Sabres reportedly retaining Dan Bylsma
Following another disappointing season in Buffalo, it appears that Dan Bylsma will return for his third season as head coach.
The Buffalo Sabres conducted their annual locker clean-out today, an occurrence that has become common place for the ever rebuilding franchise. At his end of the year press conference, head coach Dan Bylsma indicated that given recent discussions with general manager Tim Murray he would be proceeding forward as head coach, as John Warrow of the Associated Press reported.
#Sabres Dan Bylsma said based on recent discussions he's had with GM Tim Murray, he's proceeding forward as coach.
— John Wawrow 🤷♂️ (@john_wawrow) April 10, 2017
Expectations were high for the young Sabres as anything short of the playoffs was considered a failure of a season. Instead the Sabres regressed in his second season as head coach finishing with a 33-37-12 record for 78 points. This marked a three-point decline from last season making fans and media anxious for change.
In the national hockey league it seems like a common occurrence for coaches to fall on the sword for a failed season (see Dallas, Florida & Vancouver), but it appears that Tim Murray may be opting for continuity and a belief that Bylsma can turn it around. This would contradict some opinions that indicated certain key players aren’t happy with the system that is place.
Reports from Paul Hamilton of WGR 550 in Buffalo have indicated that Murray has yet to meet with owners Terry and Kim Pegula, so this situation could change quickly. This past January former Bills coach Rex Ryan gave an end of the year press conference and fired the next day, indicating the Pegula’s are not afraid of firing a big name coach.
End of the season meetings between the Pegula's and Tim Murray have not taken place. Today is all about meeting with players.
— Paul Hamilton (@pham1717) April 10, 2017
It is important for Tim Murray to decide on his coach as quickly as possible as he embarks on another important offseason. One that includes an expansion draft, another top ten draft pick, re-building arguably the worst defensive core in the league and perhaps most importantly locking super star to be Jack Eichel up to a long term deal.
With rising stars like Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Sam Reinhart the disappointment is felt throughout the organization and community with so much more expected of the team.
Next: 25 Richest NHL Players of All-Time
Bylsma’s job appears to be safe for now, but in the dog eat dog world of NHL coaches, the first quarter of next season may prove to be most important if he hopes to stay with the Sabres throughout his five year deal and help rebuild the early reputation he built while winning a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh. With the young talent assembled a huge jump must take place in the 2017-2018 season for this relationship to continue.