NHL's Buffalo Sabres hire former soccer club chairman as new coach

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The NHL's Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday named Ralph Krueger as the team's new head coach. What made the news interesting was that before Krueger took the job, he had been working as chairman of Premier League's Southampton F.C.

"I could just feel the coaching magnet calling me back. I stayed very close to the game. All the relationships I built over the years are warm. I've been in contact with multiple head coaches over these last years. It's always been my startup site, NHL.com. Watching games and observing the way the league is operating has always been important to me," said Krueger.

Though he stayed away from professional rink for five years and spent that time on soccer, Krueger is no rookie in ice hockey. Before he went to Southampton, he was coaching the Edmonton Oilers in the 2012-13 season which was shorter than usual because of lockout. In the end, the team missed the playoffs with a 21-21-6 record (21 wins, 21 losses and six losses in overtime).

Linus Ullmark #35 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save as Oliver Bjorkstrand #28 of the Columbus Blue Jackets looks for a rebound in the game at the KeyBank Center, January 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Sabres were struggling in recent years as they only ranked No.13 in the Eastern Conference last season, missing the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. Krueger said he wanted to begin by establishing a winning culture and the Sabres must earn respect by becoming a tough team to play with.

Though Krueger's coaching record in the NHL was neither long nor glorious, he collected a lot of experience coaching Switzerland at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. In 2014, Krueger worked as a consultant under Mike Babcock with Canada which won men's ice hockey gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

"It didn't thrill me that he's just down the road, but that's the way life is. He's going to help their team out. That was a great opportunity for him. I talked to him a lot over the time there. It was a growing experience. I think it was a good challenge," said Babcock who is currently boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Krueger is currently in Europe and plans to meet Buffalo's captain Jack Eichel and center Sam Reinhart at the ongoing 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia next week.