Sabres: It is time for someone to hold some accountability

We knew going into this season it would be a tough road for the Buffalo Sabres. With the shortened season and the division realignment, it was pretty obvious this season would present some challenges. But wow, I don’t think anyone thought it would ever look this bad.

There was a glimmer of hope coming into this season with some significant offseason acquisitions in Eric Staal and Taylor Hall. Being a former Hart Trophy winner, Hall was a massive addition for the Sabres in free agency and caught many people by surprise. And Eric Staal immediately filled the hole that Buffalo had at the second line center position.

But between these two, they have produced four goals and 11 assists through 12 games. It is obvious that the Sabres were hoping for more between these two when they brought them to Buffalo for this season.

But it is not just Hall and Staal that are underperforming. Sabres star captain Jack Eichel has been extremely underwhelming so far this year. Through 13 games played this season, Eichel has only two goals. The Sabres look to Jack to be their primary source of offense, and it is just not happening so far.

This lack of success doesn’t fall only on the players, however. Fans of Buffalo know that this is nothing new for the team. It’s painful for a fanbase that is so passionate and dedicated to their team to go through this every year.

It is time for some of the organization’s higher-ups to address what is going on. Bringing in Ralph Krueger as the head coach for a very young team was obviously a wild card hire, and it seems pretty apparent that the hire is not proving to be a good one. I do not see Krueger lasting much longer in Buffalo unless there is a massive turnaround.

In my opinion, bringing in Kevyn Adams as the GM for this season is even more of a questionable hire. It is not that I don’t think Adams is a good guy, or that he could be a decent general manager at some point. But bringing in someone who has never held a role like that before for a team struggling to find front office consistency is mind-boggling to me. Why not hire someone with a proven track record and that could make an immediate cultural impact?

I guess the moral of the story is that I feel that someone needs to hold some accountability. The fans are tired of hearing the same thing every day. Phrases like “it will come with time” and “we know we are struggling” are becoming way too familiar in Sabres press conferences. Instead of just saying what you think fans and media want to hear, can you please do something to try and fix it?