BUFFALO, N.Y. — I had a chance to speak with Sabres’ general manager Kevyn Adams on WGR 550 about the Sabres' horrific injury situation the past two seasons.
This year Buffalo is second-worst in the NHL losing 338 man-games to injuries. When you look at the Buffalo Bills, they were the best in the NFL losing just 95 man-games to injury.
It’s interesting that both teams have the same owner, and the Bills used to get a lot of injuries until Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane arrived.
Adams is trying to build his team the same way Beane and McDermott have built theirs, and he’s spoken to Beane about it. I wondered if he was going to talk to Beane about injuries.
He told me, “Absolutely, it’s funny you bring that up. I just had a meeting on that yesterday, and I’m going to call Brandon. It’s on my to-do list to pick his brain. It is interesting to me they had the least amount, so I just want to ask some questions.”
Adams has admitted to me in the past that he and Beane speak about things despite it being different sports.
He said, “A hundred percent, Brandon and I have become good friends. We talk a lot. We bounce ideas off each other, and I think for me, it’s an incredible resource to have someone that’s had so much success in a lot of different ways in the things that he’s done and just pick his brain. So I’m definitely going to have that conversation.”
Adams told me in January that he was going to do a total deep dive into the injuries the past two seasons. They’re doing their research on the types of injuries and how they happened. Could they have been prevented? Were they deep tissue or broken bones? Were they bad luck?
He also wants to speak with Beane about practices and work loads they put on their players. Is the field responsible, and in the Sabres' case, is the ice good enough? Or is it causing injuries?
Adams will look into whether they need to be more diligent in the players they sign. Are they signing players who are even available for a large percentage of their games?
Injuries have killed the Sabres this season. Casey Mittelstadt returns to action on Saturday, but he’s only played seven games this season and 41 out of 56 last year, although some of those came from Ralph Krueger making him a healthy scratch early in the season.
The Sabres need Mittelstadt in the lineup so they can evaluate their center ice depth. Are they set with Mittelstadt, Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs, or do they need better?
Jack Quinn played two games with the Sabres, scored a goal, and looked great. Then he got hurt and is still out. How would he look on the wing with Cozens and Krebs?
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was just establishing himself in the NHL, and he got hurt. He’s just now getting back, and he’s trying to get his rhythm in Rochester.
Mattias Samuelsson has been up for 11 games since coming back from injury, then playing some games with the Amerks. He’s starting to show now that he and Casey Fitzgerald may be part of this defense for years to come.
Adams traded for Malcolm Subban and got to see him for four games until he went out for the season.
This is a very important mission for Adams and his staff, as it needs to be figured out. He needs to know if they’re doing the right things and if they have the right people in the medical, training and sports science departments.