As Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts The Podcast, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula flew to Montreal to meet with the team this morning. These discussions took place over a roughly two-hour period. One meeting included the entire Hockey Operations department. It was essentially an all-hands conference call to discuss the state of the club.

Sources indicated to me and as Frank Seravalli reported, the messaging was supportive from ownership. However, it was made clear that the performance of the team currently is not good enough and that things need to start to turn around quickly.

My opinion is that if there are no signs of improvement over the next few weeks leading into the middle of January we could start to see changes. What those changes would include, I’m not sure at this point. It could begin with the coaching staff around Lindy Ruff.

Kevyn Adams and Pegula met with the players as well today. Once again, the message was supportive while making it clear that the current performance is not good enough. Adams also indicated that he believed in the roster and that there was no lifeline coming for them.

Taking a step back we know that Adams is in the trade market and open to finding a deal that will help this team. What was reported by Seravalli and what I was told should not leave one to believe they’re not considering trade scenarios. This was a tactic to try to get this team out of the hole that they’re in. If they can find something that makes sense to them, they’ll make a deal. The problem is it may be too late now.

I’ve mentioned a few times that Adams has more rope here than people want to believe. Ownership believes in him and his trust. That trust part is critical to Pegula. I still believe that if Adams is removed from the general manager position he wouldn’t be out of the organization. They would find another role for him and allow someone else to step in to make the day-to-day hockey decisions.

They have lost 10 games in a row, and there are no signs that their season will turn around. They’re on pace for 69 points through 31 games. To reach 92 points, they would have to earn 66 of the 102 remaining points on the schedule or 65%. Does anyone believe they’ll play at a 106-point pace over the last four months of the season?

I suppose this is a nice way of saying that their season is likely already over, and it’ll be 14 years without the playoffs.

I understand that people want changes and I do as well. As I shared on X a few days ago, patience is wearing thin in the organization. Today’s developments don’t mean everyone is safe and it’ll be status quo. The purpose of these meetings was to put pressure on the hockey operations staff and players. Essentially you’ve been warned and the next move is to make changes sooner rather than later.

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