RICH SUTTER ON THE SABRES RESURGENCE
By: Stephen Lylyk, RP Show Intern
“There were times for a few years there where there was struggles for Buffalo. They’re alot harder team to play against now for sure!”
That was what 13-year NHL vet and longtime scout & broadcaster Rich Sutter had to say during his Thursday appearance on the Rod Pedersen Show about the current status of the Buffalo Sabres.
Not long ago the Sabres were in a dark place. Following an 0-10-2 skid in the 2021 campaign they made the move to fire head coach Ralph Krueger.
In a press conference following the Kreger news, General Manager Kevyn Adams explained the move.
“This is a results business and where we are is unacceptable,” Adams said. “To change the culture and do what we have to do to get this headed in the right direction, I felt this is the move we had to make.”
Over the next few months key players Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Sam Reinhart would exit Buffalo. Young pieces such as centre Peyton Krebs, along with draft capital, were brought in via the Eichel trade to Vegas, to help with Adams’ rebuilding efforts.
Don Granato would receive the interim tag to finish the 2021 season. While the losses would still pile up, the impact he had in the locker room led to the interim tag being removed in July of 2021.
Sutter noted a key positive he’s noticed in Granato’s short tenure with the Sabres.
“Players are buying in,” said Sutter. “They’re wanting to play for Granato, which is awesome!”
One such player is young defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. This is what he said in a July 2021 interview with the Canadian Press after Granato was officially made the Sabres Head Coach.
“I felt that he trusted me as a player. He really saw what my potential was and I felt comfortable playing out there.”
Dahlin would take that confidence and explode during the following campaign tallying a career high 68 points. So far in this current 2022-23 season he has taken yet ANOTHER step to stardom.
As NHL.com pointed out the young star has become one of only three defenseman in the last 40 years to begin a campaign scoring in each of his first three games (Calle Johnson in 1992-93 and Victor Hedman in 2014-15 are the other two).
Sutter emphasized how impressed he was with the mentality the Sabres play with under Granato.
“The biggest thing that I like about [about] Buffalo is that you [don’t] see a team cave. You [don’t] see a team say ‘oh no here we go again.’ They’ve stayed true to what they believe in and what they’re starting to believe is going to give them a chance to compete, and win on any given night against any given team.
Sutter made sure to emphasize, that the key for the Sabres is to remain patient as their rebuild continues forward.
“I really like what Kevyn [Adams] and (Associate General Manager) Jason [Karmanos] have done there. They’ve got it right, and the biggest thing is they’ve just gotta remain patient and stay the course.”
Following Thursday’s contest against Western Conference Juggernaut the Calgary Flames, the Sabres travel west for a Saturday evening showdown against the struggling Vancouver Canucks.
