Kevyn Adams GM thread

[Der Jaeger]

Bored and took a quick look at Kekalainen's track record with Columbus:

Draft hits:
Werenski
PLD
Marchenko
Chinakhov
Johnson
Fantilli
Sillinger

Draft "mehs"
Wennburg
Milano
Peeke
Texier
Foudy

Draft TBD:
Jiricek
Mateychuk

Draft misses:
Rychel
Carlsson

Later round finds:
Bjorkstrand
Merzlikins
Stenlund
Kolesar
Gavrikov
Nutivaara
Bemstrom
Voronkov

Trades wins:
Hartnell for Umburger
Wisniewski for Karlsson
Anisimov for Saad
Saad for Panarin
Foligno 3-way trade
Provorov trade
Severson

Trade "Meh"
Johansen for Jones (was initially a good looking trade)
Duchene trade
Jones to Chicago trade
Voracek for Atkinson
Gavrikov trade

Trade losses:
Marchessault to Tampa for no one
Anderson for Domi
Nutivaara for Pu

Overall, he seems like he does well with top 10 picks, at least in terms or talent. Middle of the 1st round, his track record drops a bit. Lots of later round finds from Europe. He made a lot of sell-off at the TDL type trades and seemed to do pretty well. He's not afraid to make move. Not gun shy to make the big move.

 

[Jim Bob]

Bored and took a quick look at Kekalainen's track record with Columbus:

Draft hits:
Werenski
PLD
Marchenko
Chinakhov
Johnson
Fantilli
Sillinger

Draft "mehs"
Wennburg
Milano
Peeke
Texier
Foudy

Draft TBD:
Jiricek
Mateychuk

Draft misses:
Rychel
Carlsson

Later round finds:
Bjorkstrand
Merzlikins
Stenlund
Kolesar
Gavrikov
Nutivaara
Bemstrom
Voronkov

Trades wins:
Hartnell for Umburger
Wisniewski for Karlsson
Anisimov for Saad
Saad for Panarin
Foligno 3-way trade
Provorov trade
Severson

Trade "Meh"
Johansen for Jones (was initially a good looking trade)
Duchene trade
Jones to Chicago trade
Voracek for Atkinson
Gavrikov trade

Trade losses:
Marchessault to Tampa for no one
Anderson for Domi
Nutivaara for Pu

Overall, he seems like he does well with top 10 picks, at least in terms or talent. Middle of the 1st round, his track record drops a bit. Lots of later round finds from Europe. He made a lot of sell-off at the TDL type trades and seemed to do pretty well. He's not afraid to make move. Not gun shy to make the big move.

Jarmo Kekäläinen - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Jarmo Kekäläinen, 1966-07-03 Tampere, FIN Finland. Most recently in the Elitserien with Västerås IK. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Jarmo had an interesting path to an NHL GM job.

After a relatively short pro career with 55 NHL games played, he jumped right into the GM job for HIFK in Finland and as a European scout for the Senators, his last NHL team as a player.

He had those dual roles for 4 years before becoming the Sens Dir of Player Personnel.

Then he had 8 years in St Louis. The first three as their Dir of Amateur Scouting and then the AGM for the final 5.

After getting passed over for some NHL GM jobs, he went back to Finland as the GM for Jokerit. After 2+ seasons with Jokerit, he replaced Howson as the Columbus GM midway through the 2012-13 season.

And he is a senior advisor with HIFK today.

 

[RefsIdeas]

Bored and took a quick look at Kekalainen's track record with Columbus:

Draft hits:
Werenski
PLD
Marchenko
Chinakhov
Johnson
Fantilli
Sillinger

Draft "mehs"
Wennburg
Milano
Peeke
Texier
Foudy

Draft TBD:
Jiricek
Mateychuk

Draft misses:
Rychel
Carlsson

Later round finds:
Bjorkstrand
Merzlikins
Stenlund
Kolesar
Gavrikov
Nutivaara
Bemstrom
Voronkov

Trades wins:
Hartnell for Umburger
Wisniewski for Karlsson
Anisimov for Saad
Saad for Panarin
Foligno 3-way trade
Provorov trade
Severson

Trade "Meh"
Johansen for Jones (was initially a good looking trade)
Duchene trade
Jones to Chicago trade
Voracek for Atkinson
Gavrikov trade

Trade losses:
Marchessault to Tampa for no one
Anderson for Domi
Nutivaara for Pu

Overall, he seems like he does well with top 10 picks, at least in terms or talent. Middle of the 1st round, his track record drops a bit. Lots of later round finds from Europe. He made a lot of sell-off at the TDL type trades and seemed to do pretty well. He's not afraid to make move. Not gun shy to make the big move.

I think the bolded is my favorite part about him. He’s the opposite of Adams in that sense.

It does give me a bit of pause that CBJ seems to be taking off right after he left. However I do think that mostly coincides with their younger players finding their stride.

Either way, he’s a respected hockey mind - unlike our GM.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I think the bolded is my favorite part about him. He’s the opposite of Adams in that sense.

It does give me a bit of pause that CBJ seems to be taking off right after he left. However I do think that mostly coincides with their younger players finding their stride.

Either way, he’s a respected hockey mind - unlike our GM.

If Terry wants to save face, move Adams to PoHo and bring in Kekalainen as GM. Sell it to fans as Adams did his job to get the franchise out of the mess left by past GMs, and now it's time to take a step forward and grow as an organization.

Laud Adams for reinvigorating the scouting staff, leading the team through COVID, putting trust and cohesion back into the front office, and re-stacking the prospect shelves. Highlight his effort to re-establish culture into the Sabres organization.

There's a shred of truth in everything I wrote. Go with it and sell it, promote Adams, then let Kekalainen fix the team.

 

[Gabrielor]

End of season questions for Adams:

"Since you've said time and time again Terry isn't stopping you from spending to the cap, why are YOU stopping you from spending to the cap?"

"This team is now 100% yours. Every player/prospect was either drafted, signed, re-signed, or traded for by you. You're back to bottom 5 in the NHL. How do you explain your own regression?"

"The outside perception since COVID is Terry won't do what it takes to win, and the evidence is he's never made the playoffs in a full season as the owner. Why should anyone buy a ticket next year?"

 

[Ace]

Remember for three years he said they don’t spend because they needed to save money to keep this amazing last place team together with their upcoming RFAs

He hasn’t extended any of them. And that’s not how past cap works.

I have a different question I’d ask.

It involves kicking him in his lying dick and asking him if he understands how the fans feel now.

 

[TageGod]

End of season questions for Adams:

"Since you've said time and time again Terry isn't stopping you from spending to the cap, why are YOU stopping you from spending to the cap?"

"This team is now 100% yours. Every player/prospect was either drafted, signed, re-signed, or traded for by you. You're back to bottom 5 in the NHL. How do you explain your own regression?"

"The outside perception since COVID is Terry won't do what it takes to win, and the evidence is he's never made the playoffs in a full season as the owner. Why should anyone buy a ticket next year?"

"why did you resign Bryson MID SEASON"

 

[TehDoak]

If anything....lagging season ticket sales might be the straw that breaks the camels back in regard to Adams. I'm also VERY curious about why Pegula went on this road trip with the team in March.

The Adams era might well be coming to an end.

The Buffalo Sabres are testing the limit of how much suffering a fan base can handle

The Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference and will miss the playoffs for an NHL-record 14th straight season.

www.nytimes.com

This season, the Sabres are 30th in the NHL in attendance by average percentage of capacity with 84 percent. One of the lower teams is the Utah Hockey Club, which can only count unobstructed seats toward attendance figures, skewing their number. The other is the last-place San Jose Sharks. The Sabres are 27th in average raw attendance with 16,070 people per game. That number is up from an average of 15,981 last season and 15,567 the season before. It’s a better situation than the one the Sabres faced coming out of the pandemic when the team averaged 9,998 tickets sold per game, but the prolonged losing is hurting the franchise’s bottom line.


“(The Sabres) ruined a night out,” Gott said. “It’s more practical to sit at home during a miserable winter night than go out and watch a hockey game, which is a sport I love.”

The Sabres haven’t released season ticket numbers since the waitlist dried up, but preseason attendance provides a strong suggestion. Fans who buy full-season ticket packages are charged for all preseason home games. So the 9,924 attendance number for a preseason home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets this season represents the best estimate of full-season tickets sold. Coming out of the pandemic, the Sabres had roughly 6,500 full-season ticket holders. That number bumped up closer to around 9,125 in 2022-23. When that team came up one point short of the playoffs, the Sabres sold around 11,153 full-season tickets in 2023-24 based on preseason attendance data. But a disappointing season in 2023-24 led to that drop back down just below 10,000. The team also sells half-season tickets, quarter-season tickets and flex packs.

And while the price has become a point of frustration for fans, the Sabres still have some of the cheapest tickets in the NHL. According to the team website, season ticket prices range from $1,014 per seat in the value section of the 300s to $6,820 per seat in the rinkside tier. They offer discounted concessions to season ticket members. They upgraded the video board last offseason, fixed the roof and made adjustments to the in-arena game presentation. The quality of the seats is still a common complaint from fans, but the on-ice product trumps all other gripes.

“I don’t need to be valued by the Sabres,” said TJ Jones, who has been a season ticket holder for two seasons and plans to be back in some capacity next season. “They can show me I’m valued by putting together a competitive team and winning some hockey games.”

 

[Zman5778]

I'm also VERY curious about why Pegula went on this road trip with the team in March.

The Adams era might well be coming to an end.

Funnily enough -- I caught the tail end of an interview with Friedman on the SiriusXM NHL Network's morning show this morning. They were talking about the Sabres and why Pegula was on the road trip. Friedman said he talked to either a former or current NHL exec who said something along the lines of "Look.....owners make road trips to Florida. Or Arizona. Or Southern California. They don't go to Minneapolis and Winnipeg unless there's a very good reason".

The natural speculation seems obvious: Pegula's appearance on that trip could mean that Adams' job is actually in some form of jeopardy.


Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. However, it does give me a little bit of optimism that maybe Pegula is actually concerned about the (lack of) direction with the team.

 

[Ace]

Again…Terry Pegula had just been publicly named the worst owner in the league by his own fanbase. Received straight F’s on his report card from spending to giving a f*** to having a plan. That’s why he showed his face (but not at home, of course). He can pretend to care in Winnipeg. He doesn’t actually care until things change in Buffalo.

 

[Jim Bob]

Funnily enough -- I caught the tail end of an interview with Friedman on the SiriusXM NHL Network's morning show this morning. They were talking about the Sabres and why Pegula was on the road trip. Friedman said he talked to either a former or current NHL exec who said something along the lines of "Look.....owners make road trips to Florida. Or Arizona. Or Southern California. They don't go to Minneapolis and Winnipeg unless there's a very good reason".

The natural speculation seems obvious: Pegula's appearance on that trip could mean that Adams' job is actually in some form of jeopardy.

Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. However, it does give me a little bit of optimism that maybe Pegula is actually concerned about the (lack of) direction with the team.

While the fanbase wants it to be Adams being on the hot seat, we know that Terry likes to sit in on scouting meetings leading to the draft. I wonder if they held some meetings and Terry was there to sit in on them...

 

[TehDoak]

While the fanbase wants it to be Adams being on the hot seat, we know that Terry likes to sit in on scouting meetings leading to the draft. I wonder if they held some meetings and Terry was there to sit in on them...

That doesn't really follow though.

Why would scouting related meetings be on the road? I'm assuming most of the amateur scouts are on the road scouting with NCAA/OHL playoffs forthcoming. Any big meeting would. be based out of the home office and likely could be attended via zoom.

There's SOMETHING there. It IS weird he want to the game. Though, do wonder if it might be as simple as Terry wanting to attend a game without being worried about being boo'd.

I do think that the offer of no increase on early renewals is partially ownership wanting to take temperature of season ticket holders, though.

Kevyn's seat is getting warm. We'll see if it actually becomes hot though.

 

[Zman5778]

While the fanbase wants it to be Adams being on the hot seat, we know that Terry likes to sit in on scouting meetings leading to the draft. I wonder if they held some meetings and Terry was there to sit in on them...

Didn't they have their scouting meetings in Florida right around the time of the NHL Owners Meeting?

 

[TehDoak]

Thread:



Looks like he follows Lance and Harrington as well. Only journalists he follows outside of CBJ.

I'm not the biggest Jarmo fan, but he sure as heck would be a big upgrade over KA. I wouldn't mind him as a POHO either, if by some miracle we went that route.

So, realistically, lets take a step back and consider what steps an owner would take if he was considering a change.

First and foremost, you have to know options are out there that are better than what you have.

My guess is that you would engage with a specialist executive search team to gather candidates for you slyly.

What would those candidates do prior to an interview? They would research the local market.

This could very well be wheels turning.

 

[Ace]

First and foremost, you have to know options are out there that are better than what you have.

Maybe the funniest sentence I’ve ever read.

 

[Chainshot]

Maybe that's just Jarmo preparing for what he thinks will be a possible job opening? Might help to know some of what is going on before walking into an interview.

 

[Beerz]

Again…Terry Pegula had just been publicly named the worst owner in the league by his own fanbase. Received straight F’s on his report card from spending to giving a f*** to having a plan. That’s why he showed his face (but not at home, of course). He can pretend to care in Winnipeg. He doesn’t actually care until things change in Buffalo.

And in that article about worst owners... he was labeled as an absent owner by anonymous agents....and he definitely isn't showing his face at home if there isn't a special night going on like Rob Ray night or whatever.

 

[Chainshot]

And in that article about worst owners... he was labeled as an absent owner by anonymous agents....and he definitely isn't showing his face at home if there isn't a special night going on like Rob Ray night or whatever.

He's been AWOL since before the cost cutting. Once he started to pretend he was important, err bought the Bills, it was rare to see him at or hear about him attending Sabre games.

 

[Beerz]

He's been AWOL since before the cost cutting. Once he started to pretend he was important, err bought the Bills, it was rare to see him at or hear about him attending Sabre games.

I wish he was more AWOL ... that Zucker video in other thread is disturbing .... Why is he weighing in on this type of shit? .. Who in their right mind thinks they can speak up and say..hey..I think we need to go in another direction with Zucker.

It don't f***ing matter who we get as GM ..

f*** this team.

 

[Chainshot]

I wish he was more AWOL ... that Zucker video in other thread is disturbing .... Why is he weighing in on this type of shit? .. Who in their right mind thinks they can speak up and say..hey..I think we need to go in another direction with Zucker.

It don't f***ing matter who we get as GM ..

f*** this team.

I must've missed that. Which vid?

 

[Beerz]

I must've missed that. Which vid?

The please sell thread

 

[Zman5778]

I wish he was more AWOL ... that Zucker video in other thread is disturbing .... Why is he weighing in on this type of shit? .. Who in their right mind thinks they can speak up and say..hey..I think we need to go in another direction with Zucker.

????

Pegula didn't say that at all in the clip that's posted. He was supporting Kevyn's apparent position that they should re-sign Zucker.

That said, let's see what the full video shows (while knowing it's highly edited)

 

[Chainshot]

Didn't they have their scouting meetings in Florida right around the time of the NHL Owners Meeting?

They did.

 

[Chainshot]

The please sell thread

...?

I didn't hear him say that. Is there some other video than the part in the tweet?

*toddles off to YT to check the Sabres inbreeded, err imbedded.

 

[TehDoak]

Maybe the funniest sentence I’ve ever read.

I mean, to us sure. But, you have to think like someone who thought this was a good idea in the first place.

He obviously doesn't think Adams has done that bad of a job or he wouldn't still be there.