BUFFALO, N.Y. — Terry Pegula sat behind a microphone in the Sabres’ auxiliary media room Tuesday and spoke about his hockey team for the first time since Lindy Ruff was introduced as coach. This wasn’t a big show in the arena’s atrium. Pegula, who hasn’t fielded questions from reporters about the Sabres since 2020, didn’t take questions, and his remarks were brief. He didn’t thank or heap praise on recently fired general manager Kevyn Adams. He just quickly introduced Jarmo Kekäläinen and then revealed that the team began its search for a senior adviser in the fall of 2024 before hiring Kekäläinen for that role in the spring of 2025.
“Over the last seven months, he has shown to me he is capable of leading our team into the future,” Pegula said. “He’s made bold moves in the past, several complicated three-team trades. He just has a confidence that I believe will help our organization in the future, and the knowledge.”
With that, Kekäläinen took his place behind the microphone and spoke for more than 20 minutes about his vision for the Sabres and what the next steps look like for him as he takes this job. He’s the first general manager Pegula has hired who comes with previous GM experience. And his seven months on the job as a senior adviser should give him a head start on evaluating both the roster and the coaching staff.
Kekäläinen did not firmly commit to Ruff as the team’s coach going forward and said he will “evaluate everything” from the coaching and scouting staffs to the players. He praised the way Ruff has worked and said his resume speaks for itself, but stopped short of saying he would be behind the bench when the Sabres play the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. Ruff is scheduled to meet with the media as normal Wednesday.
“Everybody is under evaluation at this point, but there are a lot of good people here that are great at their jobs,” Kekäläinen said.
Who Kekäläinen surrounds himself with will be important, in part, because it will show what level of commitment Pegula is willing to make to set the new GM up for success. To that end, what Kekäläinen said when asked about trying to attract and retain talent in Buffalo felt like the key quotes of his news conference.
“Winning hockey games is the most important ingredient there,” Kekäläinen said. “Everybody wants to play for a winner. You’ve got to win hockey games. In the background, we can be very detail-oriented in making sure we do everything we can. Terry and I had a lot of conversations about this over the weekend. He’s going to give us every resource so we can eliminate all the excuses out there to make it such a great place for the players that they want to come here. Winning is the first ingredient you have to have. That’s one thing we’re going to need to focus on. Terry has given me full autonomy to run the hockey department. We can spend to the cap. We have every resource available for us to make this team better and make it more attractive for guys to stay and attractive for free agents. That’s all I can ask for as a general manager.”
Adams didn’t get that same autonomy, and as much as he spoke about having every resource available, he didn’t always get it. Pegula’s actions will need to back up Kekäläinen’s words. Still, it was a promising statement from Kekäläinen, especially with the owner standing feet away listening.
Kekäläinen didn’t hesitate when saying he firmly believes the Sabres can make the playoffs this year, but he also said the ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and he’s not going to take any “shortcuts” just to end the drought.
As for the nuts and bolts of building the roster, Kekäläinen said it will be a priority to end the three-goalie situation on the Sabres roster once Colten Ellis is healthy. He also said he will “take charge of the situation” with Alex Tuch, who is in the final year of his contract, and work on finding a number that makes sense to get him signed. Kekäläinen made it clear that part of what makes this group attractive is that he believes in the skill and talent on this team, but that he defines talent a little bit differently. Character, competitiveness and relentless work ethic, “that’s the talent that we need to focus on.”
Kekäläinen has already addressed the players as a group and also addressed what he views to be the core leadership group, players he chose not to name individually. If his history is any indicator, Kekalainen won’t hesitate to make decisions, whether that’s on staff or players.
“I have some things in mind that could happen sooner rather than later and some that we will evaluate a little bit longer,” Kekäläinen said.
Words are just words, and Sabres fans have heard plenty of them during this 14-year playoff drought. Adams wasn’t the best at those words, and it reflected a leadership issue that permeated through the organization. In that sense, Kekäläinen is a breath of fresh air for a fan base that has been chanting for Adams’ firing for over a year.
Kekäläinen made plenty of mistakes in Columbus, but he also comes with three decades of experience working in NHL hockey operations departments for three other franchises. He has the resume and the temperament to handle the responsibilities of the role. And that’s a start, considering what the Sabres had in place for the last five-plus years.
“One of my life’s philosophies is, ‘Don’t be afraid to make a mistake,’” Kekäläinen said. “That’s something I relay to the players, too. We have to play free and without fear of failure. I apply that to myself. I’ll do whatever it takes to make our team better and won’t be afraid of mistakes. From my time with the Blue Jackets, I can tell you one thing: it’s great to make the playoffs. But we’re not just here to make the playoffs. We’re here to build a championship team.”