The Great Pit of Carkoon may be the fictional desert home for the monstrous sarlacc that greedily consumes any living sacrifice dropped into its gaping maw.
Or Star Wars’ infamous sarlacc pit might well be located out back of the rink, a blaster’s shot away from the KeyBank Center, where the latest victims of the Buffalo Sabres organizational chart can be devoured.
One by one, new hopes arrive to Western New York.
They come with promise and plans, energy and enthusiasm.
One by one, the results — all that losing — swallows them whole.
Head coach Ralph Krueger and assistant Steve Smith, a pair of fresh casualties, were handed their walking papers by rookie GM Kevyn Adams on St. Patrick’s Day morning amidst a 12-game losing trench and a dead-last 6-18-4 campaign.
Another reason to day drink in Buffalo.
“It feels like we’re in a very deep, dark place right now,” Krueger had said after being shut out for a fourth time during the skid. “And the only way we get into any light is keeping the fight in the team and sticking together. We’re not going to get any outside help or pity.”
With no experienced president of hockey ops to turn to, we pity the plight of Adams here. We do.
Caught between an ill-advised ownership group (Terry and Kim Pegula) and a rookie interim coach (the suddenly promoted Don Granato), Adams put on a brave face and said mostly the right things after Krueger’s dismal record — 36-49-12, with a minus-59 goal differential — forced his hand.
To his credit, Adams did not act like the meme dog with the top hat sipping coffee as the house burns down around him.
This is not fine. And the first step to solving the problem is acknowledging how deep the rotten runs.
“We have to be better in every single area of this organization. It starts with me. I need to manage better,” Adams said. “We need to coach better. We need to scout better. We need to develop players better. We need to practise better. I mean, you name it, we need to do it better. Period.”
Adams went on: “There has to be a pride that goes with putting on a Buffalo Sabres jersey. There has to be a pride of showing up every day and being a National Hockey League player, of looking around and saying, ‘I’m one of the 700 [or so] to get to do this every day.’ And that has to be something that just is inside you and drives you to be better every single day. To love to look around the city of Buffalo and see Sabres hats and signs and people wearing jerseys — that matters, and that has to be within the DNA of our team.”
In a month that has also seen Darryl Sutter drive from the farm to the bench, the conclusion of the Krueger experience is both a failure for the out-of-the-box bench hires and another example that coaching can’t solve what ails this roster.
Face of the franchise Jack Eichel raved about Krueger in Year 1 of his transition from European soccer back to North American hockey, then put up an MVP-conversation performance in 2019-20. Krueger played an integral role helping Adams recruit fellow ex-Oiler Taylor Hall in the 2020 off-season.
But injuries, a harsh bout of COVID, mediocre goaltending, a treacherous East division and multiple cap-crushing contracts conspired to turn a bad team worse.
Again, the coach — one Adams maintains the players love and respect (and, yet, did not play hard for?) — takes the fall.
The PegulEra began in 2011 and has mowed through six coaches already: Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston, Ted Nolan, Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley and Krueger.
(Ironically, it was Ruff’s Devils who delivered the final loss and healthy scratch Jeff Skinner who scored the final Sabres goal of Krueger’s run.)
Krueger will still collect a $3.75-million salary through 2021-22, as the search for his replacement begins immediately. Adams, who will also be hiring an assistant GM, refuses to put a timeline or a list of qualifications on that hire.
“This is about getting the right person — and it’s critical,” Adams said. “I do believe every crisis is an opportunity for positive change.”
For an executive who was told to fire 22 staff members upon his own hire in June, more change is coming.
Adams is open for business at the trade deadline, and he noted the volume of calls coming his way.
The GM’s own first two significant acquisitions, Taylor Hall and Eric Staal, must be flipped into longer-term assets, and conversations regarding potentially waving Hall’s no-move clause have begun.
“We’re open to anything and everything,” Adams said.
The less urgent but more important matter surrounding the rebuild of the rebuild is the future of superstar Eichel, under contract through 2026. His no-move clause, however, kicks in after the 2021-22 season.
Adams informed his captain of Krueger’s firing Wednesday morning but did not divulge Eichel’s reaction. The GM also bobbed and weaved when asked directly about the speculation surrounding Eichel’s future in Buffalo, home of the NHL’s longest playoff drought.
“From the beginning, one of the things I said was, building a relationship with Jack was important. We’ve spoken at length in the off-season and into the season,” Adams said. “Jack knows my door’s always open. We talk regular.”
The Eichel issue, much like the Krueger issue, boils down to one thing: winning.
Adams has called for more pride. But can pride exist without wins?
“Let’s not overcomplicate this,” Adams said. “We want to be better. We have to be better. And we will be better.”
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.
