Frustration follows yet another season after Sabres extend NHL-record playoff drought to 14 years
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — There were no feelings of satisfaction on Saturday, unlike the ones Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams expressed two years ago when Buffalo showed signs of progress in finishing a mere two points out of playoff contention.
And there were no mentions of palm trees or low taxes, as Adams did amid a 13-game skid in December, when lamenting the advantages other NHL markets enjoyed over Buffalo in luring high-end talent.
All that was left was frustration, with Adams fixing the blame on himself after the Sabres extended their NHL-record playoff drought to a 14th season, and some 18 months after he had declared the team’s competitive window being open.
“It’s not good enough. That would be the first thing I would say,” Adams said during a near hour-long news conference two days after the Sabres finished 14th in the Eastern Conference standings and 26th overall.
“To be honest, I believe we should be a playoff team right now and we failed,” he added, referring to the message he intends to deliver owner Terry Pegula in an upcoming meeting. “So it’s owning that, taking my responsibility for that, and then moving past that and saying, ’Here’s how I see us improving, and what we can do to fix it.’”
Though acknowledging he’s received no assurances from Pegula, Adams said he has no reason to believe any front-office shuffles loom following his fifth season as GM.
What’s clear though is Adams acknowledging he’s running out of chances to build a competitor.
“I understand the urgency,” he said. “I do believe that we’re closer than further. But the words are the words. We need to win hockey games.”
The Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2011, and haven’t won a playoff series since 2007, when they reached the East finals before losing to Ottawa.
It’s a span in which they’ve gone through seven coaching changes, bookended by Lindy Ruff being fired in 2013 and his return this past season. And it’s a stretch in which Buffalo has finished last overall four times and no better than 19th.
Despite starting this year with a renewed sense of belief following Ruff’s return, the Sabres’ season was undone before Christmas following a 0-10-3 skid spanning Nov. 27 to Dec. 21 that dropped Buffalo from seventh in the East to last.
Adams has second-guessed himself for failing to make a move to spark his team, and said he needs to be more reactive in the future.
Ruff, who sat next to Adams at the podium, is already looking ahead to next season in believing he has a better grasp of the team, and buoyed by how Buffalo competed in closing 12-7-1.
“I still remain very confident. I’m angry at myself for not getting the job done,” said Ruff, who became the NHL’s fifth-coach to win 900 career games following a season-ending 5-4 win over Philadelphia. His 607 career wins in Buffalo also rank second on the NHL list among coaches with one franchise.
“Early in the year, we had trouble with adversity,” the 65-year-old Ruff said. “Later in the year, I think we dealt with high-pressure situations better.”
Buffalo does have talent in the likes of Rasmus Dahlin, who finished fourth among NHL defenseman with 68 points, and forward Tage Thompson, whose 44 goals were tied with Alex Ovechkin for third overall.
Among the issues were spotty goaltending and the inconsistency of a roster that featured nine players age 23 or younger.
Though a majority of the roster is expected to stay intact, the Sabres have proven over their playoff drought that a good finish to one season doesn’t carry over into the next.
Veteran forward Jason Zucker isn’t banking on hope.
“I had a coach at one point tell me that hope is a (terrible) strategy, so I’m going to stick to that,” Zucker said, using a profanity for emphasis.
“Ultimately, we have to look at it as we weren’t good enough,” added Zucker, who last month signed a contract extension securing him through 2026-27. “We need to raise our standard individually and bring that into the summer and ultimately come back better next year.”
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