Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is taking a two-pronged approach as he begins to reshape the long-suffering organization to fit his new vision for the future.
Although roster changes could be on the horizon — the NHL is currently in a holiday roster freeze until Dec. 28 — Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman explained Monday on the 32 Thoughts Podcast the new leader of Buffalo's front office has one prevailing thought at the moment.
"Don't muck up the dressing room," Friedman said of Kekalainen's viewpoint, which is why he didn't rush to make a rash trade before the freeze was enacted.
The Sabres are currently riding a six-game winning streak, the longest in the NHL, and have moved within three points of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The new GM doesn't want to make any blockbuster moves while the club is surging.
Instead, the 59-year-old Finland native has started to refresh the front office.
He dismissed Jason Karmanos, an assistant GM who also oversaw the AHL's Rochester Americans, and hired former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin to fill the void. Josh Flynn, a former colleague of Kekalainen with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was also brought in.
Friedman pointed out the Sabres general manager doesn't enjoy members of his front office on one-year contracts, so more decisions may be coming as he sorts through who's going to remain a member of his staff and who no longer fits the organizational structure.
"Almost everybody there is in the last year of their contracts," Friedman said. "And someone who knows Kekalainen told me that he'll be fair. He'll go in there — his history is he generally doesn't like people being in the last year of deals, so he's either going extend these guys or he's going to give them plenty of time [to find another job elsewhere]. He'll say, 'Sorry, it's not going to work out for you here.' The one thing he doesn't do is, he doesn't wait until the last minute [after the season]."
So, Kekalainen is getting the brain trust around him stabilized and, once Buffalo's on-ice results cool off a bit, the roster moves will likely occur between that point and the 2026 NHL trade deadline in early March.
Will Jarmo Kekalainen be a buyer or seller at his first trade deadline with the Buffalo Sabres?
A few weeks ago, the Sabres appeared on a steady path toward their 15th straight season out of the playoffs. The expectation was they'd trade away Alex Tuch, an impending unrestricted free agent, and a few other pieces to once again begin planning for the future.
The outlook has changed considerably thanks to the six-game winning streak, though.
Kekalainen expressed interest in re-signing Tuch, who's seeking a long-term, high-AAV contract extension if he's going to remain in Buffalo, and it no longer seems like a fire sale is on the horizon.
The Sabres may still try to make a prototypical "hockey trade," perhaps using defenseman Bowen Byram as a trade chip to acquire a top-six scoring winger, but the idea of tearing the roster back down to the studs again has faded away. At least for now.
That's good news for Kekalainen. He developed a reputation in Columbus of being someone who's not afraid to take a big swing, and that's obviously an easier approach to implement when a team is trying to win games rather than focused on an extended rebuild process.
It'd be a great sign of progress in Buffalo if the deadline focus is adding win-now assets. Along with a top-six winger, the Blue and Gold could also benefit from bringing in a versatile bottom-six forward given the poor play of Jordan Greenway.
Whether it's moving an established player like Byram or prospects and draft picks, the Sabres need an aggressive mindset to survive a crowded postseason race in the Eastern Conference.
Just 13 points separate first place from last in the East. (It's 27 points in the West.) So standing pat, as Kevyn Adams so often did during his time as Buffalo's GM, almost assuredly won't be enough. A few roster additions are needed to help maintain the team's recent run of improved play.
Kekalainen's history suggests he won't be afraid to eagerly seek out those upgrades, which is music to the ears of Sabres fans desperate to see playoff hockey once again.