BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
But this has been a busy week for the Sabres\u2019 owner. On Monday, he fired<\/a> Kevyn Adams after five-plus years as general manager<\/a> and replaced him with Jarmo Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen. Pegula introduced<\/a> Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen on Tuesday. And so he decided to stick around and take in the first day of yet another new era for his NHL team.<\/p>\n On the ice, the Sabres\u2019 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\u2019s captains spoke about the latest major shakeup this core has experienced.<\/p>\n While Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson spoke stoically about the players\u2019 underperformance costing Adams his job, captain Rasmus Dahlin cracked a smile a few times when talking about Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen taking over. Asked about his initial reaction, he said, \u201cExcited. Turning a new page. Looking forward to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Reminded that Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen will be the Sabres\u2019 third general manager since the team drafted Dahlin No. 1 in 2018, Dahlin said, \u201cIt is what it is. It\u2019s tough, for sure. But I think Jarmo\u2019s going to be the one that turns it around.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t hurt that, unlike his predecessor, Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen comes to the Sabres with over a decade of NHL general manager experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s been part of NHL hockey for, I don\u2019t know, 20-plus years,\u201d Dahlin said. \u201cExperience, that\u2019s what you need in this league. You just need that, and he got that. So he just knows what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t talked that much, honestly. You see him here and there walking around. But hearing about him, I\u2019ve heard he\u2019s a really hardworking guy, and he knows what he wants, and he\u2019s a confident guy, and he\u2019s not afraid to take chances.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, any move like this also brings a degree of uncertainty in the building as well. As much as Adams\u2019 dismissal removed a distraction and gave some clarity about the team\u2019s direction, it\u2019s also going to bring about some change. Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen said on Tuesday that he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n But Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen has a well-earned reputation as a bold decision-maker who isn\u2019t afraid to make trades. While he arrived to the organization in May, Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen didn\u2019t build most of this roster. He acknowledged Tuesday that he \u201cidentifies talent a little bit differently\u201d and will put an emphasis on character and hard work.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever you bring in new personnel, a lot of guys will know you have to come in and work a little bit harder,\u201d Tuch said. \u201cHe\u2019s been around, so it\u2019s 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\u2019s in the back of guys\u2019 minds, but you can\u2019t focus on that. You can\u2019t worry about stuff like that, that\u2019s out of your control.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson called the general manager change a \u201cwake-up call\u201d and a reminder that \u201ceveryone is expendable\u201d when you don\u2019t win. That seemed to extend to Ruff, who spoke in a melancholy tone when discussing Adams\u2019 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\u2019t 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\u2019t consult him on the decision or seek his feedback. They also didn\u2019t talk about his future as the coach of the team, according to Ruff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talked about continuing to win hockey games,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cThat was really the main focus.\u201d<\/p>\n Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen didn\u2019t go as far as to give Ruff a full vote of confidence during his introductory news conference. But he did say, \u201cLindy\u2019s resume speaks for itself. He\u2019s been a great coach in the league for a long time. I\u2019ve really enjoyed my interaction with him day to day. He works his tail off every day. He\u2019s early, he\u2019s watching tape, he\u2019s analyzing, he\u2019s talking to the players who got a good line of communication with him, and he\u2019s looking for ways to get better. I\u2019ve really enjoyed my time so far with Lindy.\u201d<\/p>\n 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. Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen said he\u2019s 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\u2019d like to win a lot more than that before his time in Buffalo is done.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m focused on finishing the job,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cLike I said, I\u2019m disappointed. We\u2019ve dealt with a lot this year. But we\u2019ve got ourselves in a position here where we can really push ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Quick hits<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 2. Peyton Krebs missed practice with an illness that\u2019s been working its way through the Sabres\u2019 locker room. In his absence, Tyson Kozak skated on the top line with Thompson and Josh Doan.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t return until after Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 Wednesday was not an ordinary day at practice for the Buffalo Sabres. 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