BUFFALO, N.Y. — At the start of NHL free agency on July 1, Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams made it clear to Patrick Kane and his representatives that the Sabres would be interested in signing him.
Kane wasn’t yet close to a decision given that he’d just had hip surgery. He wanted to get healthy and assess his options a month into the season. Adams and the Sabres stayed in the mix up until the point that Kane met with interested parties. Adams, Don Granato and other members of the Sabres’ front office had a call with Kane and his agents to make their pitch and let him know their vision for him and the team.
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But when Kane made his decision this week, he signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Detroit Red Wings, a team in Buffalo’s division that is in a similar stage of the rebuilding process.
“Ultimately, when you get into situations where free agents are going to have a choice,” Adams said. “That’s it. They make their choice. And obviously he’s going to a division rival, and it’s time to time to turn the page. And now look for how we can find ways to beat the Detroit Red Wings. So that’s the way I look at things.”
That Kane signed such a reasonable deal for one year isn’t solely an indication that he’s more convinced in the Red Wings’ direction than the Sabres’ direction. Yes, the Red Wings are in a stronger position in the standings right now. But Kane is also going to get a chance to play with his old teammate Alex DeBrincat, and could play on a line with DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin. By signing in Detroit, Kane also avoids the talk about his past off-ice issues in his hometown. He also played youth hockey in Detroit and is comfortable there. It’s a short drive from home.
But this should still spark something in Adams. There were other variables in Kane’s decision, but he wanted to chase another championship. And he thought he had a better chance to do that in Detroit than in his hometown.
So where does Adams go from here? The interest in Kane showed a willingness to add to this roster from the outside. They’re once again the youngest team in the NHL, a fact Adams pointed out on Wednesday as a reason for the team’s inconsistencies. But Adams brought a young roster into this season by choice and also declared the team’s window open.
Patience is always going to be a requirement for an NHL rebuild, but Sabres fans have endured more patience than most. The franchise’s playoff drought is the longest in league history. It’s the longest drought in professional sports and the longest drought in the NHL by five seasons. The Sabres haven’t won a postseason series in 16 years.
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Adams doesn’t own that entire drought, but even this latest version of the rebuild has required plenty of leniency from the fanbase. Adams took over in the summer of 2020, making this the fourth full season in which he’s been the general manager. The team steadily improved in each of the first three seasons, but so far in 2023-24, the Sabres haven’t taken another step forward.
“We’re a quarter way into the season now,” Adams said. “This is not a few games in. My personal belief is you don’t want to overreact. You don’t want to be emotional, but you also need to be looking at facts and be honest. And now we’re a quarter of the way in. I feel that our compete level hasn’t been good enough night in and night out to get consistent results. And that’s why I think that’s where we’re at .500. So we need internally with the people here to raise our consistent compete. And then your talent comes out. And I think that’s the next step for our team. But if there’s a way to make our team better, we’re going to do it.”
Asked why the consistent competitiveness hasn’t been there, Adams pointed to the youth on the roster. As a player, he said competitiveness needs to come first and then the talent can come out. At times, he thinks these Sabres have had the order of operations flipped.
“It’s such a competitive league, shift after shift, puck battle after puck battle,” Adams said. “The little things that add up over the course of a game, in my opinion, we haven’t been sharp enough consistently. When we do that, I truly believe in our group and I think we’re going to be a really good team.”
Maybe Adams and Granato took a step toward showing the team there is competition on the roster by sending Devon Levi to Rochester this week. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie have earned the net, so the team wasn’t going to keep handing starts to Levi because of his status as a top prospect.
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Still, though, the Sabres have gotten younger over the course of the season. Zach Benson made the team as an 18-year old and his competitiveness might be more consistent than any player on the roster. Isak Rosen (20) and Jiri Kulich (19) were recently called up after strong starts in the AHL, though Kulich was sent back down after one game. Meanwhile, 22-year old defenseman Ryan Johnson got called up from the AHL and has played his way into a consistent spot in Buffalo’s lineup.
Adams didn’t sound particularly urgent to add to the roster when speaking on Wednesday, though he said he’s always involved in conversations. Jack Quinn is still on schedule to return from his Achilles injury in early January. The team also received positive news on Tage Thompson’s latest x-rays on his injured wrist. He’s still a ways away from returning, but it’s on the shorter end of the initial time frame. Those additions will boost the lineup.
But Adams needs to be ready to act. He reiterated his belief in this team, but if that competitiveness doesn’t rise to an adequate level, something should be done to put a spark in the group. He and Granato are the ones who set the tone in the building, and urgency would send a message.
Patience is part of building a sustained winner. Adams doesn’t need to take shortcuts for the sake of just getting to the postseason, but there’s a balance to strike. Part of taking the next steps will be acting with the necessary conviction in making trades to upgrade the roster. Not every prospect will pan out, and there may not be room for them all even if they did. The Lightning and Avalanche are models often followed by rebuilding teams. Those franchises largely built through the draft on their way to winning the Stanley Cup, but shrewd trades were a major part of the formula for each team along the way. That’s the challenging part of going from a team with a promising future to one that competes consistently. And that’s the next step for Adams as a general manager.
Quick hits
1. Adams said he hasn’t made a decision on whether he’ll loan Zach Benson to Team Canada for the World Juniors. Team Canada has expressed interest, but Adams wants to do what’s best for both Benson and the Sabres first. Adams is a believer in the benefit of representing your country on that stage, but Benson is also adding value to the Sabres’ lineup. As long as that is still the case, the Sabres may not be able to justify parting with him for a few weeks. Adams said he wants to let the situation play out over the next few weeks and see how Benson is handling the NHL schedule.
2. By sending Levi down to Rochester, Adams created some lineup flexibility for Granato. Brandon Biro was recalled from Rochester this week to take Levi’s spot on the roster, and Kulich was sent back down to Rochester to make room for Jordan Greenway, who was back with the team after being away for personal reasons. Those two moves will give the Sabres 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies on the roster. While Granato says the move to send Levi to Rochester, “creates breathing room,” he doesn’t regret carrying three goalies. He and Adams felt they needed to do that until it became clear who deserved the bulk of the playing time.
3. JJ Peterka now has nine goals and 17 points through 22 games for the Sabres. He has points in six of the Sabres’ last seven games. Granato mentioned that Peterka’s competitiveness is a main reason why he’s been able to elevate his game. The coaching staff challenged him at the end of last season and said he would need to earn a major role on the team. Peterka took that to heart and has become a fixture among the team’s top six forwards.
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“He’s come back with a greater compete and much more adamant knowing that he’s going to be rated differently by us as coaches,” Granato said. “He’s competitively addressed the challenge that we gave him at the end of last year.”
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
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