyn Adams wants in a new coach
The Buffalo Sabres GM said he has a plan on the kind of coach he wants and if that plan moves quickly, the better it is.
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams made it clear on Tuesday why he decided to fire head coach Don Granato.
“We just didn’t play well enough. Period,” Adams said. “We did not play well enough. From Day One of training camp, I don’t think we had our standard high enough. Our expectations inside the room need to be raised and there needs to be accountability across the board, and that starts with me. I take responsibility for this.”
The results of a disappointing season in which the Sabres finished with a 39-37-6 record, 84 points in the standings, and another season without a playoff appearance required action. That it’s been 13 years since the last playoff appearance only magnified this season’s short comings, but after the team came so close to the postseason a year ago, how things played out this season made it impossible to sit tight and hope for better things next season.
“I thought it was the right thing for us to take the next step,” Adams said. “I certainly wanted to give this every single opportunity to succeed and work and in many ways, as I mentioned, we took a lot of positive steps over the years, but there were times where we were creeping back in and we were just getting on the edge of the playoffs and getting back in that fight and we just weren’t able to win that next game or get ourselves to the next spot, but I wanted to give our team every chance to do that. That’s why, I think, in general, I’m patient. I go through my own process when evaluating, making decisions like this or any decision, really. I certainly wanted to make sure I did that, and here we are today.”
Here we are today. Again. For Adams it’s a not exactly a new experience. He was the GM who fired Ralph Krueger and hired Granato after he took over as the interim head coach. But that time around he opted to stick with the guy he knew as opposed to hiring from the outside. From what he said on Tuesday, that’s about to change. And there’s one thing that the next head coach will have above all else.
“Experience,” Adams said. “I want the next head coach to be someone that has experience and can push this group to the next level. And win hockey games. And I think that’s – I have it in my mind exactly what I’m looking for and that’ll be starting today.”
More ahead on the desire for experience, the road that lies ahead for familiar names, and the direction this really seems to be going in.
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