Sabres Say They Are Ready To Be Held Accountable
Players expressed appreciation for Granato, but are looking for a taskmaster as their new head coach
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports - Sabres Say They Are Ready To Be Held AccountableBuffalo Sabres players seemed to be singing from the same hymn book in their media availabilities this week following the dismissal of head coach Don Granato. While they appreciated his help in their development into better professionals and admitted their culpability in his demise, they also said there was a need for a more forceful message and a bench boss that would hold them accountable.
"I think we're ready for a little more. Whether that's pushing us a little harder, being harder on us, whether that's just harder practices. We're ready now to not be as comfortable. We want to be pushed harder, and be held to a higher standard." Sabres center Dylan Cozens said on Thursday. "A lot of guys could benefit from that. I think we are ready for that. We want to be pushed to that next level and if we're not performing, we deserve to be benched."
The unanimity of what the players said coincided with the direction GM Kevyn Adams stated earlier in the week. While it could reflect a genuine recognition that the Sabres need a nudge in the ribs to get to the next step, it also could be a realization that need to be prepared to get on board with where they are inevitably going to go.
“It’s go time. It’s time to perform on an individual level and a team level. We have to be better and the message, not to get into specifics of what I’m going to say, but it will be a challenge to them,” Adams said. “I wouldn’t (have said) these things four years ago, three years ago, two years ago because I knew we were still evolving. Now I know 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.”
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES