Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After parts of four seasons behind the bench, the Buffalo Sabres are parting ways with Don Granato and two other members of his coaching staff.
The Sabres announced on Tuesday, just a day after the team's 2023-24 regular season came to an end, they have relieved Granato from his duties as head coach. In addition, assistant coach Jason Christie and video coordinator Matt Smith have also be let go by the organization.
"I would like to thank Don for his time in Buffalo and commitment to the Sabres organization," said general manager Kevyn Adams in a statement released Tuesday morning. "He has been integral in the development of many of our players and has undoubtedly been the right coach to bring us to where we are now, but I felt it was necessary to move in a different direction at this point in time. My expectation is to be a consistent contender and unfortunately that goal has not been met."
"I would also like to thank Jason and Matt for their contributions to the team. This is not a decision I take lightly, but know it is in the best interest of our team moving forward."
Granato first joined the Sabres organization at the start of the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach under then head coach Ralph Krueger. After a miserable start to the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Granato took over as the bench boss in Buffalo on an interim basis.
After leading the Sabres to a promising turnaround in the final 28 games of that season, which included some of the younger players in Buffalo starting to develop in a positive direction, the team elected to remove the "interim" tag off his title and make him the full-time head coach.
Over the next three seasons, the Sabres ended up going 113-109-24 under Granato's tutelage, which included the continued development of a number of key pieces in Buffalo. However, the team still failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a mark that has now reached a league record 13-consecutive seasons.
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Buffalo's best season since the playoff drought started in the 2011-12 campaign came under the leadership of Granato just last year when the Sabres went 42-33-7 and put up 91 points in the Eastern Conference standings. Despite the strong output, the team still missed the playoffs by a single point in the Wild Card race.
This season saw the Sabres regress from last year's production, putting up a 39-37-6 record and 84 points in the standings, which, as of Tuesday, is five points back of the final Wild Card spot in the East. In addition, the team's offensive production took a steep decline during the 2023-24 season compared to just a year ago.
At the time of his firing, Granato was already the sixth-longest tenured head coach in the NHL.
In terms of where Granato ranks among past coaches in Sabres history, his 122 wins ranks fifth all-time behind Lindy Ruff, Scotty Bowman, Floyd Smith and John Muckler. His 274 games coached is fourth all-time in franchise history, but his .495 win percentage is 12th.
The Sabres now find themselves in an all-too familiar position in launching yet another coaching search. Granato was the team’s sixth coach since Lindy Ruff was fired two months into the lockout-shortened 2012 season.
Potential candidates to replace Granato include former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube, Sabres minor league coach Seth Appert and former Sabres captain Michael Peca, who spent two seasons as Appert's assistant in the AHL with Rochester before being hired as an assistant with the New York Rangers last summer.