Buffalo Sabres – Page 2 – Two in the Box

2ITB Sabres Mock Offseason – Chris’ Version

June 25, 2025June 26, 2025Chris OstranderLeave a comment

After Tyler took his turn in the Mock GM chair, I’m trying my hand at the exercise, laying out my vision for an offseason that might just break Buffalo’s playoff drought.

Our aim with these mock rosters is to remain somewhere in the vicinity of reality (read: no trades for Connor McDavid) in terms of the deals we swung both via trade and free agency. Some latitude was necessary for the sake of conversation, for example, pursuing trades including players with no trade protection. But overall, the hope was to put together an offseason plan that was realistic.

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2ITB Sabres Mock Offseason – Tyler’s Version

June 24, 2025June 24, 2025Tyler RoederLeave a comment

As the calendar gets closer to the NHL Draft on June 27 I figure it’s now or never to put together a 2025-26 Sabres Mock Offseason. The Panthers have wrapped up a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final victory over the Oilers, and while the Panthers are busy parading the Cup around South Florida the rest of the league has begun the offseason in earnest.

Teams have begun to make trades, sign their pending free agents, and in some cases grant players permission to speak to other teams, but Kevyn Adams has not yet begun the heavy lifting required to take the Sabres from two seasons of regression in the standings to playoff contender.

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An Adult in the Room: Kekäläinen Adds Experience to Buffalo’s Front Office

June 2, 2025Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Kevyn Adams has some company. The Sabres hired Jarmo Kekäläinen as Senior Advisor Friday, completing a move that had been rumored since the spring and adding an experienced voice to Adams’ staff.

Kekäläinen will report to Adams as part of the larger front office structure, an arrangement that was expected if and when the Sabres found a suitable candidate for the role. Exactly what level of influence Kekäläinen will have is to be determined. It’s safe to assume he’ll be at the table when it comes to draft picks, trades and signings, but whether or not he’ll have any sort of veto power or notable influence on those decisions won’t come to light for some time.

Considering what has been shown of the Sabres’ front office through reporting and team-produced content is a group where several opinions are heard on a subject and Adams puts value in hearing from multiple viewpoints on a player or acquisition. Kekäläinen ought to blend nicely into that operating procedure. He is a seasoned front office executive who is fresh off a decade at the helm of the Columbus Blue Jackets, his point of view will be unique to Buffalo’s management group. Only Jason Karmanos comes close to having a similar background to Kekäläinen.

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Looking to Past Drafts for the Framework of a Trade for the Sabres First Round Pick

May 22, 2025Chris OstranderLeave a comment

This is a crucial offseason for Kevyn Adams and the Buffalo Sabres. This isn’t exactly new information for anyone who followed along as Buffalo’s playoff drought reached 14 years. A year after Adams tossed around phrases like “win now” the Sabres roster doesn’t feel any closer to breaking that drought than they did in the spring of 2024.

There is certainly an expectation that Adams will finally have the sort of offseason fans have been hoping to see from him in each of the last two years. An active, aggressive approach to bring in players who can move the needle has been glaringly absent in recent years and this may be Adams’ last chance to get it right.

Buffalo currently holds the ninth selection in this year’s draft after sliding two spots as a result of the draft lottery. Even if they had held their original draft slot, the Sabres weren’t likely to land one of the top talents in this year’s draft. While there are a handful of intriguing prospects who will be available at pick nine, none jump off the page as the sort of must-have talent that could take Buffalo to the next level. Another good, but not great, first round prospect won’t move the needle much for the Sabres. Certainly not in the short term. The relative weakness of the draft class and the glaring need for help on Buffalo’s roster have left many hoping Adams will trade his first round pick for help this summer.

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Sabres Make Front Office Addition with Eric Staal

May 9, 2025Chris OstranderLeave a comment

It appears the dominos have begun to fall in the Sabres front office. The team announced Wednesday that Eric Staal has been hired as special assistant to the general manager, marking the first change in the team’s front office of the offseason.

There was an expectation that some changes would hit the Sabres front office after yet another year without playoff hockey, but the hiring of Staal and additional reporting on Wednesday suggests Kevyn Adams will return as the team’s general manager. Whether or not the club adds anyone else around Adams remains to be seen. Some have suggested another hire may be imminent to fill some sort of senior advisor role or position with a similar title, but no announcements have been made at this time. Further to that point, Frank Seravalli reported that there is no clear indication that the Sabres will move forward with that plan. He also added a terrifying tidbit that Seth Appert, lauded mastermind of a 16% power play, may see his influence in roster decisions expand.

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The Instigator Podcast 13.33 – Isles Win NHL Draft Lotto, Sabres to Pick 9

May 5, 2025Chris OstranderLeave a comment

A pair of teams leapt up the draft order after the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery. The New York Islanders will be picking first overall while the Utah Hockey Club moved from 14th to fourth, locking in the San Jose Sharks at second overall (:20). The Sabres were bumped to ninth overall after two teams from behind them moved up. We walk through the lottery results and offer a few thoughts on the direction we’d go if we were in the GM chair with the Islanders (6:58). Then we tackle the Sabres options at ninth overall (15:53) The 2025 class isn’t exceptional after the first few picks, meaning there are a number of directions the Sabres could go with their selection (23:10). We touch on a few as we look ahead to next month’s draft and the rest of the offseason.