The Buffalo Sabres opted against making significant changes to the organization despite a highly disappointing 2024-25 season. Team owner Terry Pegula may have no choice but to overhaul the front office and coaching staff if the downward trend continues early in the new campaign.
Buffalo owns an active 14-year postseason drought, which is the longest streak in NHL history, and it missed the playoffs by 12 points last season. The lack of urgency, both in terms of staff changes and the underwhelming offseason roster moves, has created a lot of fanbase frustration.
So, as we look at three members of the organization who enter the season on the hot seat, one name is notably absent: head coach Lindy Ruff. That's because it's hard to imagine the Sabres firing him midseason. It's a change more likely to occur next spring if the team misses the playoffs again.
General manager Kevyn Adams
Adams is entering his sixth season as Buffalo's GM. He's traded away a lot of high-end players during his tenure, including the Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart, Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel and, most recently, the Utah Mammoth's JJ Peterka.
He's failed to bring that type of game-changing talent to the Sabres, though. That lack of blockbuster acquisition is borderline unacceptable given the franchise's long-term failures and a farm system ripe with prospects who are either NHL-ready or close to that distinction.
Last season, Buffalo endured a 13-game losing streak from late November through mid-December that destroyed its playoff chances. Adams didn't make a single meaningful roster move during that dreadful stretch, a decision he came to regret.
"If I had to do it over again, I may have shook something up by making a trade," Adams said in March. "I maybe should've shook something up by bringing a couple players up from Rochester. Maybe that would've been just something to change the dynamic of our group."
Is it truly a lesson learned or merely lip service at the end of a miserable season? If the Sabres are sluggish out of the gate in October, their margin for error isn't large enough to sit around and do nothing. An early trade may be necessary.
Whether it's in the campaign's early months or closer to the trade deadline in March, it'll soon be time for Adams to step up and bring in legitimate roster reinforcements.
Assistant coach Seth Appert
Appert was promoted to the Sabres staff last offseason following Ruff's return to Buffalo. He'd spent the previous four seasons as the head coach of the AHL's Rochester Americans, the franchise's top minor league affiliate.
The 51-year-old Minnesota native's main task was fixing a Sabres power play that ranked 28th in the NHL at 16.6% in 2023-24. The result? Only modest improvement as they finished 24th at 18.8% despite having an elite PP weapon in Tage Thompson on the roster.
It's an area Buffalo must be better in 2025-26. It'll probably need to land around the 23% range if it wants to make a serious postseason push, which would put it on the fringe of the league's top 10.
The Sabres almost surely wanted Appert to succeed in his role as an assistant in order to emerge as the heir apparent to Ruff behind the bench. If the power play doesn't make significant strides, however, there's simply no way they can move forward with that plan.
Instead, it's possible Appert is let go if Buffalo is struggling early and the PP remains a non-factor.
Assistant coach Marty Wilford
Likewise, the Sabres' penalty kill was a massive problem last season, ranking 23rd in the NHL at 76.3%. They also finished 29th in goals allowed overall with 289.
Wilford is in charge of the defense and penalty kill, so those problems rest heavily on his shoulders. It was actually kind of surprising Buffalo decided to bring him back when it felt like at least one staff change was needed to show last year's results weren't good enough.
The Sabres did overhaul their defensive depth chart over the past 18 months with Bowen Byram, Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins, so there are no more excuses. Those arrivals paired with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson makes for a strong group.
Like Appert, Wilford could quickly find himself in danger if the Sabres' defensive woes continue and prevent the team from keeping pace in the Eastern Conference.