Sabres owners Kim and Terry Pegula cheap out, announce coaching staff for 2021-22

Thoughts, Sabres fans? Is this the right choice?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Sabres owners Kim and Terry Pegula cheap out, announce coaching staff for 2021-22
Zuma Press

This just in, the Buffalo Sabres have announced that interim head coach Don Granato will return for the 2021-22 season as the team's full-time head coach.

Check it out:


This isn't terribly surprising news as Granato had done an admirable job since taking over for former head coach Ralph Kreuger. Unfortunately for Granato though, there are a lot of hockey fans who see this hiring as a cost saving measure for Sabres owners Kim and Terry Pegula. After all, Granato was already on the payroll. By electing to go with him instead of a new hire like Rick Tocchet, Bruce Boudreau or Mike Babcock, the Pegulas don't have to shell out millions of dollars. Which is obviously important given the economic landscape of the team post-COVID-19, but it's also relevant because the Pegulas are paying BOTH Kreuger and former head coach Phil Housley, as well. 

From the Sabres' official press release:

Granato has served as a head coach at various levels for nearly three decades, beginning in 1993 with the USHL's Wisconsin Capitols. He has won championships at the USHL (1996) and ECHL (2000) levels and was named AHL Coach of the Year in 2001. 
Granato spent five seasons as head coach of AHL Worcester (a St. Louis Blues affiliate) before earning his first NHL job as an assistant for St. Louis in 2005-06. He later spent five seasons as a head coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he helped guide the development of several of the premier American-born players in today's NHL. 

It's not yet known what the details of Granato's contract are, but it's thought that he received a slight pay raise, similar to the promotion that GM Kevyn Adams received when he was promoted from his assistant's role after former GM Jason Botterill was fired. 

All of this is to say that you have to feel for Sabres fans these days. Maybe Granato is the right coach, maybe he's not. I have no clue. But what I do know is that Sabres fans deserve a team that has full backing from its owners and I'm not sure we can say that right now. Here's to better days ahead for the Blue and Gold.