The Kevyn Adams era came to a much anticipated end on Monday when the Buffalo Sabres relieved him of his duties as general manager and named Jarmo Kekäläinen as his replacement.
Adams’ tenure should have ended at least eight months earlier, though a case could be made that he shouldn’t have seen the summer of 2024, either. Regardless, the Sabres finally moved on from their deeply unpopular GM in favor of a candidate whose resume is probably the strongest the Sabres have had at the position since (minimally) Darcy Regier. Adams’ lack of experience became a major talking point as the Sabres floundered, particularly over the last two seasons as the team languished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The hallmark of Adams’ tenure will almost certainly be his inaction. In the face of regression and as season after season slipped away, Adams was incapable of taking action to keep his team competitive. Sitting on his hands through last year’s losing streak was the most damning instance of his inability (or unwillingness) to act with any sort of urgency. That was hardly the only example as his decision to leave Jack Quinn’s roster spot open entering training camp in 2023 was one of Adams’ most significant fumbles.
Quinn was expected to be a key contributor after Buffalo’s promising 2022-23 season. Instead Quinn’s ruptured achilles kept him out until midseason and drastically affected his ability. Adams was lucky that Zach Benson was as effective as he was, and is, in place of Quinn, but the decision to leave Quinn’s spot open instead of pursuing a proven replacement headlined a quiet offseason. Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson were the only notable additions as Adams opted to bank on internal growth as he ran back the same roster. The rest is history. By the following spring, Don Granato was out and the Sabres were on their way to two-straight years of regression in the standings.
If Adams’ inaction was the hallmark of his tenure, crafting a roster that has only regressed after falling one point short of the playoffs was the most damning. The Sabres feel miles away from the team that was in the playoff race up until the final days of 2023. Even considering some of the bright spots of his tenure – the Josh Doan trade has brought promising returns, Ryan McLeod was a smart addition as was betting on Jason Zucker – Adams never truly capitalized on the assets he stockpiled from the rebuild he stepped into. For a team on the brink of a playoff berth three seasons ago to not leverage those assets into meaningful upgrades was an error the team is chasing to this day. Ultimately, the combination of uninspiring offseasons, no movement of note until the deadline and a seemingly neverending run of mediocrity in the crease have kept the Sabres in the Eastern Conference basement and mercifully pushed Adams out the door.
As is the case with most new hires, Kekäläinen has been a breath of fresh air for the fans. He is the first general manager with prior experience that Terry Pegula has hired at the position. While prior experience isn’t a guarantee of future success, it’s notable that the Sabres haven’t gone down this path once during their playoff drought.
Kekäläinen showed a penchant for assertive, aggressive moves in Columbus. In a market that isn’t regarded all that well by players around the league, he did well to attract talent throughout his tenure via trade and free agency. Among his most notable moves include buying low on Sergei Bobrovsky, landing Artemi Panarin from Chicago and turning Jones into a high-value first as regression had set in.
The Blue Jackets still had their share of struggles in the standings. They made the postseason five times in Kekäläinen’s tenure but finishing fifth or worse in their division in the other six seasons. But he inherited a struggling club and executed an effective rebuild, turning the Blue Jackets from a 55 point team in 2012-13 to a 108 point club four years later (with a 93 point season mixed in during his first full year at the helm). The Jackets came back down to earth after he chased a playoff run before losing Bobrovsky and Panarin to free agency. That brought his time in Columbus to an end, bookending his tenure with a pair of rebuilds with a nice run of success sandwiched in the middle.
Kekäläinen steps into a more favorable situation here in Buffalo. This team isn’t without its flaws and rumors over coaching staff changes are already swirling. Fans will be eager to see him exhibit the sort of aggressive roster management he utilized in Columbus. Kekäläinen spoke of having full autonomy within the hockey department in his introductory press conference and it will be fascinating to see how quickly that arrangement becomes evident. He also has a few big issues to handle right out of the gate.
Does Kekäläinen’s presence make a significant difference in the Alex Tuch negotiations? Does he even have any interest in extending Tuch? He already spoke of solving the three-goalie rotation but he also needs to find a reliable, long-term solution in net. And if he was serious about making the playoffs this year, he’ll have some other roster decisions to make.
I’m most interested to see how these early days and weeks unfold, especially if there is any fire to go along with all the smoke about staff changes. Not only is Kekäläinen the first GM hired by Terry Pegula with prior GM experience, he’s also the first in-season GM change Pegula has made since firing Regier. That’s a stark change in behavior for the organization that would be even more stark if Kekäläinen executes any notable changes to the coaching staff. That sort of drastic shift in behavior is something I suspect many fans have been craving for several years and it’s the sort of action that will curry plenty of favor for Buffalo’s new GM.
Two in the Box 