The Time For New Sabres GM Kekalainen To Make A Trade Or Firing Happen In Buffalo Has Already Arrived

New Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been on the job less than 100 hours, but there’s already significant pressure on the former Columbus Blue Jackets GM to make a move of consequence – and rightfully so. The last thing any Sabres fan wants to hear right now is a plea for patience with this team. 

And it’s not as if Kekalainen arrived on the scene in Western New York on Monday afternoon immediately after former GM Kevyn Adams was fired. Kekalainen was hired as a senior advisor to Adams this past summer, so Kekalainen has had ample time to acclimate to the organization and make his own decisions on who to build around, and who to make an ex-member of the franchise.

Thus, with Buffalo’s 14-14-4 record putting them at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, it should be crystal clear that the status quo cannot be an option for Kekalainen right now. And regardless of what specific move you think the Sabres have to make, it’s obvious that Kekalainen has to shake things up, and he has to do it very soon.

Maybe that move is firing coach Lindy Ruff. Or perhaps that move is a blockbuster trade involving defenseman Owen Power, winger Alex Tuch, or someone else who is currently considered part of Buffalo’s core. At this stage, just about everyone on the team should not be considered an untouchable. You can argue about the fairness of that fact, but you cannot argue that Sabres players and staff haven’t invited this speculation on their future because of their on-ice results. They absolutely have.

Kekalainen has to understand he’s not going to do any Sabres player or coach any good by coddling them and pretending they don’t have themselves to blame for where they are in the East’s standings. Whether he delivers that message by speaking to Buffalo players one-on-one, in a team meeting, or by trading or firing them is entirely up to Kekalainen. But the Sabres’ record speaks for itself, and not in a positive way.

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Kekalainen has to beat the bushes to see (a) what’s out there on the trade market, and (b) what he can do to speed the reset for this Buffalo team. That will make Kekalainen a buyer and a seller all at once, and there’s nothing wrong with that – so long as he follows through and effects great change one way or another. The time for patience has passed long ago, and now, Kekalainen needs to strap a stick of dynamite to his organization and focus on the pieces of the puzzle that he picks up off the ground.

It’s true that the Sabres likely won’t make imminent changes, as the NHL’s holiday roster freeze takes effect on Friday. But we’d argue that, if Buffalo gets to the midway point of January and no Sabres figure has been dealt or dismissed, it will be an ominous harbinger of what’s to come for this franchise. 

Buffalo fans have had it with the trade paralysis that marked the end of Adams’ time running the Sabres. We’re not asking Kekalainen to make a trade for the sake of making a trade. But at the same time, we’re absolutely asking him to identify which players are part of the problem in Buffalo, and which players are part of the solution. 

If Sabres Are To End Cycle Of Disappointing Seasons, GM Kekalainen Has To Take Chances WIth Big Swings On Trade MarketNew Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen can't do what former GM Kevyn Adams was infamous for doing – namely, being unable to pull off big trades. Kekalainen must abandon caution and swing big on the trade market, as the Sabres need bold moves, not safe plays, to end their playoff drought.

The Sabres have had many years with most of their current players, so another month or two of watching them sounds to us like little more than more dithering.Kekalainen has replaced Adams because Adams couldn’t make moves of consequence. Adams can blame that on ownership, on himself, or a combination of both. But Kekalainen can’t fall into the same pattern and the same trap Adams fell victim to,

The time for major moves in Buffalo arrived well before Adams was fired on Monday. Kekalainen’s first and most important job is to demonstrate a new era truly has arrived in Western New York, and he doesn’t do that by making a minor move for a fringe player. Constantly-disappointed Sabres fans are demanding that Kekalainen get his hands dirty, and we have to agree wholeheartedly with them.

It’s time for Buffalo to send a message that resonates with Sabres players. And there’s no time to waste to get that job done.