Sabres fire GM Kevyn Adams; Jarmo Kekalainen named as replacement

Sabres owner and President Terry Pegula released a statement after the change, citing that, while he thanked Adams on his work with the team, it was time to go in a different direction.

“We are not where we need to be as an organization, and we are moving forward with new leadership within our hockey operations department. We are dedicated to building an organization that is competitive year after year, and we have fallen short of that expectation. … The hiring of Jarmo was the result of an extensive search process in which Jarmo stood out as our top choice for the senior advisor position. Jarmo has distinguished himself over the last eight months, and his experience, professionalism, and drive speaks for itself. I am looking forward to him leading our organization to the next level.”

Kekäläinen had been out of an NHL job since he was let go by the Blue Jackets in February 2024. It ended an 11-year tenure with the franchise, the longest of any GM in the team’s history. During his time in Columbus, the Blue Jackets made it to the postseason five times, winning their first playoff series in 2019.

“It is a great honor to be named general manager of the Buffalo Sabres,” Kekäläinen said. “I would like to extend my thanks to Terry and Kim Pegula for this opportunity. I am humbled to be the steward of this team and look forward to experiencing the passion that Sabres fans bring to every game.”

Adams had been hired as the Sabres’ GM in June 2020, right after Jason Botterill was fired from the position. What has followed is the continuation of a rebuild that commenced not long after the team’s last appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2011. Buffalo never finished higher than fifth in the Atlantic Division (including a last-place result in the revamped East Division during the COVID-shortened 2021 campaign). The most games that the team won during Adams’ tenure came in 2022-23, when the Sabres went 42-33-7, and missed the last Wild Card spot by one point.

Last season, Buffalo finished seventh in the Atlantic and 14th in the Eastern Conference, missing the postseason by 15 points.

The Washington, D.C. native was a controversial hire to begin with. While he had a long NHL career, which included a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06, and had served as an assistant coach in Buffalo for two seasons, he had been the Sabres’ Senior Vice President of Business Administration for one year before being promoted to GM. Much of the speculation pointed to his relationship with team owners Terry and Kim Pegula as the reason he became the team’s top hockey operations executive.

Adams made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Early on, he dealt with Jack Eichel’s unique health situation, with the team and Eichel being at wits’ end on how to repair Eichel’s neck problem. The issue led to the Sabres stripping Eichel of his captaincy before trading him to the Vegas Golden Knights in November 2021.

Also, Adams was in the news this time last year when he said, “We’re not a destination city right now,” regarding garnering interest from free agents and other big-name players. He later stated, “We don’t have palm trees, we have taxes in New York.” That sparked a reaction from fans, which carried into the coming days, when patrons brought inflatable palm trees and summertime attire into KeyBank Center.

In all, Adams’ tenure as GM of the Buffalo Sabres was one that people will remember, for a lot of the wrong reasons. During the 51-year-old’s five-plus years in his role, the Sabres went 178-196-42.

The Sabres (14-14-4) sit tied for the worst record in the East, six points out of a Wild Card spot.