The Testimonials
The vultures are circling over the Buffalo Sabres right now. Whether it be trade rumors regarding Jack Eichel, controversy over the pending benching of Jeff Skinner (at the time of this writing), or the simple fact that it is another season – COVID shorten as it is – that they are buried in the standings with little practical hope of making the 2021 NHL Playoffs. In fact, it’s even worse. There have been occasions over the past few seasons where the team made a run early only to disintegrate by January en route to continuing their playoff drought. In a COVID-shorten season they seem to have pro-rated this collapse to properly align with the 56 games.
Presently Skinner has 0 goals and 1 assist through 14 games. Eric Staal has 3 goals and 6 points. Kyle Okposo 0 points, and of course Jack has 2 goals, but is light-years ahead of the others with 13 points remaining at the top of the team’s offensive output.
Offensive ineptitude is nothing new for the Sabres. 2021. 2018. 2014. Pick a year and you can find post-game interviews saturated with discussion regarding the lack of offense. (I’ve stopped counting the number of times a player has uttered the words, It’s unacceptable.) It is not anything new, and the fact that this has gone on for this long is almost a testimonial to an organizational philosophy, Failure is not just an option – it’s the only option. How else can anyone explain this going on for so long? It is also an example of what can happen when, no matter how cliché it sounds, one keeps trying to do the same thing and expect a different result. Oh they may change coaches and GMs every few seasons, but that isn’t fixing the issue. Their Win-Loss record has proven that. It certainly isn’t addressing player development or strengthening hockey operations. Coaching/GM candidates have been safe bets who fail to be boat rockers – usually with it being their first gig in that position. Player and organizational friendly personnel. After so many years this is not what they need at this point in time. Eventually they are going to have to bite the bullet on a couple of fronts.
First, they’re going to have to hire someone, in some capacity, to come in and play bad cop with the entire on-ice hockey department. The individual is going to have to be indifferent to opinion, have real authority, and hurt some people’s feelings. They will need to be backed up by ownership, but also be strong enough to push back on ownership meddling.
Second, they are going to have to start making serious roster moves. Not adding a free agent here or bringing up someone from the Amerks there. Serious roster moves. Start waiving players – you’re taking a salary cap hit anyway. Trade away some key assets, and yes, this may also involve Jack. The last place in the West Anaheim Ducks have waived Adam Henrique. A fact that shocked various media outlets over the weekend. Henrique scored 26 goals last season. He has 3 in 2021. When was the last time you saw the Sabres waive anyone of that level of significance? Okposo has 0 points. He also has 2 years left on his 7-year deal. While it is not my intension to single out one single player – heaven knows this organization has plenty of additional issues – you have to ask why is he still on this roster? For 7 years, 42 Million I should be expecting >20 goals per season. Every season. Okposo’s best was his first season with the Sabres, 2016-17 with 19 goals. Now I realize injuries have derailed much of that offense in recent seasons the fact remains there has been a steady decline that has culminated into 2021 being very Leino-esq. Zero points cannot be tolerated, and plus it sends a message to everyone else on the team that, again, failure is tolerated. Henrique had 3 goals this season with the Ducks, 26 a season a go, and he was waived. The Sabres would never do such a thing. With any player. There in lies the problem.
If the player is not producing, and you are going to take a cap hit anyway, you might as well place them on waivers and free up the roster spot. What else can be done at this point? All other avenues have been exhausted.
I personally cannot conceive of the coming day (and it is coming) where Eichel will be off this roster, traded, and Okposo still on it. These are really the testimonials, several of them, that prove just how bad this front office operates. There appears to be no hockey sense apart from, “What design should we make the reverse retro jerseys?”
It is only going to continue. I actually think it’s going to get worse. Initially I was taking a wait and see attitude at the start off these 56, but like many Sabres fans, I can see it’s just more recycled material. It is said the culture is bad in Sabreland. Well, this is why. Do something different for a change, and maybe the players and the fan base will respond differently. Otherwise it is just more of the same.