There's an old cliche in pro sports about how there are only two ways to sell your product: You sell winning, or you sell hope.

The Buffalo Sabres are currently incapable of offering either.

Sabres fans came into this truncated season having suffered through nine consecutive years of missing the playoffs. An NHL record-tying 10th straight miss is inevitable following a 6-18-4 showing through the first half of the schedule.

On Tuesday night, general manager Kevyn Adams fired head coach Ralph Krueger and one of Krueger's assistants, Steve Smith. Assistant Don Granato has been elevated to interim head coach as Adams searches for Krueger's full-time replacement.

The news surprised nobody. The club hasn't won in 12 games and owns a 31st-ranked offense, 29th-ranked defense, and terrible underlying numbers.

"We have to be better in every single area of this organization," Adams said during a press conference Wednesday. "It starts with me. I need to manage better, OK? I need to be better in every way. We need to coach better. We need to scout better. We need to develop players better. We need to practice better.

"I mean, you name it, we need to do it better. Period."

The good news here is that Adams isn't using the Sabres' string of bad luck as an excuse. Buffalo was sidelined for 14 days in February due to COVID-19 protocol and has been battling injuries to key players, namely captain Jack Eichel, former MVP Taylor Hall, and shutdown defenseman Jake McCabe.

The bad news is that the GM is absolutely correct in his assessment. Virtually all areas of the organization need upgrading. It's far from an overnight fix. Frankly, it's such a sad state of affairs that another full-fledged rebuild should be on the table for Adams.

First and foremost, though, owners Terry and Kim Pegula must give Adams - a rookie GM with no previous managerial experience in the NHL - a fair shake. The former NHL player needs more resources, plain and simple. Excluding coaches and player development staff, Adams' hockey operations department consists of a vice president of hockey administration, a director of scouting, a director of analytics (who is also assistant director of scouting), a director of hockey strategy, a head collegiate scout, and seven other scouts. That's it.

Essentially, there are 12 people in director, analytics, or scouting roles, as opposed to the 20-plus employed by most front offices.

Adams said he's in the process of filling an assistant GM role, which will help, but realistically, he probably needs two or three assistants to be on an even playing field with his peers. It shouldn't stop there, either - the Pegulas should also hire a president of hockey ops to oversee Adams and his group.

Longtime GMs Jim Rutherford and Mike Gillis both come to mind as potential hires as president. Normally, choosing from a few unemployed veterans is an ineffective way to pick the ideal executive. Yet the Sabres' dire situation begs for stability from somebody in the Rutherford/Gillis mold. Adams could well be the right person to turn around the Sabres. If he's never given an adequate support system, though, he won't have a fighting chance.

All of this front office talk links back to the losing culture that has infected the club for the past decade. Three years ago, former Sabres forward Ryan O'Reilly said the squad had adopted a mindset of "being OK with losing," and Eichel has expressed his frustration more than once. Based on this season's output, particularly the past few weeks, the losing vibe appears to be alive and well.

Adams plans to address the players Thursday. He says his message will revolve around how pride must be "within the DNA of our team." "Stacking wins" throughout the organization will eventually lead to a meaningful culture shift, Adams asserted on his call with the media. "If we all stack wins in the things that we do every day, they start to add up," he said.

This slow-growth mentality sounds smart, but wouldn't it be better to start over? The Sabres aren't just bad; they're rotten to the core. And the vast majority of possible changes won't move the needle.

Eichel is not the problem. He is an elite center, a cornerstone piece. But he turns 25 a few weeks into next season. By the time the Sabres turn over a chunk of their roster - the necessity of which is not up for debate at this point - he'll be in his late 20s and inching toward the end of his prime.

As painful as it would be for the fan base to see one of the best players in franchise history leave, and for the team to enter another intense rebuild, it may be the most responsible course of action. (Eichel has a no-move clause in his contract starting in 2022-23, according to Cap Friendly.)

The case against trading Eichel, of course, is that Buffalo would need to find another Eichel in order to one day contend for a Stanley Cup. But considering he could fetch a hefty package right now and the Atlantic Division projects to be tough for the foreseeable future, the timing could be worse.

Buffalo faces a similar dilemma with Eichel sidekick Sam Reinhart, another valuable piece. Reinhart's an underrated producer, but is the 25-year-old pending restricted free agent part of the solution? Is 20-year-old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who's having a down season, part of it too?

Meanwhile, pending UFAs Hall and Eric Staal should garner plenty of outside interest leading to the April 12 trade deadline. Further down the lineup, winger Toby Rieder and blue-liner Brandon Montour - also UFAs - likely won't finish their seasons in Sabres uniforms. Offloading Jeff Skinner's albatross contract would lift a great weight, though it won't be an easy task in a flat-cap world.

"We're open to everything and anything," Adams said.

The Sabres are dealing with an existential crisis. From the NHL roster to player development to the head coach to the front office to the overall culture, there is very little for fans to latch onto - which means nothing should be sacred.

"I do believe every crisis is an opportunity for positive change," Adams said, "and this is a chance for us to move forward and to begin to get this thing pointed in the right direction."

John Matisz is theScore's senior hockey writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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Robin Lehner divulged Wednesday he had been dealing with a concussion. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender made the revelation to silence speculation that he wasn't injured and that his mental health and substance abuse issues had resurfaced instead.

"I did hear it," Lehner said Wednesday, referring to the speculation. "That's ... the only reason why I'm telling you guys that I had a concussion right now. It's the nature of society ... the stigma around mental health is insane.

"Everyone deals with it, I don't care what anyone says. Everyone deals with it in some form or another during their life. Right now, during COVID, a lot of people do. That's also why the stigma is really hard (to allow) for the progress of getting people better because people have to hide it or (other) people talk and say these things."

Lehner doesn't believe he deserves to have his injury absence called into question, considering how open he's been about his problems in the past.

"I think I should get the benefit of the doubt on it because I've been honest with it," he said. "If I (had) those issues again, which are not happening, I would be honest about it. It's unfortunate because a mental health problem is no different than a knee problem, or a shoulder problem, or something like that. It's treatable, except the stigma makes it harder for people that struggle with mental health stuff."

The veteran netminder added that while NHL clubs typically keep players' injuries close to the vest, he felt he needed to disclose his most recent ailment.

"That's why I'm honest with saying I had a concussion. Teams usually don't say those things, but I thought it was important to say that because I've heard those rumors that, 'Oh, maybe he's back at rehab or whatnot,' but it's what it is," he said.

The 29-year-old revealed in 2018 that he previously suffered from bipolar disorder and dealt with both alcohol and drug addiction.

Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer said Wednesday that Lehner is "real close" to returning to the lineup and is a game-time decision for the evening's contest against the San Jose Sharks, according to FOX 5 Vegas' Vince Sapienza.

Lehner has missed Vegas' last 17 games since suffering the injury in a win over the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 7, which was just his fifth game of the season.

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The entire New York Rangers coaching staff is unavailable for Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers due to COVID-19 protocol, the team announced.

That list includes head coach David Quinn and his assistant coaches Jacques Martin, David Oliver, and Greg Brown.

Kris Knoblauch, the New York AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack's bench boss, will serve as acting head coach. Wolf Pack associate coach Gord Murphy and Rangers associate general manager Chris Drury will join Knoblauch behind the bench.

It remains unclear when Quinn and his staff will be able to rejoin the team.

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The Vancouver Canucks claimed forward Jimmy Vesey off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, the team announced.

Vesey is currently on a one-year deal worth $900,000. The former Hobey Baker winner has amassed five goals and two assists over 30 games this season.

Vesey, 27, largely played a fourth-line role in Toronto, averaging 11:07 of ice time per game. Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Tuesday the team waived Vesey to increase roster flexibility.

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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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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is seeking clarity from officials after Tuesday's loss to the Boston Bruins.

The tightly-contested clash between division foes featured two hits - one by each team - causing injuries, but referees only deemed Brandon Tanev's blow illegal.

The Penguins forward received a five-minute major and was ejected in the second period for the following hit on Bruins blue-liner Jarred Tinordi.

Tinordi's hit on Evgeni Malkin in the opening frame went uncalled by refs.

"I hope as players we get some clarity on what's a good hit and what's not," Crosby said postgame, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It's tough to really gauge when you're out there. I know it's fast, but right now, it's really hard to know what is, in fact, clean and what's not. And when you're out there playing, it's important to know that."

Both Tinordi and Malkin left the game with injuries. There's been no update on either player's status, but Crosby made it clear he hopes the Bruins defender isn't seriously hurt.

"I don't think he (Tanev) had any intent there," Crosby said. "I hope Tinordi's OK. He went in pretty awkward. But I don't think there was any intent. I thought he hit him clean. He hit him timely as far as the puck being there. (Tinordi) did go in awkwardly, so you never like to see that. But I didn't think it warranted a five-minute (major penalty)."

Boston won the game 2-1. The Bruins sit in fourth place and trail the Penguins by three points in the East Division with two games in hand.

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New York Islanders captain Anders Lee will undergo surgery this week and miss the rest of the season, general manager Lou Lamoriello announced Wednesday.

Lamoriello confirmed that Lee's injury is a torn ACL, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple.

The forward suffered the torn ACL in a game against the New Jersey Devils last week. He was in visible pain on the ice after getting tangled up with Devils forward Pavel Zacha.

The 30-year-old leads the Islanders with 12 goals this season and also accumulated seven assists in 27 games. The Islanders currently sit in second place in the East Division.

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