The Buffalo Sabres are finishing up 2025 with a bang. Seven straight wins, just two points out of a playoff spot, and a new general manager in place, bringing a fresh, new, aggressive attitude. 

But don’t expect this franchise to be happy with the current seven-game run. Jarmo Kekalainen will be going pedal to the metal here, as he pushes for even more for the Sabres. Insider Chris Johnston said on the Nielson Show podcast that the new Buffalo GM will be very active in putting his stamp on the team, and will not be satisfied until they really reach new heights.

I think [Kekalainen’s] gonna swing for the fences. If you look at his track record in Columbus… This was a GM who traded for Sergei Bobrovsky, who got Artemi Panarin, who traded a young star player in Ryan Johansen, who at the time wasn’t working out with the Blue Jackets (for Seth Jones)…

I do believe that Jarmo… is not gonna just think that status quo is good enough. He’s trying to get to the playoffs now… They instantly became a team to watch from a moves perspective. 

Kekalainen was the GM for the Columbus Blue Jackets for 11 years until he was let go in February of 2024. And as Johnston noted, he wasn’t shy to make bold moves. 

The Sabres brought him in as a “senior advisor” in May of this year. But with the massive struggles the team had been going through under then-GM Kevyn Adams, it was just a matter of time before Kekalainen’s rising to the GM seat was official. That took place nine days ago. 

And the fact that he had been there for seven months in advance of taking the reins gives him a huge leg up on the typical “new” general manager. 

“(A new GM) doesn’t know the organization that well. That person almost tiptoes into a job. I think the fact that he’s been there since May has helped him form some opinions on what is or isn’t working, what personalities aren’t fitting in… He doesn’t have a lot of loyalties there.”  

But it’s clear the players are out to prove to their new boss that they’ve got what it takes to win. In fact, they haven’t lost yet under Kekalainen.

BYRAM WINS IT IN OT AND THE SABRES HAVE WON 7 STRAIGHT 🔥🚨 pic.twitter.com/zD16hW6BbM

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 24, 2025

“Merry Christmas, Sabrehood” indeed. Buffalo is certainly a team to keep an eye on as the calendar turns and we head towards the Olympics and the trade deadline that follows. 

The Sabres are now 18-14-4, just two points back of the second Wild Card berth in the Eastern Conference and—dare we say—only three points back of 3rd place in the Atlantic and a guaranteed playoff spot. 

Photo: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images