Evaluating Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen's First Year With The Franchise

It's been a wildly eventful first calendar year as GM of the Buffalo Sabres for Jarmo Kekalainen.

His official one-year mark hits in December, but there's already been plenty to reflect on for the franchise during his time in the front office.

There's the team's historic regular-season run that broke a 14-year playoff drought while capturing its first divisional title in 16 years. Then there were massive off-season changes headlined by Alex Tuch's decision to leave for Washington, Bowen Byram being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, and Daxon Rudolph being drafted with the fourth-overall pick.

That's a lot to unpack, but how should Kekalainen's tenure be evaluated with his one-year anniversary approaching?

From this writer's perspective, Kekalainen deserves a 'B-' grade for his first year. As we'll explore below, he hasn't knocked it out of the park – and there are some clear 'what-if' elements to his tenure – but there's no question he has made some smart moves as well.

The first and best move Kekalainen has made was converting Byram into the fourth-overall pick at the 2026 NHL draft. Byram's financial aspirations as he entered the final season of his contract this year had effectively priced him out of Buffalo's budget, and rather than hang on and trade him at this season's trade deadline, Kekalainen was proactive.

As for early impressions, Rudolph looks like he could end up being a cornerstone piece of the puzzle down the road, while Byram has struggled mightily with the Blackhawks. Rudolph is spending this season in the NCAA with the University of Denver, where he's posted two goals and seven points in six games as a freshman.

Similarly, trading for defenseman Olen Zellweger from the Anaheim Ducks is a win for Kekalainen, who had to give up only a second-round pick and youngster Anton Wahlberg. With six points in 12 games, Zellweger is well on his way to setting new career highs in every key offensive category, and he’s in Year 1 of a terrific team-friendly contract.

At a time when teams around the league are shaking the trees for dynamic young D-men, Kekalainen deserves credit for bolstering his blueline in the short-and-long-terms.

As for the moves we didn't like, Tuch walking away for essentially nothing in unrestricted free agency is tough to beat.

Tuch has flourished with the Washington Capitals this season, posting 10 goals and 12 points in 12 games. Considering that Buffalo is 17th in scoring with an average of 3.08 goals-for per game, they clearly miss the 30-year-old as one of the game's premier power forwards.

But sometimes you have to judge a GM on the moves they don't make – and the most glaring error Kekalainen appears to have made is a trade he couldn’t get done: acquiring goalie Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets. The Sabres were heavily linked to the netminder in trade rumors, and Kekalainen couldn’t get a deal past the finish line. 

When you look at the package the New Jersey Devils put together to win the Hellebuyck sweepstakes, you have to wonder what players or trade capital Kekalainen refused to give in on. 

Hellebuyck would've looked good in a Sabres jersey, and with goaltending being one of Buffalo's biggest problem areas, it's got to hurt even more now. That undoubtedly drags down Kekalainen's grade.

There were other smaller moves that could be picked apart, but the bottom line is you can't call Kekalainen’s first year running the Sabres as either a smashing success or a total flop.

Like many, if not most GMs, he can point to the aforementioned areas and deserve credit for them. But he's far from perfect, and he’s going to be under intense pressure the rest of the way this season to give his team a boost as they battle in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division.

Thus, Kekalainen gets a 'B-' grade from us. Sabres fans have some legitimate grievances about his tenure, but you’ve got to be fair and reasonable in the grading process, and that means noting that Kekalainen has pulled off some deals that help Buffalo immediately and down the road. And we’ll see if he can raise that grade the rest of the way this season.

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