You can argue that Kevyn Adams enjoyed an excellent early offseason, having brought Lindy Ruff back to the organization and elevated Seth Appert. Still, more needs to be done, and everyone from Adams to Ruff, to the Sabres fanbase and everyone in the NHL universe, knows it.
It’s a pivotal offseason for the organization, as Adams will either gain the fanbase’s trust or they will be calling for his firing much like they were for Don Granato’s last season. I believe it was the embarrassing loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in December 2023 that got the fans going.
At the time, I was all for letting Granato finish out the year, but following an 84-point season and with Lindy Ruff having been relieved of his duties in New Jersey, everything fell into place. And that must continue starting tonight at the 2024 NHL Draft, where Adams can either a) trade the No. 14 pick as part of a deal to bring in a player to excite the fans, or b) draft a player who could later be used in a trade.
About that last one, let’s be real: Room in the big club is shrinking, so unless the Sabres have a repeat of last season by snagging the next Zach Benson, that player isn’t making the team. The defensive rotation is packed with young talent, and it won’t be long before the forwards are in the same boat, but with both youngsters and acquired talent.
Kevyn Adams will be in ‘prove-it’ mode in the eyes of Sabres fans
Then, there’s free agency, where when you take one look at the Sabres current lineup and, yeah, you’ll agree they’ll need help. But that’s why Jeff Skinner won’t be back, right? So they can get more talented players and, you know, build a team not only capable of making the playoffs for once, but for the long-term.
Losing Skinner means losing a scorer, even if his defense was nothing to write home about. And while there could be a pretty good player on the trade market for the upcoming week, realistically, Adams doesn’t need to acquire Leon Draisaitl to impress the fans. Like, just bring in someone with a proven track record in scoring and he’s good to go, someone like Pavel Buchnevich would be great if the St. Louis Blues don’t extend him.
If Adams has a borderline ‘do nothing’ week (or two weeks, really), he can expect more ire from the impatient fanbase. But if he has a good draft, makes that big trade, and acquires someone who can play more than middle-six or third-pairing minutes, he’ll at least regain some of the fans’ trust.
Ultimately, the on-ice product will decide if full faith is restored in Adams. But if the Blue and Gold struggle again, even following a sound offseason, more than a fair contingent of fans will be buzzing for ownership to hand Adams his walking papers and show him the door.