Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The latest chapter of the Buffalo Sabres was put to rest on Saturday, and it is, again, a complete failure.
This is an organization run by Terry Pegula that has people doing jobs that they’ve never done before, and they’re not remotely qualified to do those jobs. This is an organization that has had a general manager who had been here for five seasons, and seen his team get worse in each of the last three years. Very few people in the hockey department had the qualifications to get the jobs they have, which includes Kevyn Adams, who has had to learn on the job while making mistakes.
Head coach Lindy Ruff would, of course, be the exception to that rule.
Adams didn’t put blame for this team’s failures on anyone but himself on Saturday. He has yet to have his end-of-season meetings with Pegula, and that will be happening soon down in South Florida.
"We’ll have meetings with Terry coming in the very near future, where we will review everything, talk about the roster and everything in the organization in hockey operations. Where we can improve, what we need to focus on, and we’ll make any decision that we need to make that we think will help us get better," said Adams in his end-of-season press conference with the media.
Adams strongly believes the Sabres should be a playoff team right now, and he failed in accomplishing that task. The general manager did own up to the failure on Saturday.
"It’s my responsibility for that, and then moving past that and saying this is how I see us improving, and what we can do to fix it," Adams said candidly. "So being very honest in the conversations with Terry to say where I think I’ve made mistakes, but I believe we’re close than farther. But the words are the words. We have to win hockey games, and I understand that."
When Adams was asked if he’s been assured that he will remain the general manager in Buffalo, he said he hasn’t had the meetings with Pegula yet.
From talking with players and listening to Adams, it seems like this team had some in the dressing room that wanted to blame others for the shortcomings of the team. All season long, certain players would bring up that if they’re going to get better, you have to figure out what you can do better.
That's one aspect of the team that has to improve, according to Adams.
"Culture’s earned, in terms of your daily habits," Adams said. "What I believe we need to probably reflect on and do a better job of is more of our players starting with looking in the mirror first. If we all do that with, 'What can I do better, and how can I the best version of myself in my job as general manager?', and the coaches and players do the same thing, it starts to build a culture of accountability. So if we do a better job of that and then you get more positive results, a better culture is built."
Ruff also took responsibility for his part, as he has for most of the last several weeks.
"I still remain very confident, and I’m angry with myself for not getting the job done," said Ruff alongside Adams on Saturday.
Two years ago, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen looked like a No. 1 NHL goalie, and was rewarded with a long-term contract extension. This season, he regressed quite a bit, and now the position is a huge question mark once again.
Adams still has a ton of faith in Luukkonen, as young goaltenders have a lot of ups and downs along the way.
"We’ll look at everything. If we think there’s an opportunity to upgrade and make our team better at any position, we’re going to be open to that," Adams added. "I’m certainly not scared of going into the season with ‘UPL’ and Devon [Levi], because I believe in both of them."
Both Adams and Ruff said the team let Luukkonen down, and needs to play better in front of him.
"I believe in ‘UPL’," said Ruff, echoing his general manager. "Until I get the team to clean up some of the poor puck play, it’s going to be hard on any goalie."
Sabres defenseman Owen Power has needed a veteran to have his back and play alongside of him since he entered the NHL. Adams knows he’s failed in that sense.
"I don’t think I’ve done a good enough job of helping Owen, in terms of a guy that’s out there on the ice with him every game for his first few years. I haven’t been able to get that right person," he acknowledged.
"It would be great to get an All-Star right-shot defenseman that could just be next to him for the next bunch of years, but it doesn’t always work like that. So we’ll look at it, but just figuring out what that mix is is something we have to look at and do a better job this summer."
It was 53 minutes of dialog on Saturday, but Adams knows it boils down to one thing:
"We have to win," he said. "We know that, I know that, the players know that. That’s the only thing that’s really going to matter at the end of the day."
Meanwhile, Sabres winger Alex Tuch is about to enter the final year of his contract in Buffalo, and can sign a contract extension after July 1. Adams says that will be a priority of his going into the summer.
When I asked about signing defenseman Bo Byram to a long-term contract, Adams says it’s a hard question to answer, but he’d be open to anything.