The Buffalo Sabres have fired head coach Ralph Krueger amid their 12-game losing streak, the team announced Wednesday.
Don Granato has been named the club's interim bench boss, according to The Athletic's John Vogl.
General manager Kevyn Adams said he'll immediately begin a thorough search for a permanent coach.
"There will be lots of people that I will speak to," Adams said. "What I don't want to do is rush into anything. ... This is about getting it right."
Krueger was hired before the 2019-20 campaign. He had logged one prior season of NHL head coaching experience with the Edmonton Oilers in 2012-13, and the 51-year-old worked as director and chairman of the EPL's Southampton during his gap between hockey roles.
There's one more season left on his contract, and the Sabres owe him $3.75 million, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Krueger was the Sabres' fifth head coach since 2013. Buffalo was expected to make significant strides this campaign after landing Taylor Hall - whom Krueger coached in Edmonton - and Eric Staal in the offseason.
The Sabres have fallen far short of those expectations, and they sit dead last in the NHL while on the verge of extending their playoff drought to 10 seasons.
"You name it, we need to do it better," Adams said.
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