The Buffalo Sabres and GM Tim Murray may have missed out on Mike Babcock, but that doesn't mean they won't wind up with a high-quality head coach this offseason.
According to a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca, the former Stanley Cup-winner has targeted the up-and-coming Sabres as his next head coaching stop.
"Bylsma and Buffalo is going to be an interesting one. I think that's the job he wants, from what I've been told," Friedman said while appearing as a guest on Calgary's Sportsnet 960, per Chris Nichols of TodaysSlapshot.com.
By nearly all accounts, the Sabres and Murray pushed hard to land Babcock, but came up empty-handed thanks to the high-visibility and deep pockets of the Maple Leafs.
Bylsma now headlines a group of well-known, if lesser-heralded coaching candidates with NHL seasons already under their belt.
Friedman believes Bylsma's experience coaching All World players like Sidney Crosby and likely soon-to-be Sabres first-round pick, center Jack Eichel - who he helped guide at the IIHF World Championships - will be major selling points for Bylsma with Murray.
"He coached Eichel at the Worlds. Todd Richards was the head coach and Bylsma was the assistant on the American team. I think that's going to be one of his big selling points. 'I coached Eichel. I coached Crosby.' Getting the most out of star players, stuff like that. I believe that's going to be his sell job to the Sabres," said Friedman.
As the head coach of the Pens, Bylsma amassed a 252-117-32 record in six seasons. The Penguins never finished worse than second in the Atlantic Division, made the postseason each year and won the Stanley Cup in 2008-09, Bylsma's first year with the club.
Per Friedman, another thing working in Bylsma's favor is the potential recommendation of Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher.
"And the other thing too is Tim Murray, one of the guys he's tightest with is Chuck Fletcher of Minnesota, who was the assistant GM in Pittsburgh when they had Bylsma and won the Stanley Cup. So I have a feeling if Fletcher gives Bylsma any kind of good recommendation to Tim Murray, that's going to help Bylsma's situation there."
There's no doubting Bylsma's wealth of NHL experience and success, but whether he's the man to turn around the recently downtrodden Buffalo franchise remains to be seen.
