Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams met with media Tuesday, weighing in on a number of topics including the future of RFA winger J.J. Peterka. But while Adams was evasive on Peterka's future, one admission Adams made was equally troubling -- namely, the place where senior adviser to the GM Jarmo Kekalainen was operating from.
According to Adams, Kekalainen is working remotely from Columbus, where he spent 11 years as GM of the Blue Jackets. That means both Kekalainen and associate GM Jason Karrmanos, who lives in Pittsburgh, both will be working outside of Buffalo. And while we're not suggesting that Kekalainen and Karmanos can't contribute meaningfully from their homes, the truth is the optics of the situation do not behoove the Sabres.
Ideally, a team should absolutely want their management team to all be in the same location. You get a better feel for the team when you're in the city the team plays in. You can hear from the fan base directly, and you can talk to the players face-to-face. Karmanos and Kekalainen won't be able to do that, at least, not in a meaningful manner.
It's also a negative comment on Buffalo itself when you can't convince crucial management members to live in Western New York. If it's about money, then Sabres ownership should be stepping up and spending whatever it takes to convince Kekalainen and Karmanos to relocate to Buffalo. If it's about family considerations, make it worth their while monetarily to uproot their lives to live in Buffalo. And if they can't do that, maybe Kekalainen and Karmanos aren't the right guys for the job.
Again, in the modern age where people work remotely in all kinds of professions, it wouldn't be totally outlandish if one assistant GM or management member was working out of a different city. But two management members is another thing entirely. It would be one thing if Adams could point to things Kekalainen and Karmanos have already accomplished working remotely, but starting things off on this foot just doesn't feel right.
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Ideally, you want all your management members in the same office. It's easier to find consensus, and it's easier to read each other's body language and mannerisms when you're in the same room. But this current Sabres management setup doesn't allow for that. Adams, Karmanos and Kekalainen will all be in Zoom meetings or other types of conference calls, and there's something that feels second-rate about that.
We'll gladly eat our words if Buffalo makes appropriate changes and earns a playoff spot for the first time in a decade-and-a-half. But if that doesn't happen, everything about the way Adams is choosing to do business will rightfully be called into question. And having two-thirds of the Sabres' upper-echelon management team will be fairly criticized at this time next year.
You can live with one key management member not living in the same city their team plays in. But having two key management members living elsewhere only underscores the (unfair) painting of Buffalo as a town no one wants to be in.
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In a better world, the Sabres would be pushing potential management hires out of the way as they all jockey to live and work in Buffalo. But that's not happening right now, and that's going to be a point of contention if things don't go well for the Sabres in 2025-26.
In a perfect world, Adams, Karmanos and Kekalainen all would be living and working together. Instead, they're in three different cities. Fans and media are going to be hyper-aware of that fact as every move Adams makes comes under increasingly-intense scrutiny.
And if the Sabres once again come up short when it comes to qualifying for the post-season, Adams' decision to allow key team members to work outside of Buffalo will be pinpointed as a particularly erroneous move.