It’s been 84 years. Ok, maybe not that long. The Buffalo Sabres will officially announce Don Granato as the next head coach of the team.

This is the move we all expected even when the season ended. Kevyn Adams stuck to his word, however, and went through an extensive search. We heard names like Nate Leaman, Bruce Boudreau, Rick Tocchet, and Rikard Gronberg all tied to getting interviews with the club.

At the end of the day, Granato was the right guy for the job all along. Especially when you consider the likely developmental avenue the Sabres are going to be headed down for the next few years.

Development

There’s no denying what Granato did for a handful of young players on this roster after he took over as interim head coach this past season. Rasmus Dahlin returned to form as the type of dynamic offensive defenseman we saw glimpses of over the first two years of his career.

Casey Mittelstadt had a re-emergence as a middle-six centerman. He thrived under the responsibility handed to him under Granato and showed that he can still be a useful player for this club.

Rasmus Asplund finally stuck with the big club under Granato. He fit well into his system and formed good chemistry on a line with Mittelstadt. I can continue to go on about the trust he showed in Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, and others, but I think you get the picture.

The Sabres are headed down a road of resetting their franchise with Jack Eichel likely to be on the move in the next few weeks. Granato is a perfect fit as the coach that showed a willingness to believe in his young roster players. Put them in difficult situations and trust them to make the right plays.

What’s Next

Now that this has become official, things start to get interesting with a few players on the roster. Most notably, Sam Reinhart. His name has been in trade rumors since that infamous Zoom end-of-season media availability day. There’s a chance that the 25-year-old forward is move, but Granato staying may change some things.

Granato is a big fan of Reinhart from what I was told and believes that he can be a leader for the younger group. The Sabres can try to sell him on the idea that he becomes the new “face” of the team for a few years and pay him accordingly. The big question is how willing is the Vancouver native to sign up for more with the Sabres?

Beyond the players, now we can get into what happens with the assistants? A few weeks ago I was told that it was likely the coaching staff that ended the season would return with Granato. That would mean Mike Bales, Matt Ellis, and Dan Girardi would all be back behind the bench.

It’s still possible we could see some changes to his staff. However, Ellis is the one that I feel would be a lock to remain on the bench as an assistant. There’s a lot of support for him within the organization.

Step one of the offseason is out of the way and now we turn our focus to waiting on what will happen with Eichel.

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