General Manager Change Was Overdue For Continuously Struggling Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have become a case study in sports franchise stagnation as we've watched them miss the playoffs in new and exciting ways for an NHL-record 14 consecutive seasons. Some figured they'd turn it around in this 2025-26 season and avoid extending their streak to 15 seasons, but why?

They did what they've always done last offseason, re-arranging the chairs on their proverbial Titanic with nothing to show for it but the almost-convincing win streaks that inevitably collapse. Their major move was trading JJ Peterka, a 23-year-old winger who came off a 68-point season and didn't exactly hide his displeasure about being in Buffalo.

If we've learned anything from the Sabres in the past 14.5 seasons, we've learned they don't foster the correct environment to keep stars happy and thriving. We've learned that their issues far surpass swapping one guy for another. Yet, we bash our heads against the wall as they keep doing it.

Could this bleak reality finally change starting on Monday?

After five and a half very long years, the Sabres have parted ways with GM Kevyn Adams. Jarmo Kekäläinen, their senior advisor who spent parts of 12 seasons as the Blue Jackets' GM, will take over as Sabres GM. Kekäläinen's management style is bold, aggressive, and front-facing; It's a perfect choice for a team in desperate need of large-scale change. Still, it's about four years overdue, and that wraps a comically accurate bow on the miserable Adams years in Buffalo.

Team owner Terry Pegula made the change on Monday as the Sabres sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division at 14-4-4 with a negative-11 goal differential. His overall 178-196-42 record succinctly represents the past five and a half years of the Sabres experience: Good enough to get away with a somewhat passive approach to operations, bad enough that all of the hope and fun has been slowly and surely extracted from the fanbase at this point. 

The Sabres have had three coaches in Adams' tenure: Ralph Krueger until 2021, Don Granato from 2021-2024, and now Lindy Ruff since 2024. Meanwhile, Pegula hadn't fired a GM midseason since firing Darcy Regier in 2013 until now. Sure, it's easier to replace a coach than a general manager, but fundamental, longstanding issues with the team's structure, the directionlessness of moves, and stagnation have evolved into a franchise culture problem.

These are things a new coach can't solve—especially the new coach who was your old coach from 1997 to 2013 with no Stanley Cup to show for it—but we digress. 

When you think about the failings of these Buffalo Sabres, no particular coach or on-ice decision comes to mind; The issue is too all-encompassing for that. You think about brutal management decisions, disgruntled stars, and a "two steps behind" mentality that just won't play in the modern-day NHL. 

Adams' tenure as Sabres GM featured a particularly staggering number of stars traded to greener pastures: He traded Jack Eichel to the Golden Knights and Sam Reinhart to the Panthers, amongst others. None of these big moves have worked out well for the Sabres, and they've ended well for the likes of Eiche and Reinhart, who've enjoyed increased success, Stanley Cups, and career seasons elsewhere.

Adams made all of these moves, of course, but how much of this franchise's overall dysfunction can we really blame on him? He's not the one who hired himself, and he's not the one who kept himself in the position for more than half a decade.

It's a relief that Pegula finally let go of Adams and promoted a more proactive GM, but the decision was a long time coming. Forgive us if we aren't declaring the Sabres the 2026-27 Cup champs quite yet.

So, what's next? The hope is that Kekäläinen can build around the young stars that can be building blocks for a strong team in the future, like Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Josh Doan, a winger Adams picked up in the Peterka deal. And as crazy as it sounds, the Sabres were only six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference heading into Tuesday's games.

It's a start. We'll see if things finally turn around in Buffalo from here.