How long should Kevyn Adams’ leash be with the Sabres?
After what could only be described as a jaw-dropping press conference last week with Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams saying “We’re not a destination city right now,” Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski joined Daily Faceoff Live to chat with Tyler Yaremchuk and Colby Cohen about Adams’s leash and what needs to happen in Buffalo moving forward.
Colby Cohen: Kevyn Adams has done nothing in my opinion that has given me confidence that he knows what he’s doing in this situation. What is the timeline here for his leash and is he going to be the guy who gets to usher in this new opportunity with this roster?
Lance Lysowski: We’re going to find out right There was a point, I think, during this latest rebuild for the Sabres where the general manager and the former coach, Don Granato, they were under the impression they had all the time in the world. There wasn’t enough urgency after they finished with 91 points in 2023 and barely missed the playoffs. You look at what they did that summer. They brought in Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton. It wasn’t enough. That team needed another forward. He didn’t do it. He waited too long. You know, they’ve gone out. They’ve brought in some valuable veterans. You look at Ryan McLeod this summer, he has been a really nice fit. Jordan Greenway got brought in, Clifton’s worked out in a third-pair role. Jason Zucker was a nice signing in the summer. But, guys, this goes back to them rushing players to the National Hockey League.
Lance Lysowski: Jack Quinn, and J.J. Peterka, those are the two in particular. I hate to pick on a couple of players, but when you’re counting on them in your top six and you really need them to play 18 minutes a night and they continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, at some point, it’s not on the coach, right? Lindy Ruff has come in, and it looks like those two players I just mentioned might sit with them. And when the entire plan of Kevyn Adams was based around, we want to build around these young players, they’re our future. They bought out Jeff Skinner in the summer and didn’t really use the cap space. They got over $7 million in cap space and they decided to count on these young guys. Zach Benson was rushed to the league, he was drafted 13th overall, and he made the team at 18 years old, and they decided to keep him. And he’s good defensively, but guess what? It’s tough to score in this league at that age. It is tough to win every puck battle at that age. And when, again, he’s in your top six, he’s going to be on the ice against Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar nd they got eaten alive in that game, but they lost the 4-0 lead. So at a certain point now, you’re going to see these veterans playing more.
Lance Lysowski: These younger guys aren’t going to get as much ice time under Lindy Ruff. Those guys just got moved to the wing, so, yes, time is running out. And you would think, again, and I think that that’s why Kevyn Adams, you heard that frustration at the press conference on Friday because he went out and he tried to get Martin Necas. He went out this summer and tried to make other deals to really try to push this team over the finish line, but he targeted players with no move and no trade clauses. who blocked moves to Buffalo. I understand the frustration there. It’s gotten to Kevyn Adams. You saw it in that press conference. Go get Troy Terry from Anaheim, go save him from the Ducks because he’s being improperly used there. There are players who don’t get it, and I understand the frustration. But at a certain point, you’ve got to take action. And although that trade might require you to trade somebody like Jack Quinn. That might be tough to swallow as Kevyn Adams and watch your first draft that goes succeed elsewhere and sort of a bit defeat like I made a mistake here. You got to do something differently when you do track. It just seems like some stubbornness and trying to set the same plan, despite the fact that you could trade a young player on this team.
Lance Lysowski: You still got others in Rochester that are developing that can replace a Jack Quinn. I’m just mentioning him as an example, but it’s going to require him to make a very difficult decision at some point. And he’s running out of time. He is. Because guess what? If they lose tonight and Montreal wins, the Sabres could be at the bottom of the East. How do you sell that as progress to your fan base and your owner, who’s notoriously impatient? This general manager, Kevyn Adams, has gotten more time than Jason Botterill, Tim Murray. He’s the longest tenured since Darcy Regier in Buffalo. At some point, again, I know you’re selling youth. You’re selling the future. It’s been 13 years, and it’s going to be 14 if they miss again.