Sabres: Coaching search pivotal to Buffalo’s future

After firing Ralph Krueger at the midway point of last season, the Buffalo Sabres were headed towards another coaching search, their fifth in eight years. While this has become a common occurrence for this organization over the last decade, with the possibility of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart playing elsewhere next season, their next coach must form a successful vision for this team as they strive for a better future.

Regardless of their experience level or prior success, the next coach will have a tough task ahead.

Don Granato
After the Sabres fired Krueger, Don Granato was promoted to interim coach for the remainder of the season and finished with a record of 9-16-3. While Buffalo finished in last place, many of its young players, specifically Casey Mittlestadt and Tage Thompson, showed improvement under Granato’s watch. As a result, he is viewed as the frontrunner for the job. Before this season, Granato’s near three decades in coaching consisted of many years as a head coach in the USHL and AHL, before spending the last four years as an NHL assistant and by the end of last season, was the bench boss in Buffalo.

Bruce Boudreau
Although this season did not see him behind an NHL bench, Boudreau has been successful throughout his time in the league as a head coach. Whether he was in Washington, Anaheim, or Minnesota, he’s reached the playoffs in 10 of his 13 seasons as a head coach, but his postseason record of 43-47 showed limits to his NHL success. However, his career success and lengthy tenure could be a blueprint for immediate improvement for the Sabres, especially with his success rate of reaching the playoffs.

Rikard Grönborg
After being interviewed for the job two years ago, the Sabres once again interviewed Grönborg for their head coaching position. While he began his coaching career in the NCAA and junior hockey over two decades ago, he has spent the past decade and a half in Europe, primarily coaching Sweden on the international stage. Grönborg has coached the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A for the last three years, and his vast experience and knowledge of the game could see him in the NHL sooner than later.

To conduct a thorough coaching search, Kevyn Adams has also looked into the college ranks for candidates. The most notable example is Greg Carvel, after ESPN’s John Buccigross reported last month that the Sabres interviewed the UMass head coach for the position.

Although he signed an extension with the university a couple of weeks ago after winning the national championship, it illustrates the variety of coaching backgrounds the Sabres will search through in an effort to hire the best coach for the Sabres for the years ahead.