Moving on from Jason Karmanos marks Jarmo Kekäläinen’s first move made in Buffalo’s front office. Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres have fired associate general manager Jason Karmanos, the team announced Saturday.
The move comes five days after Jarmo Kekäläinen replaced Kevyn Adams as the team’s general manager. When introduced Tuesday, Kekäläinen noted that he already had changes in mind, some would be short term and others would be longer term in nature. Moving on from Karmanos is the first move he’s made in Buffalo’s front office.
Adams hired Karmanos as an associate general manager in April of 2021. In that role, Karmanos served as the general manager of the Rochester Americans, the Sabres’ AHL affiliate. The Amerks made the playoffs in each of Karmanos’ four seasons in that role, and he also hired Rochester coach Michael Leone. Karmanos was based in Pittsburgh during his entire time with the Sabres.
This is further evidence that Sabres owner Terry Pegula will give Kekäläinen the necessary autonomy and resources to build Buffalo’s front office in his image. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported this week that, “I’ve heard for years one of the biggest impediments in Buffalo is that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.”
In an interview with The Athletic this week, Sabres COO Pete Guelli said that will not be the case under Kekalainen.
“Jarmo’s the only cook, and actually, he’s more like a chef, and it’s his kitchen,” Guelli said. “He’s making all of the decisions relative to hockey, and we’re excited to get behind him and give him the resources to make this organization successful.”
The Sabres still have two assistant general managers, Mark Jakubowski and Jerry Forton. Kekäläinen, who spent more than a decade as the Columbus Blue Jackets’ general manager, worked closely with several high-ranking front-office members still employed by that organization and may seek to surround himself with trusted assistants to begin changing the culture in Buffalo.