Jarmo Kekäläinen hired as Senior Advisor in Buffalo

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Absolutely hilarious you are in every Sabres thread lashing out at us ever since your team once again got the boot after imploding.

Maybe it’s time for you to log off

Meh It's a public hockey discussion and I'm expressing my opinion, I don't think it's a bad hire because He went to Buffalo.

I think it's a bad hire because he's bad at everything except being a scout.

But he's not being brought in to be a scout.

 

[Kiekura]

No he wasn't. Sure it went bad in the end, but a lot goes into that. Starting with star players leaving for more attractive destinations.

The team that made the playoffs multiple years in a row and gave high-end teams a run for their money in was his handiwork. Many of their current exciting young players were picks during his time.

If anything I think it's a good time to hire him especially in this type of role. He knows hockey and just like players, GM's gain experience through adversity.

Yeah exactly this.

I dont think anyone is expecting him to change Buffalo like Zito changed Florida as example. Buffalo fans will be happy to even get in playoffs and bring some hope to their organization

 

[stevo61]

Congrats to Jarmo. There is good and bad with him like anyone else. He's also had some time to step back from his work in Columbus and self evaluate so I think that should help him moving forward.

 

[MOGlLNY]

Congrats to Jarmo. There is good and bad with him like anyone else. He's also had some time to step back from his work in Columbus and self evaluate so I think that should help him moving forward.

Good to hear!

 

[CanMerc]

Senior Advisor is basically GM on deck…he’s next up once Adams is out

 

[Dumais]

This is a really good hire by Buffalo. Jarmo is literally a James Bond villian and knows more hockey than most executives. People can say whatever they want (his mistakes were overblown) but the most successful years in Columbus (4 year run) and the current team is due to him.

He's good at scouting & trades.

 

[CrazyWayne]

I said this when the sabres hired ruff last season, it applies here as well

He is at least an actual NHL level quality hire, which is a huge step for this sabres organization

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Good hiring. He's much better than most of the guys that the geeks online pretend are good so I wouldn't take the weird comments in this thread too seriously.

 

[DJN21]

We did something....right?! What is this...

 

[GeeoffBrown]

Jarmo is a gunslinger. Very risky hire but maybe the Sabres could use a wildcard

 

[enthusiast]

I said this when the sabres hired ruff last season, it applies here as well

He is at least an actual NHL level quality hire, which is a huge step for this sabres organization

This exactly. It’s a step in the right direction, hopefully

 

[majormajor]

Dude is more of a scout than a GM.

I think it's a bad hire because he's bad at everything except being a scout.

If he's advising Adams on trades this is a good use for Jarmo. His trade record in Columbus was outstanding. He turned Anisimov and Dano into Panarin, he got Jones for Johansen, several more we could get into.

I wouldn't be planning the parade yet. There were rumblings that the team culture in Columbus was terrible in the last few years of Jarmo's tenure as GM.

I can't imagine anybody is planning a parade in Buffalo, you think you need to correct some overly bullish Sabres fans on this?

Jarmo didn't really understand team culture - he largely inherited a great cast of leaders like Foligno, Jenner, and Dubinsky, who worked great with his hire Tortorella, and then was willing to ditch much of that leadership group in favor of lower team standards that could accommodate Laine and a bunch of soft players he brought in during the rebuild.

But I also imagine he's learned a lot from that experience. He's already established that he knows how to win a trade, and now should have learned a lot more about building a winning room.

 

[ITM]

Good assessor of talent for sure.

Every organization can always use more Finns.

 

[L4br3cqu3]

In the right chair, he may be a great add to any team. If Adams gets canned, he'd probably be best as an Assistant GM, not the one in front but the architect on the side.

 

[SirPaste]

Senior Advisor is basically GM on deck…he’s next up once Adams is out

Not necessarily, Chiarelli has been a senior advisor in STL for a few years now and while on staff they announced Steen would be coming in as the successor to Army.

 

[SirPaste]

I think this could be a solid hire. I love Jarmo during his Blues days but he was mostly scouting then. I think he did a pretty decent job in Columbus but the wheels started to fall off towards the end, could be a good learning experience for him and can find success in his second go round.

 

[1989]

Congrats to Kekalainen on officially joining the NHL's Old Boys' Club!

 

[eojsmada]

Not a fan of Kekkalainen. But hey...it's Buffalo and he's probably there for when they fire Adams. Excellent scout...not so good GM.

 

[Allan92]

Damn they really look for the worst and dullest to hire

Jarmo is the antithesis of dull. Never afraid to make trades and had the epic 2019 deadline, alongside some pretty shocking draft picks, like PLD

 

[Allan92]

Congrats to Kekalainen on officially joining the NHL's Old Boys' Club!

How is this the case exactly? Should everyone in the league only get one executive job?

Maybe one and done hires will eliminate the dastardly old boys club once and for all!

 

[Dumais]

How is this the case exactly? Should everyone in the league only get one executive job?

Maybe one and done hires will eliminate the dastardly old boys club once and for all!

Don't take away his achievement of being the first European member of the OBC.

 

[ViD]

Remember he got Panarin for Saad

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Sounds like a good role for Kek. Can't hurt to have a good hockey mind giving insight to the other execs, I know it didn't work out in the end during his time in Columbus but I always respected his willingness to roll the dice at times.

 

[GhostfaceWu]

Maybe he can convince them hiring Mike babcock is a good idea.

 

[ijuka]

Dunno why people seem to still think that he's good, competent, etc.

Most of his moves for Columbus were either bad or terrible. Many of them were completely misguided, that is, it felt like he didn't understand what direction CBJ were heading towards.

Well, thinking about it, I guess that that does make him a good fit for BUF.