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On Monday, the Buffalo Sabres dismissed general manager Kevyn Adams, a decision coming two and a half months into his sixth season, as the team occupied the last spot in the Eastern Conference and faced the prospect of prolonging its NHL-record playoff absence to a fifteenth consecutive year.
This choice originated from team proprietor Terry Pegula and was communicated via a press statement.
Jarmo Kekalainen, who was already a part of the team, stepped in as Adams’s successor. Kekalainen, previously the general manager for the Columbus Blue Jackets, had been brought on by Adams in June as a senior advisor. A 59-year-old native of Finland, Kekalainen held the distinction of being the NHL’s inaugural European-born GM, serving for eleven years in Columbus until his termination in February 2024.
“Our organization is not currently at the desired level, and we are proceeding with a change in leadership within our hockey operations,” stated Pegula. “Our commitment is to forge a consistently competitive organization, an objective we have not met.”
Adams’s dismissal occurred even as the Sabres achieved their initial three-game winning streak of the current season, secured after a 3-1 triumph against Seattle on Sunday evening. Buffalo returned to its home base having split a six-game away series and will now pause until their game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Adams faced critique concerning his handling of the team’s resources, his failure to acquire a cornerstone goaltender, and his inability to resolve a persistent leadership deficit within a squad that has concluded four seasons at the very bottom of the overall standings and never higher than 19th throughout its extended playoff absence.
During Kekalainen’s tenure, the Blue Jackets advanced to the playoffs five times, establishing new franchise bests of 50 victories and 108 points in the 2016-17 season. Prior to this, he occupied management positions with the St. Louis Blues and the Ottawa Senators. Kekalainen also served for three years as the general manager for Jokerit in Finland’s premier professional league and contributed to the Finnish national team initiative.
“I consider it a tremendous privilege to be appointed general manager of the Buffalo Sabres,” expressed Kekalainen. “I am honored to guide this team and eagerly anticipate witnessing the fervor that Sabres supporters demonstrate at each match.”
His Father Passed Away on Sunday
Kekalainen’s advancement follows by one day the passing of his father, Kari, who succumbed to a prolonged illness at 82 years old. Kekalainen shared a tribute on his Instagram profile, where he described his father as both his mentor and inspiration, as conveyed from his original Finnish post.
Among Adams’s errors was his regret over not executing a roster change to invigorate the team during a 0-10-3 slump last season, a downturn that effectively eliminated the Sabres from playoff contention before the holiday season.
Adams commenced the current season facing intense scrutiny in the NHL, with reports indicating two years remaining on his agreement.
Adams had, a considerable time prior, lost the support of Sabres devotees, who frequently chanted “Fire Adams” to such an extent that the organization chose to omit the customary introduction of the general manager during Buffalo’s season debut in October. The previous year, supporters carried inflatable palm trees to matches as a reaction to Adams’s complaint about the challenge of drawing talent to Buffalo due, in his view, to the city’s elevated taxes and lack of palm trees.
Adams assumed his role in June 2020, and after the team concluded in last place, he initiated an extensive reconstruction strategy, resulting in the team exchanging its star players, most notably the transfers of Jack Eichel to Vegas and Sam Reinhart to Florida. Despite initial indicators of progress and Adams’s declaration that the Sabres’ competitive phase was commencing, the team has, conversely, declined over the last two seasons.
Buffalo’s performance saw a decline, moving from 91 points and being a single victory shy of concluding its playoff absence in 2022-23, to 84 points the subsequent season, and 79 last year.
Currently, this season, the Sabres (with a record of 14-14-4) are again grappling with unreliable performance during the initial half of their second campaign under head coach Lindy Ruff, who has returned for a second period with Buffalo. For a significant portion of the season, the Sabres have maintained a near .500 record, demonstrating strong play at home (9-5-2), yet encountering difficulties in away games, with only two of their five victories achieved in regulation time.
Adams Emphasized Toughness Over Offensive Skill
This outcome diverged from the strategy Adams outlined at the conclusion of the previous season, when he asserted that all options were being considered to transform the Sabres into a contending team.
He commenced this season by declaring: “Winning is imperative. And I am entirely cognizant of that fact.”
Adams, informed by Ruff’s insights, dedicated the summer to bolstering physical toughness, sacrificing offensive capabilities in the process, by sending two-time 20-goal-scorer JJ Peterka to Utah in exchange for forward Josh Doan and robust defenceman Michael Kesselring. The transaction has yielded only moderate success. Although Doan stands second on the squad with 10 goals and third with 23 points, Kesselring’s participation has been restricted to merely nine games owing to injuries.
A different player exchange that has not yet proved fruitful entailed Buffalo and Ottawa exchanging their primary centres, as the Sabres obtained the gifted yet injury-susceptible Josh Norris in return for Dylan Cozens in March. Norris participated in only three contests prior to exacerbating an oblique injury last year and has been confined to just six games this season.
Adams demonstrated poor management of Buffalo’s goaltending situation, beginning with the departure of Linus Ullmark to free agency in the summer of 2021, despite Adams’s earlier assertion that the goalie had promised to re-sign with the team in March. Since then, the Sabres have featured 11 different goaltenders starting at least one game.
The Sabres have now seen their fifth general manager since Darcy Regier’s dismissal merely one month into the 2013-14 campaign.
Adams, a native of Buffalo and a retired NHL forward, secured a Stanley Cup championship in 2006 with Carolina during his decade-long professional career.
He lacked prior experience in a front-office capacity and was in a business development position with the Sabres when he succeeded Jason Botterill in June 2020. Botterill’s termination was perceived as a measure to reduce expenses, as Adams proceeded to dismantle a significant portion of the team’s hockey operational structure while the NHL navigated the unpredictable environment of the COVID pandemic.
