Jarmo Kekalainen made some of his priorities clear on Tuesday after being promoted to general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.

Kekalainen replaced Kevyn Adams on Monday with the Sabres sitting six points out of a playoff spot and on track to miss the postseason for a 15th straight year.

The 59-year-old made it clear he believes that drought can be snapped this season.

“We’re very close,” Kekalainen said at his introductory news conference. “I firmly believe we can make the playoffs this year. There’s a lot of hockey left.”

Among the immediate concerns for Kekalainen as he takes over is finding a way to bring the Sabres down to two goaltenders after carrying three for most of the season.

Alex Lyon has appeared in 17 games this season, ahead of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at 10 and Colten Ellis, who is currently on injured reserve, at eight.

Lyon is 6-6-3 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against average. Luukkonen has a 4-5-1 record with a .884 save percentage and a 2.91 GAA, while Ellis is 4-3-0 with a .895 save percentage and a 3.25 GAA.

“I think we’ve all talked about it pretty much every day, that it’s not the ideal situation to have three… but we also picked up Ellis for a reason because we felt there was upside there to become a real good NHL goalie,” Kekalainen said.

“We’re probably to a point where we’re probably going to have make decisions to get down to a two-goalie rotation that’s good for the two goalies that remain here. Right now, Ellis is hurt, so we’ve got two goalies here and two goalies ready to win games.”

Buffalo has promising prospect Devon Levi, who has appeared in 39 career NHL games, currently playing in the AHL with the Rochester Americans. The 23-year-old has 10-4-3 record in the AHL this season with a .909 save percentage.

Can Kekalainen keep Tuch?

Also on the agenda for Kekalainen is finding a way to keep forward Alex Tuch as he approaches unrestricted free agency on July 1.

“I’ll take charge of that situation,” Kekalainen vowed. “We appreciate him, we like him. We want to get him signed.”

Jarmo on Tuch contract: “I’ll take charge of that situation.”… “We appreciate him, we like him. We want to get him signed.” #Sabres

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) December 16, 2025

Tuch has 11 goals and 28 points in 31 games this season. He posted 36 goals for the second time in three seasons last year, finishing with 67 points in 82 games.

The 29-year-old winger, who was acquired as part of the Sabres return for Jack Eichel in 2021, is in for a significant raise from his current cap hit of $4.75 million.