The Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 season is about as high-stakes as it gets. The Sabres will be aiming to end the organization’s 14-year drought on the Stanley Cup playoff front. And while certain players will not be long for Buffalo if the Sabres fail to make it into the post-season this year, the reality is the Sabres’ most prominent coaching and management members — coach Lindy Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams — could be getting their final kick at the can in their jobs — at least, at the NHL level.
To be sure, Ruff is an NHL lifer who has 1,856 games of regular-season games-coached. At 65 years old, Ruff is part of the old guard of the league, and at a time when teams fire coaches faster than ever before, Ruff may never get another shot as an NHL bench boss. He’s a Sabres icon, but without the appropriate results, he’s going to get shown the door at the end of the season or sooner.
Meanwhile, Adams is also going to be facing serious ramifications if the Sabres fail to thrive this season. The 50-year-old has been groomed for a role in Buffalo’s braintrust for years now, but if he doesn’t get this Sabres team into the playoffs, it’s not like teams will be forming a line to snap up his services. He wouldn’t be the first one-chance-and-done GM at the NHL level, and he won’t be the last.
You can see where we’re headed with this article, right? Adams and Ruff desperately need positive results this season, because there will be a cavalcade of critics ready to pick at their bones. A disastrous season for the Sabres will lead to a slew of changes in Buffalo’s front office — and the Sabres all know it.
Thus, no one should feel sorry for Ruff or Adams if things don’t go their way. They’re getting opportunities many hockey lifers never get. And if they can’t deliver positive results, Sabres ownership is going to look for a new GM and coach. That may not be fair, but it is the law of the jungle in the zero-sum industry that is being an NHL coach or GM.
Sabres Will Start This Season As Playoff Underdogs — But Here’s Why That Could Be Good For Them
The Buffalo Sabres are going to have a tough time contending for a Stanley Cup wild card position this year. But when this writer submitted his pre-season predictions for the Atlantic Division, he had the Sabres in…sixth place in the Atlantic, ahead of only the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. And while it pains us to predict more misery ahead for long-suffering Sabres fans, we wouldnâ€t be telling it like it is if we told you Buffalo wasnâ€t going to be picked as a playoff team by most pundits. They wonâ€t be.
The Sabres can’t afford to not come out of the gate strongly, because if they do, Ruff or Adams may not make it to the end of the season in their current roles. Buffalo can’t afford any missteps, and if they do make errors, it could spell the end of the line for Adams and/or Ruff.
The time has come for Ruff and Adams to step up or step aside. This season is going to be a make-or-break season for the Sabres. And the way the team responds will dictate Buffalo’s future — and the future of Adams and Ruff.
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