The Buffalo Sabres are reportedly weighing a change at the top of their hockey operations, with discussions underway about removing Kevyn Adams from the general manager role, according to Matthew Fairburn and Tim Graham of The Athletic. If the team moves forward, an official announcement is expected next week after they finish a Western Conference road trip.
A shift in the GM chair might not mean Adams is out of the organization entirely. Longstanding speculation has suggested Buffalo could prefer him in a different front-office capacity. Whether that materializes remains to be seen, but his strong rapport with owner Terry Pegula was a key reason he was elevated to GM nearly six years ago, following the departure of Jason Botterill. Adams’ promotion came as a surprise at the time, given his previous position as senior vice president of business administration.
The Sabres now appear poised to consider a far more seasoned option in former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekaläinen. Buffalo hired the 59-year-old as a senior advisor to Adams over the offseason, and Fairburn and Graham note that Kekaläinen has largely worked remotely. He is currently in his native Finland handling a personal matter, and any transition to Adams’ successor would wait until his return to the United States.
While the team’s recent back-to-back victories may have warmed the fan base, it’s far too soon to gauge whether this marks the start of a broader revival in what has been a highly erratic season. Buffalo remains at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 13-14-4 record, threatening to extend its postseason drought to 15 years.
Adams is in the sixth season of his GM tenure in 2025-26. His teams have posted winning records in only two of those seasons, highlighted by a razor-thin 42-33-7 mark in 2022-23 that left them one point shy of the playoffs. His current career record sits at 177-196-42 (.477), placing him among the lower tiers of NHL GMs in terms of points percentage since taking over in the 2020 offseason. However, evaluating him purely on this metric oversimplifies the situation, given Buffalo’s longstanding losing culture and ongoing concerns about ownership funding and constraints.
Buffalo’s trajectory since the 2022-23 peak has forced a more urgent reevaluation. After dipping to 84 points in 2023-24, the organization dismissed head coach Don Granato and installed Lindy Ruff, a franchise icon and all-time wins leader, as interim/returning coach. Ruff’s first season back coincided with the team’s ongoing playoff drought, and with his contract nearing its end and his legendary status making a midseason replacement unlikely, another coaching upheaval isn’t anticipated in the near term.
Adams’ tenure includes a multi-year extension signed in 2022, though the terms were not publicly disclosed. That contract remains in effect through the 2026-27 season, according to Fairburn and Graham.
The situation continues to develop as Buffalo weighs its options, balancing a desire to stabilize the front office with the realities of a franchise striving to return to contention.
Would you prefer a fresh start with Kekaläinen as GM, or should the Sabres explore other internal candidates or a different strategic direction? Share your thoughts in the comments.
