BUFFALO, N.Y. — Wednesday was not an ordinary day at practice for the Buffalo Sabres. For starters, team owner Terry Pegula was watching practice from the bench with his daughter, Laura. In recent years, Pegula has typically only been at practice in Buffalo during training camp or development camp.

But this has been a busy week for the Sabres’ owner. On Monday, he fired Kevyn Adams after five-plus years as general manager and replaced him with Jarmo Kekäläinen. Pegula introduced Kekäläinen on Tuesday. And so he decided to stick around and take in the first day of yet another new era for his NHL team.

On the ice, the Sabres’ business carried on as usual. The team is on a three-game winning streak, and Lindy Ruff and his full staff of assistants put them through a high-energy practice that lasted about 45 minutes. Afterward, Buffalo’s captains spoke about the latest major shakeup this core has experienced.

While Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson spoke stoically about the players’ underperformance costing Adams his job, captain Rasmus Dahlin cracked a smile a few times when talking about Kekäläinen taking over. Asked about his initial reaction, he said, “Excited. Turning a new page. Looking forward to the future.”

Reminded that Kekäläinen will be the Sabres’ third general manager since the team drafted Dahlin No. 1 in 2018, Dahlin said, “It is what it is. It’s tough, for sure. But I think Jarmo’s going to be the one that turns it around.”

That confidence was evident in the locker room on Wednesday. This is a change that was overdue, one that gives the franchise fresh leadership and could provide a jolt to the locker room. It doesn’t hurt that, unlike his predecessor, Kekäläinen comes to the Sabres with over a decade of NHL general manager experience.

“I think he’s been part of NHL hockey for, I don’t know, 20-plus years,” Dahlin said. “Experience, that’s what you need in this league. You just need that, and he got that. So he just knows what’s going on.

“We haven’t talked that much, honestly. You see him here and there walking around. But hearing about him, I’ve heard he’s a really hardworking guy, and he knows what he wants, and he’s a confident guy, and he’s not afraid to take chances.”

Of course, any move like this also brings a degree of uncertainty in the building as well. As much as Adams’ dismissal removed a distraction and gave some clarity about the team’s direction, it’s also going to bring about some change. Kekäläinen said on Tuesday that he’s going to evaluate everything going forward, from the players to the coaches and management. Some changes he has in mind could come in the short term, while others might be longer-term moves.

But Kekäläinen has a well-earned reputation as a bold decision-maker who isn’t afraid to make trades. While he arrived to the organization in May, Kekäläinen didn’t build most of this roster. He acknowledged Tuesday that he “identifies talent a little bit differently” and will put an emphasis on character and hard work.

“Whenever you bring in new personnel, a lot of guys will know you have to come in and work a little bit harder,” Tuch said. “He’s been around, so it’s not a fresh tryout or anything like that. But you definitely want to show that you belong and want to be in this room and will work as hard as you can. Obviously, that’s in the back of guys’ minds, but you can’t focus on that. You can’t worry about stuff like that, that’s out of your control.”

Thompson called the general manager change a “wake-up call” and a reminder that “everyone is expendable” when you don’t win. That seemed to extend to Ruff, who spoke in a melancholy tone when discussing Adams’ firing. Ruff is the one who hired Adams for his first job in the organization as a skills coach more than a decade ago. He said Monday was a sad day, and he feels like he let Adams down. He also didn’t speak like someone who had been given any assurances about his future in the organization. Ruff spoke to Pegula this week. Pegula informed him of the decision, but Ruff said Pegula didn’t consult him on the decision or seek his feedback. They also didn’t talk about his future as the coach of the team, according to Ruff.

“We talked about continuing to win hockey games,” Ruff said. “That was really the main focus.”

Kekäläinen didn’t go as far as to give Ruff a full vote of confidence during his introductory news conference. But he did say, “Lindy’s resume speaks for itself. He’s been a great coach in the league for a long time. I’ve really enjoyed my interaction with him day to day. He works his tail off every day. He’s early, he’s watching tape, he’s analyzing, he’s talking to the players who got a good line of communication with him, and he’s looking for ways to get better. I’ve really enjoyed my time so far with Lindy.”

For now, Ruff is preparing to get the Sabres ready for a Thursday night home game against the Philadelphia Flyers. How many games he coaches beyond that remains to be seen. Buffalo is 14-14-4, in last place in the Eastern Conference but six points out of the second wild-card spot. Kekäläinen said he’s confident the team can make the playoffs this season. The Sabres have won three in a row, and another win would put Ruff all alone in fourth place on the all-time wins list among NHL coaches. But he’d like to win a lot more than that before his time in Buffalo is done.

“I’m focused on finishing the job,” Ruff said. “Like I said, I’m disappointed. We’ve dealt with a lot this year. But we’ve got ourselves in a position here where we can really push ahead.”

Quick hits

1. Michael Kesselring was back at practice on Wednesday and is expected to be in the lineup when the Sabres play the Flyers on Thursday. He’s played nine games this season while dealing with two separate lower-body injuries. He skated on a pair with Owen Power at practice on Wednesday.

2. Peyton Krebs missed practice with an illness that’s been working its way through the Sabres’ locker room. In his absence, Tyson Kozak skated on the top line with Thompson and Josh Doan.

3. Ruff also revealed that forward Justin Danforth had surgery to repair a broken kneecap earlier this season. The injury happened in October, so Danforth is not particularly close to returning. Meanwhile, Jason Zucker, who is still week to week with upper- and lower-body injuries, won’t return until after Christmas.