The Buffalo Sabres formally introduced Jarmo Kekäläinen Tuesday morning as the National Hockey League club’s new general manager, one day after the team announced it was making a change in the position.
Kekäläinen joined the organization in May, when he was hired by the Sabres as a senior advisor. Team owner Terry Pegula, in opening remarks at a news conference inside KeyBank Center, spoke of Kekäläinen’s experience and knowledge.
“Over the last seven months, he has shown to me that he is capable of leading our organization into the future. He's made bold moves in the past, several complicated three-team trades, and he just has a confidence that I believe will help our organization in the future,” Pegula said.
Kekäläinen’s past experience in executive roles include years serving as general manager for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, from 2013 to 2024. He also served in assistant roles for the St. Louis Blues and Ottawa Senators, and was the Finnish National Team’s assistant general manager for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
He replaces Kevyn Adams, who was relieved of his duties Monday after serving nearly five and a half years as the Sabres’ general manager. Kekäläinen offered words of praise for Adams.
“He poured his heart and soul into this organization. I witnessed it every day here, and he brought in lot of talent, lot of skill into this team, and you could see that on the ice. So, we can't thank him enough,” he said. “He's a great hockey guy, but he's also a better person, and that's one of the reasons why I came here.”
The change was made while the Sabres languish at the bottom of the NHL Eastern Conference’s standings. The team has also failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the past 14 seasons.
Kekäläinen acknowledged the playoff drought but said the team’s goal is to do more than just qualify for the postseason. They want to build a legitimate contender.
“I told the players to forget about the 14-year thing, kind of hanging out like a black cloud around the team, and I'm going to do the same thing,” he said. “We're 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, and having the opportunity and chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.”
