With another disappointing hockey season unfolding in Western New York, the winds of change may have started blowing in the Queen City.
Adams, 51, is in the midst of his sixth season at the helm in Buffalo, which is shaping up to end in a similar fashion to the first five — without a post-season appearance.
Entering Friday night’s action, the Sabres own a 13-14-4 record, good for 30 points and last place in the Eastern Conference. To its credit, though, Buffalo has won two straight games, knocking off the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks on a West Coast swing.
Fairburn and Graham report that Adams is currently with the team in Seattle — the final stop on its six-game road trip — and that no decision on his future will be made until the Sabres return home.
Adams’ contract runs through the 2026-27 season, following a multi-year extension in 2022. He was originally hired for the top job in Buffalo in June 2020 to replace Jason Botterill.
Under Adams, the Sabres’ playoff drought has reached an NHL record 14 seasons, with their last post-season appearance coming in 2010-11.
Buffalo appeared to be taking steps forward in 2022-23, finishing with 91 points and nearly cracking the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But in the three seasons that have followed, the Sabres have gone backwards.
“You have to earn it,” Adams said at the time about selling Buffalo to free agents. “For me, it’s really simple. You become a perennial playoff team, you make the playoffs, you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup year after year, you’re on (fewer) no-trade lists. We don’t have palm trees. We have taxes in New York. Those are real, and those are things you deal with.”
The comments didn’t go over well with the local fan base, which has often chanted “Fire Adams” during Sabres home games.
If Buffalo were to move on from Adams, Jarmo Kekäläinen figures to be a ready-made replacement. Kekäläinen spent 11 seasons as the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and joined Buffalo as a senior advisor in May.
Kekäläinen is reportedly back home in Finland, dealing with a personal matter. However, Fairburn and Graham said that he has made a strong impression within the organization when he has been around the team.
Sabres owner Terry Pegula has only made one mid-season general manager change once during his time in control of the franchise, and that was all the way back in November 2013.
Buffalo will wrap up its road trip on Sunday against the Seattle Kraken before flying home for a two-game homestand beginning on Thursday, at which point the Sabres may have clarity on their front office’s future.