Sabres fire general manager Kevyn Adams and promote Jarmo Kekalainen to replace him

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams resounds to questions after the second day of the NHL hockey draft, June 29, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File) (George Walker Iv)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres fired general manager Kevyn Adams on Monday in a move made 2 1/2 months into his sixth season, with the team sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and already in jeopardy of extending its NHL-record playoff drought to a 15th year.

The decision was made by team owner Terry Pegula and announced in a press release.

Adams’ replacement was already with the team in Jarmo Kekalainen. The former Columbus Blue Jackets GM was hired by Adams in June to serve as a senior adviser. The 59-year-old Kekalainen is from Finland and was the NHL’s first European-born GM in spending 11 years in Columbus before being fired in February 2024.

“We are not where we need to be as an organization, and we are moving forward with new leadership within our hockey operations department,” Pegula said. “We are dedicated to building an organization that is competitive year after year, and we have fallen short of that expectation.”

The decision to fire Adams comes despite the Sabres enjoying their first three-game winning streak of the season, following a 3-1 victory at Seattle on Sunday night. Buffalo returned home after splitting a six-game road trip and is now off until hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Adams has been criticized for mismanaging the team’s assets, inability to secure a franchise goalie, and failure to address a leadership void that continues to linger on a team that’s finished last in the overall standings four times and no better than 19th during its playoff drought.

John Wawrow, The Associated Press