The leaders of the Buffalo Sabres' front office and coaching staff are facing career-defining seasons as the franchise attempts to snap an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.
Kevyn Adams will likely never receive another opportunity to serve as an NHL general manager if his tenure in Buffalo ends next offseason after six wholly unsuccessful years.
Lindy Ruff should rank fourth in all-time wins by an NHL head coach by season's end but, at age 65, he's running out of time to prove he still has his coaching fastball. This may be his final chance after failing to turn the tide during the first year of his second stint with the Sabres.
So, while both Adams and Ruff have a lot to prove over the next seven months, which one has more on the line during the 2025-26 season? It's the first question as part of our new series focused on important Sabres debates throughout the campaign.
Which key Buffalo Sabres figure, general manager Kevyn Adams or head coach Lindy Ruff, faces more pressure this season?
The case for Kevyn Adams
Adams was unqualified when the Sabres promoted him from their Senior Vice President of Business Operations role to the GM chair in 2020. He'd never held a decision-making role at the NHL level and had previously been fired as a Buffalo assistant coach after two seasons in 2013.
So, it's no surprise his time running the front office has been tumultuous. He was trying to learn an incredibly complex job on the fly, and doing it in a ruthless environment where other teams are trying to take advantage of weaker organizations to maximize their own Stanley Cup chances.
Nevertheless, it's hard to call Adams' tenure anything other than a total failure. He's regularly traded away high-end talent — Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and, most recently, JJ Peterka, among others — while also proving completely ineffective at bringing game-changing players to Buffalo.
So, this is probably Adams' final opportunity to show he belongs in an NHL front office.
What does that mean? Sabres fans should see a far more aggressive 50-year-old general manager. He should be prepared to make significant, bold moves when necessary. It's an area he failed miserably last season when he stood idly by as a 13-game losing streak destroyed their campaign.
If Buffalo falters early, he'll have little choice but to make deals to right the ship. If he fails, that'll almost assuredly lead to the end of his time as the team's general manager.
The case for Lindy Ruff
Ruff isn't facing the same type of everlasting legacy questions because he's track record speaks for itself after 25 years as an NHL head coach. His record stands at 900-718-78-160 (.554 points percentage) and he helped lead the Sabres to some of their greatest heights.
The 2006 Jack Adams Award winner guided Buffalo to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Dallas Stars in controversial "No Goal" fashion, and then back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007. A Cup has remained elusive for the franchise, though.
Ruff is also a team legend dating back to his 10 years as a player in Buffalo. When he returned as head coach for a second stint last year, fans understood it was a long-shot dart throw with a touch of nostalgia. They won't hold it against him if it fails.
That said, the Canadian still shows a lot of enthusiasm and displays a continued affection for coaching. He doesn't sound like somebody ready to put the clipboard down and retire.
It creates a fair amount of urgency for him to get the Sabres turned around to extend his career behind the bench, whether it's in Buffalo or elsewhere.
If the Sabres don't improve (or worse, regress even further) in 2025-26, it'll likely mark the end of Ruff's storied coaching career.
Verdict: Kevyn Adams
Adams should have never been named general manager in the first place. He's been trying to fight off that fact for five years and he's failed. The brief glimmer of hope the Sabres provided in 2022-23 has long faded and now they're facing a make-or-break season to avoid an organizational overhaul.
It's hard to imagine the former Stanley Cup-winning forward with the Carolina Hurricanes will ever hold a meaningful position in an NHL front office again if Buffalo falters again this season. Most GMs acquire more meaningful talent in two years than he's brought to Western New York in five.
Of course, all it takes is one memorable season to erase that handful of years of unforced errors. His future outlook could change completely if the Sabres return to the playoffs and potentially even make some noise in the Eastern Conference.
Reaching that standard will likely require Adams to make some savvy in-season moves, however, and that's something he hasn't proven capable of so far.
Maybe that'll change now that he's got nothing to lose.