Sabres fire coach after playoff drought hits 13 seasons

Seven months after general manager Kevyn Adams declared the Sabres’ competitive window of opportunity as being open, it slammed shut on coach Don Granato, who was fired on Tuesday.

Expressing his frustration and impatience, Adams launched what now stands as the team’s eighth coaching search in 12 years by targeting someone with NHL experience to inspire a young but underperforming team that extended the franchise’s league-record playoff drought to a 13th season.

“It’s go time. It’s time to perform on an individual level and a team level. We have to be better,” Adams said. “I believe we have a talented group of players that now we need to take the next step, which is obviously getting in the playoffs and going from there.”

Though crediting Granato for developing much of the Sabres’ young core during his threeplus seasons behind the bench, Adams believes his players now need a more seasoned voice behind the bench.

“I’m not going to get in the names. I think what you need to know is that as I walk out of here, know I have a plan,” Adams said, referring to his list of candidates. “We’re right there and we’re on the cusp and it’s going to be up to us. It’s going to be hard but that’s the best part.”

Granato was fired less than 12 hours after the Sabres closed their season with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay. The team finished with a 39-37-6 record and had been eliminated from playoff contention last week.

The 56-year-old Granato was a first-time NHL head coach, who took over first on an interim basis during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2021 season after Ralph Krueger was fired. Granato had two seasons left on his contact and finished with a record of 122-125-27 in Buffalo.