Win the day. Lots of them. That's a nice buzzword that zips around Sabreland these days. You have to have patience, as hard as that may be, and that was reinforced again during Tuesday's chatter in KeyBank Center.
Immediate impressions from this corner: Don't expect splashy, big-ticket moves. Kevyn Adams might make all three of his first-round picks rather than trade one. Dare we even say trust the process?
If you want Adams to dive head-first anywhere, you're going to be disappointed. The Sabres' general manager is calm in the face of any storm, and coach Don Granato is the same way.
It seems like there's always been chaos around this organization and much of that went away this season. At exactly the same time Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart did. Interesting how that works.
But now it's time to get real after the season-ending kumbayas. Never has there been more happiness around a 75-point, non-playoff season, but it's fair and important to say there's no satisfaction in it either. This was a classic bridge year, from the disgrace of the Ralph Krueger teams and the end of the Eichel-Reinhart era to a new feel.
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It was hard at times. It was emotional, especially with all the goodbyes for Rick Jeanneret, but it was also plenty satisfying over the last two months.
From the start of the season to March 1, the Sabres battled through injuries, Covid cases, spotty goaltending and the distraction of the Eichel trade to 16 wins in 54 games. They were playing at a lowly 61-point pace for the 82-game schedule.
From March 2 to the end of the season, the Sabres had 16 wins in 28 games and played at a 102-point pace if extrapolated over 82 games. It left you wanting more and desperate to immediately push the calendar to training camp in September.
No so fast, Adams said.
"You can't hit fast forward," the GM said. "...We want to make sure that we're setting this organization up for sustainable, long-term success."
Most fans around here would like to start with one first-round playoff series but I digress. The point is clear: You can't win a Stanley Cup without first being in the playoffs. And you can't go from 0 to 60 and suddenly be in the playoffs without taking the steps, in the offseason and training camp, to prepare for a new campaign.
From these eyes, the Sabres weren't nearly as terrible as they were in the first 54 games nor as good as they were in the last 28. We know Granato and his staff can coach. We've learned that Adams and his staff know how to draft (anyone out there still want to crab about the Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka selections now?). And the GM certainly outwaited Eichel and the catcalls across the hockey world to pull off a boffo trade with Vegas, surprised observers by getting a first-rounder for Rasmus Ristolainen and did the same in the Reinhart deal.
All eyes are on Adams now this summer. This is a pretty set roster for a non-playoff team and will add Quinn and perhaps Peterka from the start of next season. It needs a veteran defenseman. And it needs a dependable goalie. Maybe two. It's fair to wonder if Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, on the shelf again in Rochester, can be one of those guys because the big Finn just can't stay healthy.
Adams said Tuesday he holds himself to the same standards as his players. He's got a Stanley Cup ring as a player you don't want to be reminded of (Carolina, 2006) but he's still less than two years on the job as GM.
"I want to be a better general manager. I want to be a better leader in this organization," Adams said. "If I do get a little bit of downtime, part of that will be maybe time for me to reflect and a lot of that time say, 'Where did I do things well, where could I have been better?' "
Adams says he enjoys hanging out at the rink and talking to his coaches and players. Trust me when I say not every GM does. But he has the same urges to see more progress faster that every fan does, and he said he has to push himself to get out of the way more.
If you look at the Sabres' roster for the season just concluded, it's interesting to see which general manager acquired which players. Here's the list I came up with in no particular order:
• Darcy Regier (remember him?): Zemgus Girgensons
• Tim Murray: Victor Olofsson, Rasmus Asplund, Kyle Okposo.
• Jason Botterill: Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, Jacob Bryson, Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, Colin Miller. Plus draft picks Luukkonen, Erik Portillo and Ryan Johnson.
• Kevyn Adams: Anders Bjork, Drake Caggiula, Cody Eakin, John Hayden, Vinnie Hinostroza, Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Will Butcher, Owen Power, Mark Pysyk, Craig Anderson, Malcolm Subban, Dustin Tokarski plus draftees Quinn, Peterka, Isak Rosen and and a key trade acquisition in Devon Levi, who seems like he's the leader in the clubhouse for goalie of the future.
Adams gets no points for Power, just like Botterill gets no real credit for Dahlin. Each won the lottery and made the obvious pick after building a team so bad that it finished in last place in the NHL and had the best ping-pong ball odds. Adams' list is mediocre in spots and it's fair to wonder how Botterill would have done given another year on the job based on his list.
Adams said you're always building a team, and Granato pointed out the only truly rebuilt team is the one that wins the Stanley Cup. Sobering to ponder.
"I don't want a player that's satisfied, I don't want a player that wants to stay the same," Granato said. "And that is the culture we want to build. We want guys here that want more, that are hungry for more. Not trying to be, 'I won something here, so let's replicate that.' Now let's do it better, bigger, stronger, faster, harder. And so that mentality of getting better will never change."
Adams quickly helped rebuild the culture of his team. The product on the ice started to blossom as well. But it's easy to improve from the embarrassment the Sabres were 14 months ago to where they are now.
The next steps are going to be even harder.
