Krueger says he thinks about Sabres' playoff chances during season pause

Ralph Krueger says the 11 days since the NHL paused its season due to concerns about the coronavirus have felt like a lifetime.

The Buffalo Sabres coach is a citizen of Switzerland, and he's been in Zurich since early last week, in self-isolation, wondering when and if the 2019-20 season will resume.
"Whatever decisions are made, we're going to embrace them and we'll do the best," Krueger said Monday. "There's nothing that I cannot imagine as an option here at the moment."
RELATED: [NHL Pause Binge]
With so much time spent inside, he said he often looks at the Sabres schedule in his office and wonders what might have been. They have 13 games to play and are 13 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes for the two wild cards into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
But then he thinks about the vacant streets outside and knows the world is dealing with a much more serious issue than a race for a spot in the postseason.
"I just came off a conference call with the coaches and it sounds like life here is pretty similar to what people in Buffalo and/or Chicago are feeling, where it's very quiet," Krueger said. "People are extremely careful in their movement and quite disciplined and respectful toward the situation, which we all need to be.
"But the fear factor is in the air. With Italy, Spain, France, Germany kind of surrounding Switzerland, there is a lot of buzz and, of course, hope that things get under control soon."
Krueger said the coaches have left the players alone during their self-quarantines. He said he believes they'll keep themselves in shape for whenever hockey returns.
"It's one of those [situations] where sports will be very important out the other end of this, I know that," he said. "We just have to be ready when that call comes, that we do our part to get the world in motion in the right direction again."
A world that is currently in flux.
"Not only the NHL on pause right now, most of the countries in the western world are on pause," he said. "In the world, period."
It's was March 11, a day before the NHL announced it was pausing the season, when Krueger was at a team meal in Montreal, getting the Sabres ready to play the Canadiens the next night.
"During that dinner the news broke about [one] NBA [player] testing positive and everything kind of started unraveling from there," he said. "We weren't sure where that would take us.
"We began the game day in Montreal as if we were going to play. The coaches headed to the arena and when we got [there] we heard we needed to return to the hotel."
General manager Jason Botterill was waiting there to deliver the message: The season had been put on hold.
"We found out the reality of our situation. And it was shocking at the time," Krueger said. "We were high-intensity into the season and suddenly the ground just fell out from underneath us.
"The day itself was shocking. It was very well-managed by the National Hockey League and by our management. We were quickly back on an airplane to return home and everybody went into their own quarters and quarantined from the moment we arrived home.
"As far as I know, everybody has remained in that mode of safety for now, the social distancing and all of that."
It is unclear if the NHL season will resume and what will happen if it does. But Krueger, in his first season as Buffalo coach, is holding out hope the Sabres can get a chance to make a postseason push.
"We're extremely disappointed that we weren't able to play those 13 [remaining] games to date," he said. "Hopefully something still pops up here and we're still hanging on to that [playoff] hope."
Krueger also is participating in a mentorship program launched by the NHL Coaches Association (NHLCA), which helps coaches around the world develop with webinars on leadership, communication and career advancement.
"Personally, this opportunity means a great deal," he said. "Every opportunity you can have to discuss your experiences and what you have learned during your journey is very enjoyable. Sometimes the best ways to make others stronger is by sharing what you have gone through personally.
"I'm so happy that there will be both men's and women's coaches from all of the many different countries participating in the webinar. Early on with my experience with the national programs in Switzerland, I was very close with the women's program. I was there when the program was built from scratch and to see the program earn a Bronze medal [at the 2014 Sochi Olympics], it was such a great feeling. The message is universal for all of the coaches we are reaching, no matter who is being coached."
Krueger said his background, which features corporate speaking as well as coaching, gives him a unique perspective.
"Naturally, because of this I usually go down the philosophical and leadership paths rather than just a hockey-specific one," he said. "The hockey-specific information is out there for everyone already. I like to go beyond that process and try to discuss all of the thoughts behind that information. The life aspects and thought processes of the athletes many times get lost or forgotten.
"Early on, I tried to stay true to myself and just looked to figure things out based on my own experiences. ... Even today, I still look for the philosophy, art and culture of other areas and sports to maybe find an edge that normally others are not exploring."
NHL.com Independent Correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report