COMMENTARY
Gleason: Offseason needs more thunder than season had
The Sabres became a lifeless team that failed to compete and lacked mental toughness. That's a felony in this town.
The offseason officially began at 6:28 p.m. Saturday, when the Sabres took a twirl in HSBC Arena and saluted fans who dragged themselves downtown knowing darned well the bang was hardly worth their buck. Nothing beats a warm-and-fuzzy goodbye in April, wouldn't you say?
Sure enough, less than 15 minutes after Buffalo's easy, breezy 6-1 victory over Boston in the season finale, most of the players had slipped into the showers, slithered out the side door and made themselves scarce. Heaven forbid they would actually take responsibility for missing the playoffs in two straight years and five out of seven seasons.
It was typical.
Why rant about their dressing room after the final game? I was waiting for them to address the issue without being told. They shouldn't need public criticism about a glaring problem before finding a solution. Their willingness to let each other slide this year said plenty about their lack of accountability amid a rumor Lindy Ruff was getting fired.
At least that's what made its way around HSBC Arena, Ruff getting the heave-ho and General Manager Darcy Regier somehow sticking around. Minority owner Larry Quinn said an intense evaluation was forthcoming, but he did not say either way whether Regier or Ruff would be canned. Ruff looked like a beaten man Saturday, like someone prepared to put out a cigarette and walk the plank.
We'll see what happens, but Ruff has been the least of their problems. All year, Ruff has been forced to explain away the season while most of his players went into hiding. Their lack of leaders and abundance of followers should have been addressed two years ago, when ownership caused a vacuum that sucked the heart and soul from this team.
Forget about the blowout Saturday. It had the feel of an All-Star Game, only with less hitting, perfect for Buffalo. The Bruins were trying to stay healthy with the idea they go deep into the postseason. The last thing the Sabres needed was a few bumps and bruises that could hinder their golf swings.
You can expect management in the coming days to explain away the Sabres' failures with a variety of excuses. Ryan Miller was injured. They didn't get the bounces. They're still a young team looking to mature. And look, they finished strong! Yada, yada, yada. You've heard it before while, in the same breath, they claim they're not making excuses.
Nobody should accept the Miller excuse for finishing ninth or 10th in the conference while playing in a weak division. The Devils were without the best goaltender in the world, Martin Brodeur, for 50 games. They came together, found different ways to win, made backup Scott Clemmensen better, and captured the tough Atlantic Division.
This crew had a pity party and folded.
Take away their 6-0-2 start and their 7-2-1 finish, and the Sabres were 28-30-6 in the other 64 games. That's not a playoff team. That's the Los Angeles Kings.
Buffalo was given a pass last season after becoming the third team to post the NHL's best record one year and miss the playoffs the next. There was the Chris Drury-Daniel Briere disaster, trumped by Brian Campbell, and the hangover that came with reaching the conference finals two straight years. The Sabres did make history this season, however, becoming the first team to post two straight DNQs after winning the Presidents' Trophy.
If Chris Drury personified everything right about the post-lockout Sabres, who personifies everything wrong about them this season? Tim Connolly, an overpaid finesse player who looks great one night and vanishes the next? Jochen Hecht, who underachieved all season? Maxim Afinogenov, whose presence exemplifies management's inability to improve the team while embracing status quo?
Connolly has been a professional hockey player for nine years now, but it hardly makes him a pro. It would be nice if once, just once, he stood up in the middle of the dressing room and assumed ownership rather than join the legion of followers who look around for someone else to take the lead.
Heck, it's hardly just Connolly. You can go up and down the roster and find many more. Rather than evolve into the good young core that the Sabres were selling, they became a lifeless team that failed to compete and lacked mental toughness. That's a felony in this town. And along the way, they made their owner look like foolish.
Tom Golisano said before the season that he would chew on his microphone if the Sabres missed the playoffs, so he can't be too happy these days. Hopefully, he'll have a sense of humor publicly about the microphone issue while privately scouring every inch of the organization for the right changes.
Nobody should feel safe. Clearly, the hockey department needs an outsider to take a fresh look at a potential overhaul. Regier built the team and should not be allowed to stay if Ruff is sent packing. The Sabres should be better in two years, but they can't rely on people who have been entrenched in the organization to get the six or seven players needed to get back into the hunt.
Blame should begin at the top with Golisano and Quinn and trickle down to the dressing room. Regier's biggest problem is being wed to his own players. The Sabres had 14 losses in regulation or overtime against Eastern Conference teams below them in the standings. That falls on Ruff as much as the collection of fragile players he coaches.
Rick Dudley would be a terrific choice to take over. He helped put the pieces in place in the late 1990s that made Ottawa a good team, after that helped build Tampa Bay into a Stanley Cup winner and currently is the assistant GM in Chicago. He could make a decision about Ruff, and you bet the house he would make roster changes.
He still lives in Lewiston, knows the team, knows the town. He would be an easy sell to a fan base that has grown tired of the same old routine, but don't get your hopes up. I'm not sure Golisano even knows the guys exists, let alone understands his qualifications.
Dudley has a strong personality and relentless work ethic, which was how he played. Quinn probably wouldn't hire him because it would mean relinquishing control. That's why it is easy to envision him keeping Regier, a good soldier who already has fallen on the crossing swords a few times.
Peter Chiarelli turned the Bruins into the top team in the conference in two years. Scott Howson turned Columbus around in the same span. Same with Paul Holmgren in Philadelphia. Brian Burke will get the job done in Toronto. The Sabres need someone with the vision, acumen and stomach to do the same here.
The time to start looking was 6:29 p.m. Saturday.
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