No, Jarmo Kekalainen being promoted to Buffalo Sabres general manager was not a fait accompli after he joined the organization as a senior advisor in May.
Sabres chief operating officer Pete Guelli made that known during an interview with Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, saying the franchise never had plans to make an in-season change atop the front office until the season began to spiral out of control.
"The intent was not for Jarmo to come in and be the GM," Guelli said.
Instead, Buffalo went through an exhaustive set of interviews before settling on Kekalainen for the advisor role. From there, the former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager acclimated himself so well that team owner Terry Pegula felt confident giving him "full autonomy on the hockey side."
"We all felt that we went through a pretty extensive process to get him here in the first place," Guelli told Fairburn. "I've been doing this a long time. There's no better interview than working with someone for six or seven months. When you put all of those pieces together, we felt really confident in Jarmo being the new leader of our hockey operations department."
The remarks push aside any speculation Kekalainen was a predetermined successor for Adams, whose tenure of five-plus years leading the front office came to an end Monday.
Jarmo Kekalainen must quickly differentiate himself from Kevyn Adams as Buffalo Sabres general manager
A tepid decision-making process was Adams' hallmark in the GM chair. The former NHL center, who had no experience in key front-office roles before being handed the job by Pegula, almost never made proactive moves. It was always a reactive environment.
The final example came as the Sabres prepared to embark on their recent six-game road trip.
Buffalo has been saddled with an untenable three-goalie rotation all season and, with injuries and illnesses creating issues, it felt like time for Adams to finally make his decision: Trade or waive Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon or Colten Ellis to create a much-needed roster spot.
Instead, Adams continued to wait until the Sabres went even further west and he was literally forced to make a move to ensure the club wouldn't have to play shorthanded. The decision? Demote Noah Ostlund to the AHL's Rochester Americans despite his strong play.
Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff made it clear he wasn't pleased with that roster move, and Adams was dismissed just a week later. He too frequently became paralyzed when it came to making difficult decisions, leaving Pegula little choice but to move in a new direction.
On the surface, Kekalainen feels like a breath of fresh air in that regard. He was never afraid to take a bold swing during his time in Columbus (2013-24).
He'll have to prove himself to a weary fanbase that richly deserves to see winning hockey again, though. His best place to start is clearing out that three-goalie logjam that's been hampering the team since UPL returned from injury early in the campaign.
Trading Luukkonen makes the most sense given his continued struggles and long-term contract, which creates uncertainty about how prospect Devon Levi fits in the equation moving forward. Removing UPL from the picture creates a better path forward all around.
That said, even if the decision is to trade or waive either Lyon, who's been the team's best goalie this season, or Ellis, simply making the move with confidence will represent a step in the right direction.
All told, the Sabres desperately needed a new, more aggressive vision. Kekalainen's history suggests he's capable of meeting those expectations.
Now he just has to get to work.