BUFFALO, N.Y. – Twelve consecutive losses – and with no indication of the skid ending – were enough for Sabres first-year general manager Kevyn Adams to determine it was time to fire coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday.
The Sabres made the move the morning after a 3-2 loss at New Jersey, against a Devils team that snapped an 11-game home winless skid.
Krueger’s firing comes two weeks after Adams said he was evaluating the entire operation, including the coach, with the Sabres in jeopardy of extending their playoff drought to an NHL record-matching 10th season.
Buffalo’s 0-10-2 streak matches the third-worst in team history, and it’s the longest since a team-record 14 straight losses midway through the 2014-15 season. At 6-18-4, the Sabres rank last in the NHL in victories and points, and they have been shut out as many times as they’ve won this season.
Krueger is the third NHL coach to be fired during this shortened, 56-game season with all divisional play. He’s the first outside the North Division, which has seen Montreal let go of Claude Julien and Calgary replace Geoff Ward with two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Darryl Sutter.
Adams considered taking over behind the bench but had previously elected not to do so because it would take away from his managerial duties leading up to the NHL’s trade deadline next month.
Krueger lasted fewer than two seasons in Buffalo and had one year remaining on his contract.
“All I can say is I continue to enjoy doing this job also in a difficult time,” Krueger said, following the loss at New Jersey. “It’s easy to stand here when things are going well. It’s not that easy to stand here right now in this adversity. But I know we are we are learning and growing as an organization and we will take strength out of this in the future.”
Defenceman Brandon Montour acknowledged the team was bracing for changes.
“That’s 12 in a row now. It is what it is. It’s a business,” Montour said. “I think guys expect something just to get out of this in any way possible.”
Krueger’s firing continues to spin a revolving door of coaching and general manager changes in Buffalo. He became Buffalo’s fifth coach since Lindy Ruff was fired a month into the lockout-shortened 2013 season. And his firing comes nine months after Adams became the team’s third GM in six years after Jason Botterill was abruptly dismissed following a three-year tenure.
The Sabres have lurched from one crisis to another this season, dealing with a host of injuries to key players – captain Jack Eichel hasn’t been healthy all season and is out indefinitely with an upper body injury – a two-week COVID-19-forced pause to their schedule and being placed in the reformatted and ultra-competitive East Division.
Though the Sabres were considered playoff long-shots to begin with, few expected the team to perform so poorly, especially following an off-season in which Buffalo signed 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall in free agency and acquired veteran Eric Staal in a trade with Minnesota.
The additions have barely made a dent for a team that ranks last in the NHL in averaging 2.07 goals per game and scoring 36 times in five-on-five situations.
Krueger’s status was placed in question following a difficult two-week stretch in which the Sabres were shut out on back-to-back days by Philadelphia, and after a series of mixed messages from the coach regarding the injury status of Eichel and the reasons for high-priced forward Jeff Skinner being benched for three games.
Ultimately, the lack of offence and what’s become a normal series of breakdowns on defence placed the focus on whether Krueger’s philosophy was outdated, too easy to counter, didn’t fit the players on the roster or a combination of all three.
The 61-year-old Krueger was praised upon his arrival for having a reputation of being an innovator and motivator despite being out of hockey for five seasons while overseeing English Premier League soccer club Southampton. Krueger’s past, however, was rooted in hockey, mostly at the international level.
He was a long-time coach of the Swiss national team and served as a consultant for the Mike Babcock-coached Canadian national team, which won the gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He took time out from soccer in 2016 to coach Team Europe to a second-place finish at the World Cup of Hockey.
At the NHL level, Krueger spent two seasons as an assistant coach in Edmonton before taking over as the Oilers head coach in 2012-13. He was fired immediately following the lockout-shortened 48-game season.
Krueger now has the distinction of never completing a full 82-game NHL campaign. His first season in Buffalo was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. With a 30-31-8 record when the season was paused in mid-March, the Sabres finished a percentage point behind Montreal, which clinched the Eastern Conference’s 12th and final playoff berth.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
