Krueger left strong mark on players during 1st season as coach

Within the disappointment of a premature conclusion to the 2019-20 season, members of the Buffalo Sabres who spoke this week were unanimous in one positive takeaway moving forward.

Following one year under coach Ralph Krueger, players are convinced they have the right man behind the bench.

"I think being around him every day, the way he handles himself and being able to learn from him, being able to build a relationship and go to him for things and advice, I think it's been so big for me," Sabres captain Jack Eichel said.

"He's one of the greatest natural born leaders I've ever been around on a day-to-day basis, the way that he looks at life and not even hockey. It's been a pleasure working with him. I couldn't be happier to have him as a coach."

Added defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen: "I feel like he's one of the best coaches I've had."

Krueger offered an honest assessment of the season during a call with the media on Friday, echoing his players' disappointment with where they finished while reciprocating a belief in their ability to find success in the future.

"Where are we right now? Well, it's a tale of two types of emotions at the moment," Krueger said. "At the one side, we're measured by results. We're measured by points. We're measured by where we are in the standings. And that's extremely disappointing and painful right now through this phase to look at that reality.

"The other tale, the other side, is the evolution of this group. … We are encouraged by the spirit of the group. We're encouraged by the maturing of the group. We're encouraged by the embracing of how we need to play, and the identity that gives us a chance to compete every night."

Krueger came to Buffalo last summer with a diverse leadership background that expanded beyond three decades of coaching hockey across the globe. He was a public speaker, published author, and helped developed new models of leadership with the World Economic Forum. He broadened his experience as chairman for Southampton of the English Premiere League.

Through the ups and downs of the season, Krueger was consistent in his message. He insisted players keep a "small picture" and worry strictly about day-to-day improvement. He was a positive presence, but not at the expense of honesty. Accountability increased as a result.

"Everyone in the locker room respected him, and I think one of the big factors in that was his honesty," Sam Reinhart said. "… He's obviously a positive guy, you all know that. When there's something to be said, when guys aren't playing up to their standard, I can't think if there's one guy in the room he didn't have a talk with at some point this year.

"It might not be yelling and screaming in the face, but it's more talk to let you know and to try to help you turn your game around and ultimately our team's game around. He's a very deep thinker and not much gets by him, nor should it."

Kyle Okposo spoke glowingly about Krueger's presence all season long.

"It would be a tough thing not to get motivated when he's speaking," Okposo said. "His messages are extremely clear and concise. There's not a lot of wiggle room with what he says and the message he tries to deliver. I think that was a huge positive for our group as well."

On the ice, Krueger instilled a simplified structure that he described as an outline of principles as opposed to a traditional system. Players embraced the freedom it allowed, and it showed in the numbers. The Sabres allowed 134 goals at 5-on-5, the ninth best mark in the NHL.

"I think he simplified things for us through all - D-zone, neutral zone, offensive zone - he put it in really simple terms and put it almost in a broad structure so it allows us to use creativity in the offensive zone, be a little more structured in the neutral zone and D-zone," alternate captain Jake McCabe said. "... I felt a lot more comfortable in my own end. I didn't feel [we were] running around too much like we have in the past."

Having said all that, Krueger was frank in acknowledging that points are the bottom line in the NHL. The Sabres were in position to be a playoff team at the midway point of the season, a spot they were confident they could maintain. They finished outside the 24-team field for a potential return to play scenario.

Inconsistent special teams were part of it. The Sabres had stretches of brilliance on the power play countered by long scoring droughts, while the penalty kill fell to 74.6 percent from 80.9 percent the year prior.

Krueger also pointed toward mental fatigue as a root cause of two six-game losing streaks that derailed the team's season. In those stretches, he felt the Sabres slip from the identity that had been proven successful.

"It's the mental side of the group," Krueger said. "We seemed to fatigue at times during the season and lose our focus on the game we all knew we needed to play. The players have said it. They have embraced it. They've tried so hard, but here and there we've lost our way and when we lost our way, we had confirmation what the actual way needed to be."

That was the underlying message in Krueger's comments Friday. While he shares his players' anger with where they finished, his nature is to look forward. He saw confirmation of the team's potential during stretches of success. The job now is to get there full-time, and he commended his players for the work they've put in already this offseason towards that end.

"We're doing group meetings," he said. "We're doing group chats with them. We're doing one-on-one chats. We're not trying to suffocate them. But we are staying in a high-quality way connected to the players. And we're going to stay on them. We're going to set measurable targets.

"And what I feel right now out of my heart is that this group, when they get to play again together is going to be extremely hungry to work toward that next level. I really have that impression after 11 weeks of interaction with them."