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New York Times
an hour ago
- Business
- New York Times
Terry Pegula's ownership, Kevyn Adams' rise and the ‘hamster wheel' of Sabres' record playoff drought
BUFFALO, N.Y. — On the day Terry Pegula bought the Buffalo Sabres, he stepped to a lectern inside the pavilion of the team's arena and delivered an emotional opening monologue. Wearing a black suit and navy tie, Pegula got choked up when he saw franchise legend Gilbert Perreault in the audience. He thanked previous owner Tom Golisano for 'saving my hockey team' from bankruptcy. He spoke wistfully about coaching his son Michael in youth hockey. Then, emphatically, he promised a new day was coming. Advertisement 'Starting today,' he said, 'the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup.' Then Ted Black, the newly announced team president, stated, 'A clarion call should go out to the league and hockey players everywhere that Buffalo is hockey heaven.' That was February 2011. The Sabres made the playoffs a few months later but haven't been back since. Their NHL-record, 14-season playoff drought is tied with the New York Jets for the longest postseason famine in major North American sports. They've missed the playoffs more times in Pegula's 14 full seasons of ownership than they did in the 40 previous seasons. The Sabres have been near the bottom of the league in attendance for each of the past five seasons and are the only team in the NHL that has left at least $6 million in cap space unspent each of the last five years. But when Pegula bought the team, his actions backed up those bold words. He spent freely on top free agents that first summer. He empowered the Sabres to make aggressive offers to American stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter when they became free agents. And his investment extended beyond the roster. 'It was like night and day as far as what we were able to do with resources under Terry: the amount of scouting, traveling to scout, more eyeballs on the players, more video, more amateur scouts, more development coaches,' one former front office member recalled. 'Everything was multiplied.' Pegula had transformed Penn State's hockey program by injecting money into it. He wanted to do the same in Buffalo. That's why he built Harborcenter, a multi-use hockey complex that would not only host Sabres practices and prospect tournaments but would also be home to countless youth tournaments and eventually the NHL Scouting Combine. While he was new to the NHL, Pegula was eager to learn. He traveled to Traverse City, Mich., for prospect tournaments. He crowded around decision makers near the trade deadline ('He was there every day,' one former scout recalled), and was ever-present when the NHL Draft rolled around. Advertisement Pegula's engagement became an opportunity for those in the building to make an impression. One former team employee compared the environment to the hit TV show of that era, 'Game of Thrones,' leading to a frequent joke around the office that 'everyone wanted to change their last name to Pegula.' That's when Kevyn Adams, then working in player development, first met the new owner and laid the foundation for a relationship that eventually helped him rise to his role as Sabres general manager. He's held that title for five years. Only nine current NHL general managers have been in their job longer, but the Sabres' win percentage during his tenure is 25th in the NHL. And Adams doesn't appear to be going anywhere. On a Saturday afternoon in December, the Sabres were getting beaten soundly by the Utah Hockey Club in front of a restless home crowd and in the midst of what would become a 13-game winless streak. A day earlier, Adams held a news conference to address the state of the team. At one point, he said Buffalo was not a 'destination city' for NHL veterans and that the Sabres would need to win to change that stigma because 'we don't have palm trees. We have high taxes.' That prompted fans to show up to the arena with inflatable palm trees and chant, 'Fire Kevyn!' The Western New York native had already been booed when he was introduced on opening night. Through it all, Pegula has remained unmoved by fan unrest. The Athletic spoke to 10 people in and around the Sabres organization, many of whom worked directly with Adams and Pegula at various points over the last 14 years, to understand how Adams rose to his position and has kept it despite the Sabres' ongoing struggles. Many of those sources were granted anonymity to speak freely without fear of reprisal. Adams also spoke to The Athletic for over an hour to address his career arc and job performance. Advertisement 'It would be very unfair for someone to think that I didn't sacrifice to come into the position I'm in,' Adams said. 'Whether it was the amount of work I did starting through my playing career, going above and beyond, doing extra, the education I got, the different roles I had. Is it a different path? Yeah. Thirty-two GMs have different paths. Some go right from being agents to GMs. So if someone is saying I didn't sacrifice because I wasn't in Moose Jaw or something, I doubt they know my exact life.' Adams spent 11 years in the NHL, mostly as a fourth-line role player. He played for six NHL teams and won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. His career high was 15 goals and he played 82 games in a season once. But he had an active role in the NHLPA and a deep interest in the business of hockey. When his playing career ended in 2008, Adams worked in a development role for O2K Sports, a hockey agency two of his college teammates founded. It was during that time that he ran into former Sabre Larry Playfair, who is in charge of alumni relations for the franchise. Playfair invited Adams to a Sabres alumni event. When Adams reminded Playfair that he never played for the team, Playfair said, 'You're one of us. You're from Buffalo.' Adams went to a golf tournament where he met Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. Ruff had heard good things about Adams and said he and then-Sabres GM Darcy Regier would be interested in interviewing him. A few months later, in December 2009, Adams was hired in a hybrid role, working with the coaching staff and the front office. In the mornings, he did video work and one-on-one skill development with players. He spent afternoons in his cubicle in the hockey operations department working on special projects for Regier. Adams was in that role when Pegula bought the Sabres. Pegula has always had a passion for the development of athletes, and so he and Adams talked in depth about Buffalo's younger players. Adams' Stanley Cup ring gave him added cachet with Pegula, and when Adams transitioned to an assistant coach role, he got even more time with Pegula in planes, hotels and rinks on the road. 'It was just a lot of time connecting,' Adams said. 'Terry and I always had a good back and forth.' But when Ruff got fired in 2013, Adams, like the rest of the organization, was at a crossroads. Ron Rolston took over and fired Ruff's assistants, including Adams. A few months later, in November 2013, Regier was also fired. Advertisement Adams still had a year left on his contract, so any NHL team that wanted to interview him needed permission from the Pegulas, Terry and his wife, Kim, who also took an active role in managing the Sabres. When he spoke with one team about a hockey operations role, the Pegulas asked him to get together for coffee. Terry Pegula said he saw upside in Adams and envisioned a role for him at Harborcenter, which was still under construction. The role was a 'blank piece of paper,' Adams said. Even though the offer was undefined, Adams was intrigued. He had young kids and enjoyed living in his hometown. So that summer, he wrote up a business plan for what became the Academy of Hockey, a youth development program that would be housed at Harborcenter. In September 2013, the Pegulas announced Adams as the director of the Academy of Hockey. But in the time between him taking that role and Harborcenter opening, there was no academy, and there were no players to train. That meant more time fine-tuning the business plan and finishing his master's degree online through the University of Phoenix. It also meant more day-to-day contact with Terry and Kim Pegula. In 2014, when Harborcenter officially opened, the Pegulas purchased the NFL's Buffalo Bills. That meant less time around the Sabres for Terry. 'Everything Bills was always more important than everything Sabres,' said one former Pegula employee who worked on the hockey side. 'It's just been helter-skelter for the Sabres ever since he bought the Bills.' By that point, the Pegulas trusted Adams and had been grooming him for a leadership position. During his time at Harborcenter, Adams got more responsibility, getting pulled into meetings about the hotel and restaurant sides of the business. After six years at Harborcenter and the Academy of Hockey, Adams was promoted to Sabres vice president of business administration in September 2019. Kim Pegula said in a news release announcing the hire, 'Kevyn brings unsurpassed experience, perspective and vision to this position. He exemplifies our company values of teamwork, respect, accountability, integrity, trust and success.' Advertisement At the time, Kim Pegula was the team president, but Adams would fill in at certain meetings when Kim, who was also president of the Bills, was unavailable. He was the Sabres' alternate governor and went to owners' meetings. He traveled with the team and met other team presidents for dinners to gain a better understanding of the business side of the NHL. By June 2020, nine months after that promotion, Adams made a leap few in the hockey world saw coming. With COVID grinding the sports world to a halt and the Sabres outside of the playoffs for a ninth straight season, Kim Pegula gave then-general manager Jason Botterill a public vote of confidence in an interview with the Associated Press. Three weeks later, Adams got a call from Terry Pegula, who asked him to get on a plane to Florida. A couple of days later, Botterill was fired and Adams was hired to replace him. There were no other candidates. The sudden change was startling to those in the building and puzzling to those around the league. Adams accepted what was believed to be among the lowest general manager salaries in the NHL at the time, according to a source involved in the Sabres' decision making. Before Adams, Pegula had hired two people with more traditional GM resumes and had gotten neither the results he wanted nor the involvement he craved. 'We felt like we weren't being heard,' Terry Pegula said at the time of Adams' hiring. 'We have a vision, and we want to see our vision succeed.' That vision was more about business than hockey. Adams said the focus was on 'right-sizing' the organization. Pegula wanted to move forward with a leaner scouting staff and used the words 'effective, efficient and economic' to describe the Sabres' new ethos. They said they wanted to scale back operations and build them out over time, a process Adams says is ongoing. Advertisement In his first day on the job, Adams informed more than 20 people they'd been fired. Longtime scouts, high-ranking executives and coaches in Rochester all heard from Adams that day. That left Adams as a first-time general manager charged with rebuilding the hockey operations department. 'I had done everything in my career so that I could put myself in a position to potentially be ready to be general manager, and that's no matter what,' Adams said. 'Everybody at some point is a first-time general manager. I felt as prepared as you could possibly be when the phone call came in. Now here I am.' No two general managers in the NHL have exactly the same experience, but Adams' background stands out among his peers. Of the currently employed NHL GMs, Adams is one of six who never held an assistant general manager or vice president of hockey operations title in the NHL prior to his hiring. Of those six, he's one of two who never scouted or consulted in an NHL hockey operations department. The other is Canadiens GM Kent Hughes, who was a longtime prominent NHL agent and has an experienced president of hockey operations above him. Outside of the afternoons he spent in his cubicle in the Sabres hockey operations department from December 2009 to August 2011, Adams had no prior NHL hockey operations experience. 'I think that's what rubs people the wrong way,' said one former scout. 'He wasn't in Fargo watching a game. He wasn't in Medicine Hat watching a game. He wasn't at the U18s in Slovakia in August missing family vacation. That's the grind. That's what pretty much everybody else did unless your name is Joe Sakic.' Sabres executives vetted at least two candidates for potential senior adviser positions to help Adams. He said they couldn't find the right fit and isn't sure if anyone would have had experience with what the Sabres were about to go through. On Oct. 11, 2020, five months after hiring Adams, Pegula stood inside his new general manager's office. At that point, Adams had no assistant GMs. His director of scouting was Jeremiah Crowe, who had three years of pro scouting experience before getting elevated to that role. The analytics department was Jason Nightengale. This was the first day of NHL free agency. Pegula and Adams discussed the possibility of signing Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million contract. Advertisement Hall had won the Hart Trophy two years earlier with a 39-goal, 54-assist season for the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres had failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team playoff during the pandemic, extending their playoff drought to nine seasons. 'We sign this guy,' Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, 'we're not only trying to make the playoffs. We're trying to win the Cup.' 'Yeah,' Adams said. 'I mean this is … yeah.' Hall signed with the Sabres and scored two goals and 19 points in 37 games before he was sent to the Bruins at the trade deadline. Buffalo finished in last place, and Adams fired coach Ralph Krueger. That conversation with Pegula painted the picture of an owner who wants to be heard, a general manager willing to listen and together, a tandem that hasn't been able to bring playoff hockey back to Buffalo. The Sabres haven't spent to the salary cap ceiling during Adams' time as general manager. In the last five seasons, they've been a combined $60 million under the cap while the league's cap has been mostly flat. The business decisions Adams and Pegula made in 2020 not only led to a calamitous 2020-21 season, but they also had repercussions on the team's future. 'They're on a hamster wheel,' said another former Sabres scout. 'They just keep going around in circles.' Jack Eichel, the team's 23-year-old captain and franchise player, wanted to be traded, in part, because the Sabres wouldn't allow him to have his preferred neck surgery. And it was too late to convince Sam Reinhart to stick around after the team had missed multiple chances to sign him to a long-term contract under previous regimes. After having misguided Stanley Cup hopes the previous fall, Adams embarked on Buffalo's latest rebuild. One source described the situation in 2021 by saying, 'There was no plan.' Advertisement The next four seasons reflected the ups and downs of a general manager learning on the job and building a roster with an emphasis on homegrown players. The team got 76 points in 2021-22 and awarded Adams and then-coach Don Granato contract extensions. After getting 91 points in 2022-23, Adams barely changed the roster, and the team regressed to 84 points. Adams fired Granato before his contract extension kicked in. Adams and Pegula then brought back Ruff, 13 years after he'd been fired, for a second coaching stint with the Sabres. The 64-year-old didn't bring any of his own assistants, and the team still entered the season with the youngest roster in the NHL. During the 13-game winless streak that sank the Sabres' season, Terry Pegula flew to Montreal to meet with the team and express confidence in the group shortly after Adams' 'palm trees' news conference. The next night, the Sabres lost 6-1 to the Canadiens. The team spent most of the season in last place in the Eastern Conference and ended with 79 points. In a behind-the-scenes video of the Sabres' trade deadline process, Ruff noted that the team's culture needed to change. In that video, Pegula is on a conference call multiple times throughout the day, weighing in on decisions. That offered a view into the dynamic between Adams and Pegula, a dynamic that other potential general managers might view as a red flag. 'Any self-respecting GM who takes that job is going to say, 'I have to be able to run this for you,'' said one former NHL executive. 'I know it's your team and I have to talk to you about things, but I have to be able to build a team and make decisions. If I have to run a simple (Henri) Jokiharju for a fourth by you, what are we doing here?' Adams and Ruff recently had their end-of-season review with Terry Pegula and his oldest daughter, Laura. Terry Pegula took over duties as team president after Kim Pegula had a debilitating cardiac arrest in 2022. Since firing Ted Black, the Sabres haven't had a president or COO who has worked for an NHL team prior to the Sabres. Advertisement Sitting in the alumni room in the 200-level of the Sabres' arena during the interview for this story, Adams said it's 'not true' that he's unwilling to stand up to Terry Pegula or have disagreements with him. Adams said he was honest with Pegula about what went wrong and where he's made mistakes. He thinks the team needs to improve in puck management, team defense and special teams. After that meeting, Adams hired former Hurricanes teammate Eric Staal as a special assistant to the general manager and changed strength coaches. The team hired former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior adviser and hasn't ruled out more additions to the front office. There is a recognition from Adams and Pegula that more experienced voices are needed in the front office. The coaching staff is still the same, though. And it's still Adams and Pegula at the top of the organizational chart, along with Ruff. Adams and Ruff each have a year left on their contracts. 'There's frustration, starting with me, with where we finished in the standings,' Adams said. 'We didn't make a coaching change and bring in an experienced coach like we did with the expectations to not be a playoff team. We were all upset after the season. For me, preparing for those meetings was to make sure I honestly was able to articulate where we are today, what I think we've done poorly, what I think we've done well and where we go from here. There was great alignment coming out of that meeting.' (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; top photos: Tony Ding / Icon Sportswire, Dave Sandford / NHLI, Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kekalainen's Hiring Another Sign Sabres GM's Time Could Be Nearing An End
When the Buffalo Sabres announced Friday that former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was joining the team as a special advisor to GM Kevyn Adams, a couple things became clear: firstly, it showed Kekalainen will be a highly-valued voice in the organization; but more importantly, it showed that Adams is more on the clock than ever -- and that Adams may have just hired the man who will succeed him if things don't go well for the team. To be sure, Kekalainen did some admirable work running the Blue Jackets from 2013-2024. Under his stewardship, Columbus won a playoff round in successive seasons from 2018-2020, and he helped navigate the team through some difficult situations, on and off the ice. So you can see why he was appealing to the Sabres as they try to end 14 years of futility in simply getting into the Stanley Cup playoffs, let alone winning a round or two. And we've said for a while now that Buffalo needed another veteran voice in their front office. So it's hard to see Kekalainen's hiring as anything other than a positive. Advertisement Was Kekalainen perfect as Columbus' GM? Of course not, but show us a perfect GM and we'll show you a GM who's in their first day on the job. But while we're sure Kekalainen knows his place in Buffalo's power pyramid, he's got to know, deep down, that he might be called into action to run the show if Adams' blueprint for success goes up in flames yet again. And in a way, that's a good thing; if Adams is dismissed, the ideal successor for him will need to have a certain degree of familiarity with the franchise. That process begins now for Kekalainen. This is why the early days of the coming season will be crucial for Adams and Kekalainen. If Buffalo plummets down the Atlantic Division standings early on, Adams will be gone, and Kekalainen's early impressions of the roster and depth chart will have a serious influence on the decisions he makes, either as an interim GM or as the full-time GM. When they talk about the value of a good first impression, this is the type of situation they're referring to, because Kekalainen has no allegiance right now to any Sabres players. And that's also a good thing for him coming into the organization. A team that's been unable to control its destiny shouldn't have many sacred cows, if any. So when Kekalainen gets settled into his new role, he's going to need to approach things in a cold-blooded manner. Here's Why Oilers' Clutch Player Needs To Be A Free-Agent Target For Sabres Here's Why Oilers' Clutch Player Needs To Be A Free-Agent Target For Sabres In their current playoff push, the Advertisement Edmonton Oilers have received contributions from throughout the lineup. But one player -- albeit a currently-injured player -- is someone the Buffalo Sabres ought to be targeting when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Okay, okay, we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. To be fair, there's a universe in which the Sabres get off to a strong start, Adams keeps his job, and Kekalainen maybe gets another GM job with a different team. But this hiring sure feels like the table is being set for Kekalainen to eventually come in as Buffalo's main hockey ops executive. And Adams would probably not be telling the truth if he tried to argue he's now under more pressure to produce than at any point in his time running the Sabres. Like coaches, NHL GMs are hired to eventually be fired. The pro hockey world is a zero-sum industry, and if solid results aren't there for Adams and the Sabres, Buffalo's ownership is going to demand a different voice as the place where the buck ultimately stops. Is that guaranteed to be Kekalainen? No, no it isn't. But he's a well-liked executive who is going to be an asset for the Sabres as they chart another course back to respectability. He's got a clean slate as he begins this journey, but before too long, he could be ultimately responsible for the direction of the team. Indeed, by this time next year -- or potentially, in a worst-case scenario for the Sabres, much sooner than that -- Kekalainen could be the guy who becomes The Guy.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Sabres' front office adds ex-Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen
May 30 - The Buffalo Sabres added former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen to their front office on Friday. Kekalainen, 58, will serve as the team's senior advisor and report directly to general manager Kevyn Adams. "As we navigated the process of hiring for this role, it very quickly became apparent that Jarmo was an ideal candidate to augment our front office," Adams said in a release. "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. "I spoke with a number of candidates about this role and it's clear to me that Jarmo is a perfect fit for our team. 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." Kekalainen was GM in Columbus from 2013-24. The team went 410-362-97 during his tenure and reached the playoffs five times -- 2014, 2017-20 -- but finished no higher than sixth place in its division after that. "Kevyn and I already had a strong working relationship from my time with the Blue Jackets and when we first started talking about this opportunity, it immediately felt like a natural fit," Kekalainen said. "We are aligned in our philosophies and share the same core beliefs on how to build a winning team. 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 has been the GM for multiple teams in his native Finland. He worked for the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues before joining Columbus in February 2013. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former CBJ GM Jarmo Kekäläinen Gets A New NHL Job
Former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has a new job. Kekäläinen has been hired by the Buffalo Sabres as a senior advisor and will report to GM Kevyn Adams, another former Blue Jacket. Per a PR statement, Kekäläinen "will be involved in all areas of the hockey department." Adams said about Jarmo, '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. I spoke with a number of candidates about this role and it's clear to me that Jarmo is a perfect fit for our team. 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.' Advertisement Congrats to Jarmo Kekäläinen for landing a job in Buffalo. Let us know what you think below. Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story. 2025 Columbus Blue Jackets Potential Free Agent Targets: Gus Nyquist 2025 Columbus Blue Jackets Potential Free Agent Targets: Gus Nyquist This summer, Spencer Lazary and I will continue our series with more potential free agent targets that could be on the market on July 1st.
National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Sad-sack Buffalo Sabres hire ex-Columbus boss Kekalainen as senior adviser
BUFFALO, N.Y. — 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content '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.' Article content 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. Article content '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.'
