Piecing together the curiosity that is Ralph Krueger

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-15-2019

Word of a serious Buffalo Sabres coaching candidate came last weekend when Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman tweeted that "Ralph Krueger has a legit shot at Buffalo coaching job." It was a tweet that immediately raised eyebrows in Western New York. The Sabres have been in the market for a head coach ever since GM Jason Botterill fired Phil Housley on April 7. As the big names came and went--from Joel Quenneville to Todd McLellan to Alain Vigneault--and coaches from potential neophytes (Rickard Grönborg) to dinosaurs (Jacques Martin) were checked off for various reasons, the pickin's was getting mighty slim for Buffalo and their timeline getting ever shorter. Botterill, after supposedly going through seven or eight interviews, hired Krueger as the team's 19th head coach.

The whole situation, culminating with the reported hire of Krueger has been something that was pieced together using various sources in the hockey world. Krueger's name had been an outlier from the beginning as it was said that Botterill had interviewed him the last time they were looking for a head coach in 2017, but his name never gathered any steam until the Friedman tweet on Saturday. After that we got word from Pierre LeBrun, who had interviewed him in early April, that Krueger wanted back in the NHL but in more of a front office role. Friedman made an appearance on The Instigators (MSG and WGR550 Radio) on Monday saying the he had people telling him he was "underselling" it and that the talks were "much farther along" than he was reporting." And finally, TSN's Bob McKenzie tweeted out late last night, "As Friedman first suggested/speculated, Krueger will indeed be the next head coach in Buffalo."

So the coaching search is over, but what exactly did the Sabres get in deal?

First off, it was reported that Botterill was looking for someone with NHL head coaching experience, perhaps that's the reason a fan-favorite like Grönborg ended up signing a deal to coach Switzerland's ZSC Lions. The only head coach of interest with NHL experience right now is Dave Tippett, whom some have suggested might be a fit in Edmonton with the Oilers. The 59 yr. old Krueger does have that NHL experience, albeit rather minimal. He coached the Oilers during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and compiled a 19-22-7 record before being fired by new GM Craig MacTavish and  many now believe he got a raw deal and the classlessness was exacerbated by a "blindsided" firing over Skype.

Sabres coaching search may lean towards a stop-gap coach like Martin or Ruff

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-10-2019



The Buffalo Sabres coaching situation is entering treacherous waters as an already small group of candidates got smaller. The big dog on the list was three-time Cup-winner Joel Quenneville who, as expected, went to the Florida Panthers. Two other name coaches went off the board as Alain Vigneault (PHI) and Todd McLellan (LAK) went in rapid succession last month and the list of "meh" candidates got even shorter after Vigneault hired two former head coaches, Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo, to be his assistants.

Yesterday we found out that Sweden National head coach Rickard Grönborg signed a contract to coach ZSC Lions in Switzerland. The early stages of the story had sources saying that Sabres general manager Jason Botterill is leaning heavily towards a veteran NHL head coach and that Anaheim, Edmonton and Ottawa, who are all without head coaches, are leaning that way as well. Grönborg was the hot international name on the list of coaching candidates and is widely respected on the international scene with Team Sweden going for their third consecutive World Championship gold this month. However, he hasn't coached a full season since 2004-05 when he was an assistant with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL and his only head coaching experience was in Tier III Junior A.

Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe is the name most widely heard as he's a young, analytics-driven bench-boss who's had success wherever he's coached, which includes hoisting the AHL's Calder Cup last year. The Marlies are romping their way through the Eastern Conference right now having swept the first two rounds and after the playoffs are finished he could very well be in the Toronto Maple Leafs plans sooner rather than later.

So where does that leave Buffalo and the three other bottom-dwelling teams in search of a solution behind the bench?

Not much.

What kind of head coach is GM Jason Botterill looking for?

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-12-2019


When all was said and done at the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery, the Buffalo Sabres ended up dropping two spots and will pick seventh-overall. Although they'll get themselves a very good player at that spot, it may take a year or two for said player to hit the ice at KeyBank Center. Whomever they pick will be heading into a good situation talent-wise in Buffalo with two second-overall picks in Jack Eichel (2015) and Sam Reinhart (2014) plus 2017 eighth-overall pick Casey Mittelstadt up front as well as defenseman Rasmus Dahlin who was selected first-overall in 2018. In addition Buffalo looks poised to add talent player-by-player with prospect pool and development system that has younings in the hopper on track to be in Buffalo beginning next season.

But the big question right now is, who will be coaching the team?

The Sabres will have a new head coach for the third time since their scorched-earth rebuild netted Eichel in 2015. They hired Stanley Cup-winning head coach Dan Bylsma in 2015, but he flamed out for a number of reasons which included reports of him being "aloof" causing a severe disconnect between him and the players. Bylsma spent two seasons in Buffalo and finished with a record of 68-73-23 (.485 win percentage.) The Sabres went with rookie head coach Phil Housley after that and he couldn't handle the situation. After two seasons, a 58-84-22 (.421) record and some dubious negative marks that bordered on historical, Housley was fired.