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The Buffalo Sabres announced the firing of head coach Don Granato on Tuesday on the heels of missing the playoffs for an NHL-high 13th consecutive season.
Granato had been the Sabres’ head coach for parts of the past four seasons, posting a 122-125-27 record during that time, including a 39-37-6 mark in 2023-24.
Along with Granato, Buffalo announced that it has also parted ways with assistant coach Jason Christie and video coordinator Matt Smith.
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams released a statement on the organization’s decision to move on from the 56-year-old Granato, saying:
“I would like to thank Don for his time in Buffalo and commitment to the Sabres organization. He has been integral in the development of many of our players and has undoubtedly been the right coach to bring us to where we are now, but I felt it was necessary to move in a different direction at this point in time. My expectation is to be a consistent contender and unfortunately that goal has not been met.”
In 2022-23, the Sabres took a big leap forward, going 42-33-7 for 91 points, which was a significant improvement from the 75 points they posted in 2021-22.
Buffalo came agonizingly close to ending its playoff drought, but it finished one point out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
While it was a disappointing end to the season, expectations were high entering the 2023-24 campaign, especially after the Sabres’ young and talented roster finished third in the NHL in goals for with 296.
Buffalo took a major step back in the goal-scoring department this season, though, scoring just 246 times. The Sabres also didn’t have any player reach the 60-point or 30-goal mark after five players had at least 60 points and four players had at least 30 goals in 2022-23.
The Sabres did improve significantly from a defensive perspective, however, surrendering 244 goals compared to 300 last season.
Still, it wasn’t enough to push the Sabres into the playoffs, as their 84 points are five behind the Washington Capitals, who currently own the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with one game left to play.
Buffalo closed out its season Monday with a 4-2 road win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in what proved to be Granato’s final game as head coach.
Despite the Sabres having the longest playoff drought in NHL history, their head coaching job figures to be an attractive one due to the amount of young talent they possess.
Forwards Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka, Dylan Cozens, Zach Benson and Jack Quinn are all 26 years of age or younger, while defensemen Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram are all 24 or younger.
Also, 25-year-old goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukonen is coming off a breakout season, having gone 27-22-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and five shutouts.
It is unclear who the Sabres may be targeting to replace Granato, but an intriguing candidate emerged when the New Jersey Devils fired Lindy Ruff last month.
Ruff has the fifth-most coaching wins in NHL history with 864, and the bulk of them came as head coach of the Sabres from 1997 to 2013.
He went 571-432-78-84 as the Sabres’ head coach and led them to eight playoff appearances, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999.
Seth Appert, who coaches the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in the Rochester Americans, could also be a candidate after he filled in for Granato as head coach of the Sabres for one game this season while Granato was sick.
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