Eight thoughts from Sabres GM Kevyn Adams' NHL Draft week news conference

New York Times

24-06-2025

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The next seven days have serious stakes for the future of the Buffalo Sabres. With the NHL Draft starting Friday and free agency beginning next Monday, general manager Kevyn Adams has decisions to make heading into his sixth season. And these decisions will impact the Sabres well beyond the 2025-26 season.
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Among the questions facing Adams over the next week and beyond:
• What happens with JJ Peterka, the 23-year-old winger who is a restricted free agent and is reportedly unhappy in Buffalo?
• Will Bowen Byram, also a restricted free agent, still be with the Sabres on opening night?
• Will Alex Tuch, entering the final season of his contract, sign an extension once he's eligible on July 1?
• Will anybody else be moved off this roster as the team tries to stop a league-record playoff drought at 14 seasons?
Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn, Devon Levi and Jacob Bernard-Docker are all restricted free agents. Mattias Samuelsson's cumbersome contract has also become a talking point.
All those roster decisions have made the NHL Draft almost an afterthought for the Sabres. They've had plenty of high picks over the last 14 years. Their roster is among the youngest in the NHL. Their prospect pool, while not as strong as a few years ago, isn't a problem. That's why Adams made it clear during his pre-draft news conference on Tuesday that the league knows he's 'open for business' when it comes to possibly trading the No. 9 pick for proven NHL help.
But whether or not they make the pick is just one piece of what should be a busy offseason for Adams and the Sabres. Here are some thoughts on what we heard from Adams and assistant GM Jerry Forton during a 30-minute media availability on Tuesday.
1. What happens with Peterka is one of the most intriguing stories in the entire league. If Peterka is moved, it will be a blockbuster trade. Adams declined to say whether or not Peterka asked to be traded. Adams said there is 'a lot of misinformation' out there on the Sabres in general, but didn't get into many specifics.
'I don't think it's probably productive or beneficial for me to get into specifics on our players right now,' Adams said. 'This is a time of year when there's so much going on, and there's probably a lot of misinformation out there. I guess I would leave it at that. We have a plan that we came out of the end of the season with.'
The Peterka situation probably wasn't part of that plan. The Sabres didn't come into the summer trying to trade Peterka. They still don't seem keen on the idea, but that hasn't stopped teams from calling. Given the value Peterka would hold in a trade, they'd be foolish not to listen to offers. The possibility that Peterka is unhappy in Buffalo also puts stress on the situation. Adams has previously spoken about wanting players who want to be in Buffalo. But he has to hold his ground, to an extent, too.
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'I think it's important to have people in your organization, players, coaches, staff who believe in what you're doing and want to be here for the right reason,' Adams said. 'I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Paying someone more money hoping that will make them happy isn't usually a recipe for success. You have to have players who buy into and believe in what you're doing and wake up every day in Buffalo excited to be a Sabre. I think that's important.
'In saying that, are there hard conversations at times where players are frustrated with things? Absolutely. That's part of the relationship building I believe in from my job through the coaches, having those conversations. There are hard days, too, where players are frustrated or I'm frustrated. But that doesn't mean you wake up and a player is frustrated that day, so you trade him. My point in saying all that is getting players to believe in what we're doing is critically important. Having me be transparent with them on why we're doing things, decisions we're making, have them part of the equation of helping me with the right answers, and then also, they need to perform. If they perform, that's a win-win for them and us.'
The next week could be critical for Adams to prove to the roster that the Sabres have a serious shot to ice a playoff team next season.
2. Adams and Tuch's agents met at the NHL Scouting Combine. Adams said Tuesday he believes Tuch wants to be in Buffalo, and he knows how much of a priority he is to the organization. Adams needs to make sure the contract offer matches those words, because the Sabres can't afford to have uncertainty hanging around Tuch entering the final season of his contract. He's too important on and off the ice.
3. Adams said any report that the Sabres are considering buying out Samuelsson is 'ridiculous.' He added, 'We never had that conversation once.' Buying out Samuelsson isn't a slam-dunk decision, but the idea that the Sabres have never had that conversation seems odd. Adams went out of his way to mention that. This is the last year they can buy him out for a third of his remaining contract before he turns 26. Because of injuries and inconsistent play, Samuelsson hasn't come close to living up to the $4.285 million cap hit he has for the next five seasons. If the Sabres wanted to move on from Samuelsson, they'd probably prefer to trade him, which could explain why Adams wanted to shoot down the buyout talk. Either way, the Sabres haven't lost faith in the oft-injured defenseman who recently turned 25.
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4. At this point, Adams wouldn't say whether the Sabres' coaching staff will return intact. He said Lindy Ruff would need to be comfortable with any addition to the staff and that Ruff has had conversations with some potential assistants around the league. All of Buffalo's assistants are under contract for next season, so it sounds like any change to the staff would be an addition rather than a replacement.
5. Last month, the Sabres added former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior adviser. Adams said what excited him most about Kekäläinen is that he wants to work. Adams got a lot of calls about what a good person Kekäläinen is. Kekäläinen will be based in Columbus but will be in Buffalo frequently. Notably, associate GM Jason Karmanos is based in Pittsburgh. Two of Buffalo's most experienced front office members aren't based in Buffalo. It's not entirely unusual around the league, but worth noting given the pressure Adams and the team are under.
6. When it comes to the Sabres' goalie picture, Adams again expressed confidence in both Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Levi.
'I believe in my core that both of them are going to be excellent National Hockey League goaltenders,' he said.
Adams added that he's open to adding at the position and that Levi's NHL timeline is 'up to him,' and how he performs.
7. Forton said he sees a drop-off in the first round after the first five to seven players on the board. He noted that trading up in the first round, historically, is difficult. That could leave the Sabres hoping the right player falls to No. 9. Forton spoke highly of defensemen Radim Mrtka and Kashawn Aitcheson. Aitcheson is the more physical of the two. Forton said there aren't many players across junior hockey, college hockey or Europe who play the game with the 'old-school' mentality that Aitcheson does. Mrtka, a right-handed defenseman, has what Forton described as a 'very unique package to be able to move the way he does at 6-foot-6.'
8. Neither Forton nor Adams mentioned much about any glaring needs the Sabres have in their prospect pool. But Forton did address the notion that players who play with physicality and toughness might be more valued around the league after the way the Panthers have played on their way to winning two straight Stanley Cups.
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'There's always recency bias,' Forton said. 'What we try to do is look at our whole prospect pool. It's more about our prospect pool than it is our NHL team when we're drafting. If there are players who are close in certain pockets of the draft and we're maybe lacking something in our prospect pool that we think is ideal for down the road at the NHL level, we might lean one way or another. But we're not going to jump off the list to take a lesser player.'
The Sabres do have a bit of a need for more of those types of players in their prospect pool. But it might not make sense to address that with the No. 9 pick unless Porter Martone or Brady Martin fall to nine. Aitcheson would fit that mold, too.
(Photo of JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch and Ryan McLeod: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)