Dan Bylsma Coached Sabres From 2015-17 Without Playoff Appearance
New Seattle Kraken coach Dan Bylsma appeared to have such a tough two years behind the Buffalo Sabres bench, many thought he'd never get another crack at an NHL job.
As is often the case, that tidy narrative leaves out crucial details.
First, Buffalo News Sabres writers Lance Lysowski and Mike Harrington state the obvious. "Dan Bylsma did not do a good job coaching the Sabres in his second season here. Bottom line."
Then they explain the nuances which make it less obvious. "He and general manager Tim Murray got a raw deal when they were fired on April 20, 2017. (Sabres owners) Terry and Kim Pegula seemingly caved to Jack Eichel and other players and fired the coach over the wishes of the GM.
"The season was derailed by Eichel’s severe ankle injury suffered on the eve of the opener and never got back on track and should have been treated as a bit of a fluke. Bylsma felt the team’s struggles were a one-off and just required some tweaks. He had led the Sabres to a 27-point improvement in Eichel’s rookie year from 54 to 81 points and was hopeful of 95 points in Year Two. When the team slipped to 78, he was gone."
During his press conference as new Kraken coach, Bylsma talked at length about how he'd learned the importance of building relationships with players. The seeds of that evolution may have been planted in Buffalo.
"Murray wanted to see Bylsma out of his office and away from his computer a lot more than he had been. He said the coach needed to do more (informal chats) with his players and less of grinding them with systems work or video study of the opponent."
If At First You Don't Succeed At Hiring Bylsma...
Lyricist Sammy Cahn in 1960 penned the lyrics, "Love is lovelier the second time around.” Kraken general manager Ron Francis attested to that when introducing the coach he'd just brought to Seattle.
Several years earlier, the then-Carolina Hurricanes GM was also hunting for a new coach. He and Byslma apparently didn't have a meeting of the minds at the time, something they alluded to in today's Kraken Reaction.