Sabres GM Adams boosts front-office staff’s experience by hiring Kekalainen as a senior adviser

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Sabres on Friday hired former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen to serve as a senior adviser, adding a wealth of experience to general manager Kevyn Adams’ front-office staff.

Kekalainen will report to Adams in a newly created role in which he’ll be involved in all areas of the hockey department, the team announced. The 58-year-old from Finland has been out of the NHL since being fired by the Blue Jackets in February 2024 following an 11-year term as GM — the league’s first European-born person to hold the title.

His hiring addresses growing criticism Adams has faced in having little experience overseeing the Sabres since taking over the job as a first-time GM after Jason Botterill was abruptly fired in June 2020. Adams, who is from the Buffalo-area, is a former player who had brief experience as an agent and assistant coach, and was working in the Sabres business department upon being hired as GM as part of a series of ownership’s cost-cutting moves in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

The Sabres are in the midst of an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought, with Adams on the hot seat entering the final year of his contract.

Amid questions regarding his job security in Buffalo, Adams placed an emphasis on upgrading his staff by saying “we’ll take a look at everything,” during his season-ending address to the media last month. The Sabres’ season was undone by a 13-game skid in December, which Adams has since second-guessed himself as to whether he should have made a move to upgrade his roster.

In a statement released by the team on Friday, Adams said Kekalainen quickly established himself as a prime candidate for the job of senior adviser during his search process.

“From his extensive history in scouting, his long tenure as an NHL general manager and his vast experience at the international and European pro levels, Jarmo has a remarkable resume and a long history of success in this league,” Adams said. “I couldn’t be more excited to add another significant piece to our front office as we continue the process of adding to our staff.”

During his tenure in Columbus, Kekalainen oversaw the most successful stretch in Blue Jackets history. The span included the team finishing with 43 or more wins four times, including a franchise record 50 in 2016-17, and qualifying for the playoffs five times, after doing so only once in its first 12 seasons of existence.

“We are aligned in our philosophies and share the same core beliefs on how to build a winning team,” Kekalainen said. “I’m eager to help in any area I can, and think I can offer a fresh perspective to supplement the staff already in place as we look to improve our roster this offseason.”

Kekalainen’s addition comes after the Sabres hired former NHL forward — and former Adams teammate — Eric Staal in the role of special assistant to the GM. The Sabres front office currently features three assistant GMs in Jason Karmanos, Mark Jakubowski and Jerry Forton.

Following a brief NHL playing career in the early 1990s split between Boston and Ottawa, Kekalainen made the transition to scouting, and eventually took on front-office roles with the Senators and St. Louis Blues.

He also has experience at the international level in serving as assistant GM of Finland’s national team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where the nation won a bronze medal, and 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

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