Jarmo Kekalainen’s first priority as Buffalo Sabres new GM is building character and consistency

By Canadian Press on December 16, 2025.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — In his first full day as Sabres general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen pointed to Buffalo’s depth of talent for giving him every reason to believe the team can climb back into playoff contention.

For that to happen, Kekalainen on Tuesday placed an emphasis on building team character and consistency — qualities the Sabres have been criticized for lacking during their NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.

“I think character is the biggest part of talent … and that’s the talent we need to focus on,” said Kekalainen, who initially was hired by Buffalo in May to serve as a senior adviser.

“There’s been games this year where we looked like it was going to be easy, and then we lost because we got outworked. That’s unacceptable,” he added. “That’s going to be something that we’re going to focus on each and every day, because the talent, the skill alone is not going to get you wins.”

Kekalainen’s message was not so much ground-breaking or different from the four GMs who preceded him over the course of Buffalo’s drought. And they include Kevyn Adams, who was fired on Monday after five-plus seasons on the job.

Adams gets credit for rebuilding the team through a youth movement that led to Buffalo parting ways with Jack Eichel (traded to Vegas) and Sam Reinhart (Florida).

Missing during Adams’ tenure was sustained success. After topping out with 91 points in 2022-23, when they missed the playoffs by one win, the Sabres have regressed, finishing with 84 points the next season and 79 last year.

“(Fans) have every right to be frustrated,” Kekalainen said. “(But) we have some really good core pieces here. We’re close. Now we just have to take the next step.”

The 59-year-old from Finland distanced himself from Adams, who a year ago blamed high taxes and cold winters as reasons for having difficulty attracting and retaining talent.

“Winning hockey games is the most important ingredient,” Kekalainen said, drawing on the 11 years he spent as the Columbus Blue Jackets GM. “Everybody wants to play for a winner.”

Kekalainen said he has full authority in overseeing the hockey department and has owner Terry Pegula’s approval to spend to the salary cap limit.

Kekalianen’s observations, as much as his hiring, provide the Sabres a reset in a season they’ve spent yo-yoing between demoralizing skids and encouraging winning stretches.

At 14-14-4, Buffalo opened the day sitting tied for last with the Columbus in the Eastern Conference standings but only six points back of the eighth-place Boston Bruins. And after splitting a six-game road trip, Buffalo is riding its first three-game winning streak of the season.

With the exception of meeting with Kekalainen on Tuesday, players had the past two days off, and resume practice Wednesday, a day before hosting Philadelphia.

Kekalainen didn’t rule out making changes, while backing coach Lindy Ruff by saying: “Lindy’s resume speaks for itself … And I’ve really enjoyed my time so far with Lindy.” Ruff, the team’s winningest coach, is in the second season of his second stint with Buffalo.

One change on the horizon will have Buffalo moving ahead with two rather than three goalies, though the decision on who will be the odd man out can wait, with Colten Ellis on injured reserve. Ellis, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon must first clear waivers before being demoted.

Kekalainen also placed a priority on resuming negotiations to re-sign top-line forward Alex Tuch, who is in the final year of his contract.

As for other potential changes, Kekalainen said he’s still evaluating. His promotion came after spending last week in Finland to be with his father, who died on Sunday following a lengthy illness.

“This has been quite a roller coaster of emotions for me this weekend. So I’m just starting today,” he said.

Kekalainen is Buffalo’s 10th general manager, and first with past GM experience since Scotty Bowman held the job from 1979-1987. And based on Kekalainen’s track record in Columbus, he brings a no-nonsense approach and is unafraid to make bold moves.

In the summer of 2022, Kekalainen signed the late Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. In 2019, he stood pat by not trading top stars Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and Sergei Bobrovsky to keep his roster intact for the playoffs, despite eventually losing all three in free agency that summer.

“Over the last seven months, he’s shown to me that he is capable of leading our organization into the future,” Pegula said while introducing Kekalainen. “He’s made bold moves in the past … and just has a confidence that I believe will help our organization.”

Kekalainen said the one thing he won’t do is cut corners simply to make the playoffs and end the drought.

“I told the players to forget about the 14-years thing that’s kind of hanging around like a black cloud. And I’m going to do the same thing,” he said. “I’m not going to sacrifice the ultimate goal for the sake of making the playoffs and then not having any sustainability for our goal as a team to take the next step.”

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John Wawrow, The Associated Press