The Buffalo Sabres were already mired in a nine-year playoff drought when Kevyn Adams took over as general manager in June 2020. The former NHL center has failed to make the necessary moves to end that extended postseason absence, which now stands at an NHL-record 14 years.
Adams' mistakes as a first-time GM have been a major part of a the problem in recent seasons. Yes, there are other factors such as the slow or stalled development of key players, including Owen Power, Jack Quinn and Devon Levi, but the 50-year-old former Stanley Cup champion has also been unable or unwilling to take the big swings needed to add more game-changing stars to the roster.
Now, it's fair to wonder whether the 2025-26 season marks Adams' last chance to get it right. Sabres owner Terry Pegula has been patient, perhaps to a fault, as the general manager learned on the job. But the addition of former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen to the front office gives Pegula an in-house replacement option if Buffalo fails to show signs of legitimate progress.
Ahead of the new campaign, let's look back as some of Adams' biggest unforced errors since taking on the role five years ago.
Not Ranked: Jack Eichel Trade (November 2021)
It's not fair to place the blame for the Eichel situation fully on Adams. The superstar center, who went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Sabres medical team couldn't agree on the proper course of treatment for his neck injury. The Boston University product, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, had also started to grow frustrated with the organization's lack of progress before Adams took over the GM chair.
That said, the return for one of the NHL's most dynamic offensive players looks super light in hindsight. Buffalo received Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs and a pair of draft picks that turned into prospects Noah Ostlund and Riley Heidt, who was selected by the Minnesota Wild after the Sabres flipped the pick in a trade for Jordan Greenway.
Tuch became a core piece for Buffalo, but Krebs didn't live up to his potential as a potential top-six playmaking center. Ostlund showed some promise in the AHL last seasons (36 points in 45 points), but failed to record a point in eight NHL appearances.
Ultimately, it wasn't a great trade by Adams, but there were a lot of outside factors in play.
7. Consistently Re-Signing Ineffective Players
This catch-all is necessary because it's a mistake Adams continues to make on a regular basis. The latest examples include Greenway and Jacob Bryson, who were re-signed near the end of last season rather than leaving those roster spots available for potential free-agent upgrades.
Greenway received a two-year, $8 million contract extension in March. It came amid a campaign where the injury-prone winger scored a mere eight points in just 34 games. He's never made a positive on-ince impact across eight NHL seasons based on HockeyViz's Synthetic Goals metric.
A franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2011 should be actively seeking out ways to create roster turnover, not trying to avoid it. Bringing back Greenway and Bryson, a 2017 fourth-round pick who's never developed into more than a No. 7 defenseman, solved no problems.
The same was true in previous years when the Sabres kept re-signing Henri Jokiharju, or in recent seasons with Peyton Krebs. Fourth-line or third-pair players can be replaced, either internally or with cheap free-agent signings. Letting them walk (or ideally trading them) to create roster and financial flexibility is the way to go.
6. Re-Signing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (July 2024)
Paying goalies always comes with risk because of the positional volatility. The danger only further increases when a netminder has a limited track record, which was the case when Adams handed UPL a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension last summer.
The 26-year-old Finnish goaltender received the new deal after posting a .910 save percentage in 54 games during the 2023-24 campaign. However, the previous season he'd compiled an .891 save percentage in 33 appearances.
In turn, it wasn't a shock when UPL struggled mightily last season, the first of his lucrative contract. He finished with an .887 save percentage, tied for the sixth-worst mark among qualified goalies. Now the Sabres are on the hook through 2028-29 with no guarantee Luukkonen will rediscover peak form.
Buffalo signed Alex Lyon to provide veteran depth and have Levi set to lead the AHL's Rochester Americans this season. So, it does have options if UPL falters again.
5. All NHL Draft Picks Made Outside Top 50
Adams has selected six draft classes for the Sabres. He's made 37 picks outside the top 50 (29 not counting 2025). Of those prospects, only one (2021 seventh-rounder Tyson Kozak) has reached the NHL, and Kozak has a modest five points in 21 games with Buffalo.
Yes, development timelines vary tremendously in hockey and late-round picks have a low hit rate. It's going to take a handful more years before the outcome for some of the players selected in recent years is truly known. Perhaps a gem will eventually shine through.
That said, the early returns for Adams ability to find late-round value are concerning. An even deeper conversation about his drafting skill (or lack thereof) will be had if first-rounders like Ostlund, Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius don't become high-impact players in the coming years.
4. Re-Signing Mattias Samuelsson (October 2022)
Giving Samuelsson a seven-year contract never made much sense. He's a non-factor offensively and isn't an elite puck-mover so, even at his best, he's a stay-at-home third-pair defenseman who can contribute on the penalty kill.
He's also dealt with consistent injury issues and drew the ire of fans for his lack of response after a hit on teammate Tage Thompson in a game against the New Jersey Devils last season. If you're a physical defenseman, you can't let other teams maul one of your best players with no response.
Adams brushed aside speculation suggesting the Sabres could buy out Samuelsson, which means he remains under contract through 2029-30. Yet, if someone else steps into the GM role in the near future, they may reconsider the buyout option rather than paying a low-event blueliner $4.3 million for a handful more years.
3. Beck Malenstyn Trade (June 2024)
This may be the best example of Adams' lack of understanding when it comes to asset management. Giving up a second-round pick for a player who's a career fourth-liner, and has no chance to become anything more than that, will never make sense.
Case in point, Malenstyn recorded 10 points in 76 games during his first season in Buffalo. Now he'll be forced to compete with free-agent signing Justin Danforth just to make the Opening Night lineup. It's a real possibility he's a healthy scratch until injuries arise this season.
Adams spent last offseason obsessed with the idea of making the bottom of the lineup tougher to play against. The plan, which also included to additions of Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Sam Lafferty, failed miserably. But giving up a second-rounder for Malenstyn was particularly unforgivable.
2. Connor Clifton Signing (July 2023)
Signing Clifton to a three-year contract as the Sabres desperately sought a partner for Power was a concrete signal Adams was struggling to identify defensive talent.
Clifton, in his final season (2022-23) with the Boston Bruins, ranked No. 226 out of 249 defensemen who played at least 200 5-on-5 minutes in relative expected goals for percentage, per Natural Stat Trick. In other words, he was a glaring weak spot on a Presidents Trophy-winning team.
Nevertheless, Adams brought him in as a supposed solution to the Sabres' longstanding defensive woes. The idea predictably failed, and Clifton was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in June as part of a four-piece deal that landed Conor Timmins and Issac Belliveau in Buffalo.
1. Sam Reinhart Trade (July 2021)
Unlike the Eichel scenario, this massive mistake was avoidable. Reinhart didn't demand a trade. He was a restricted free agent looking for a new contract and the Sabres opted instead to send him to the Florida Panthers for Levi and a draft pick that became Kulich.
Reinhart has since blossomed into one of the NHL's best players. He's accumulated 160 goals and 164 assists (324 points) in 321 regular-season games for Florida. Perhaps more importantly, he scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and netted four goals in the 2025 Cup-clinching victory for the back-to-back champion Panthers.
Kulich showed some promise as a rookie (24 points in 62 games) and the Sabres remain hopeful Levi will eventually emerge as a starter-level NHL goalie despite uneven pro results so far. But it's a long shot that tandem will ever come close to the value Reinhart has already provided the Panthers.
All told, Adams was on the wrong end of two true blockbuster trades during his tenure by sending out Eichel and Reinhart. As Sabres fans watched those former cornerstones with championships elsewhere, their general manager has been unable to complete a similar franchise-altering deal in Buffalo's favor.