Kevyn Adams' meeting with owner Terry Pegula will determine Sabres' direction
Kevyn Adams wouldn't say if owner Terry Pegula has told the general manager if he's staying on the job.
General manager Kevyn Adams met individually with each of his players over the span of two days to evaluate their season with the Buffalo Sabres and provide feedback on how they can improve.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Kevyn Adams meet with the media at KeyBank Center on Saturday. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
The most important meeting of all had yet to occur when Adams and coach Lindy Ruff addressed reporters during a 53-minute news conference late Saturday afternoon in KeyBank Center.
Adams reminded reporters that he has daily conversations with owner Terry Pegula about the direction of the franchise 14 years into an NHL-record playoff drought, but he wouldn't say if they have discussed a question that's loomed for the Sabres since they sank to last place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-game winless streak.
Will Adams remain as general manager?
The Sabres' 79 standings points under Ruff were five fewer than last season and 12 fewer than 2022-23, when the club came within one win of a playoff berth. Their .477 points percentage during his five seasons is 25th out of 32 teams. The longest-tenured general manager since Darcy Regier has been in charge during winless streaks spanning 18 games, 13 games, eight games, seven games and three of six games. Adams laid out how the conversation with his owner may unfold.
"It's not good enough," the Clarence native acknowledged. "I believe we should be a playoff team right now, and we failed. It's owning that, taking my responsibility for that, and then, moving past that and saying, 'Here's how I see us improving and what we can do to fix it.' So, as always, just being very honest in my conversations with Terry to say where I think that I've made mistakes and where I think that we can fix certain things and that's what I'll do.
"I do believe we're closer than farther (from winning), but the words are the words. We have to win hockey games, and I understand that.'"
The tone and messaging from Adams' end-of-season news conference was vastly different than one year ago after he fired Don Granato. Adams and his players called for more structure and accountability. They explained a different voice and approach were needed. A few days later, Ruff signed a two-year contract to return as coach of the Sabres.
The coach isn't taking the fall after the Sabres finished 36-39-7 and ranked 30th in the NHL in goals allowed per game. Ruff took ownership of his role in their monthlong winless streak, telling reporters that he's still "angry" that, three decades into his coaching career, he took too long to fix his team's play. They weren't mathematically eliminated until their 77th game, but there was relatively no chance for them to overcome their slump, either. Adams confirmed that Ruff will return in his role despite Buffalo allowing more goals and winning fewer games than it did in Granato's final season.
Changes are expected to the coaching staff and hockey operations department, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Adams didn't take the opportunity to criticize the assistant coaches running his underperforming power play or penalty kill. He didn't express concerns about his strength and conditioning staff, either, even though soft-tissue injuries and marginal improvement from some young players may lead to changes in that department. There was no mention of no-trade protection blocking his ability to acquire players, specifically a right-hand defense partner for Owen Power, and Adams did not call out anyone on his team for failing to protect each other after blindside hits.
Instead, Adams pointed the finger at himself.
"I think that there’s a frustration out of all of us that we’re not where we expected to be and where I believe we should be based on just going down the roster and what you look at on paper," Adams said. "There’s a lot of things that happen through the year that can explain why we ended up where we did and we have to fix that. ... I guess that’s the part that I just see us needing to take a step forward. And you’re right, ultimately that’s on me and I’ll do everything I can to fix it.”
There was improvement in some areas this season. The Sabres were third in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals scored. Tage Thompson produced 44 goals, while Alex Tuch tied a career high (36), JJ Peterka chipped in 27 goals, Jason Zucker had 21 goals and Ryan McLeod scored 20. Rasmus Dahlin would have received votes for the Norris Trophy if the team made the playoffs. The 25-year-old defenseman had 17 goals with 66 points while, analytically, he rated as one of the best at his position. Jiri Kulich, a 20-year-old rookie, emerged as a reliable center who could handle difficult matchups. The Sabres' recent drafts have looked stronger by the day with potential NHL players found in almost every round.
Buffalo went 23-15-3 at home, scored the most first-period goals in the league following a season in which it was plagued by bad starts and won nine of its last 14 games. Those achievements were overshadowed by regression in other areas, particularly team defense, penalty-killing and, too often, goaltending. The turnover-filled games, lack of experienced leaders, poor defending, marginal progress from high-end young players, blockbuster trade involving a prominent player and nonexistent teamwide toughness raised more questions about Adams' decisions over the past two seasons.
"We have to win," said Adams. "And we know that. I know that. The players know that. That's the only thing that's going to really matter at the end of the day."
Adams didn't do enough before the trade deadline in 2022-23 to help his team make the playoffs. And he acknowledged Saturday that he's failed to put the right veteran defenseman next to Power, who is three years and 242 games into his career.
Zach Benson has only 21 goals with 58 points in 146 games since he was awarded a spot on the NHL roster at 18 years old, only a few months after he was drafted 13th overall. Ruff retained the defense and goaltending coaches from Granato's staff. Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens were thrust into leadership roles too soon. Both have plateaued since signing long-term contract extensions, and the latter was eventually dealt for Josh Norris. The 25-year-old center tore an oblique muscle with Ottawa, returned to the lineup one month later, then reaggravated the injury in his third game with Buffalo before he sat out the rest of the season.
Adams had no experience in a high-ranking hockey operations role when he was promoted from vice president of business operations to general manager in June 2020. He didn't hire any managers with experience until the spring of 2021. That's when he brought in his associate general manager Jason Karmanos, who is based in Pittsburgh and does not make regular trips to Rochester. The Amerks have been a bright spot in Adams' tenure, as they have won while developing prospects into NHLers.
Seth Appert coached the Amerks to three consecutive playoff appearances, including a trip to the Eastern Conference final. After Appert became a Sabres assistant coach, his replacement, Michael Leone, guided Rochester to second place in the North Division this season. Aside from Karmanos and head of analytics Sam Ventura, most of Buffalo's recent hockey operations hires had no experience in their current roles.
There's no way to correct some of the decisions that were made, but some of Adams' actions over the past 12 months reflect a shift in his philosophy. The Sabres eventually pivoted from their initial plan to have talented goalie prospect Devon Levi make the immediate jump to the NHL without games in Rochester. Matt Savoie, a 2022 first-round draft pick, got traded last July for McLeod, who reached career highs in goals, assists, points, average time on ice and faceoff win percentage. Casey Mittelstadt was traded for Bowen Byram, even though Mittelstadt expressed a desire to stay in Buffalo long-term. Cozens was swapped for Norris, and Kulich is joining the Amerks this week to continue his development in the playoffs. Buffalo finally began to acquire impactful NHLers in trades and free agency, specifically McLeod and Zucker.
This is another pivotal summer for the Sabres. Peterka, Byram, Levi and McLeod are restricted free agents. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, their No. 1 goalie, is suddenly on the hot seat, though Adams and Ruff noted the team's turnovers were the primary issue. Buffalo is prioritizing a contract extension for Tuch, who is eligible to sign July 1 with one year remaining on his current deal. Adams expects to spend near the $95.5 million salary-cap ceiling, but the next step of the offseason is a difficult conversation with the man who's tired of waiting for his spending to produce a winner.
"What I can tell you, is I talk to Terry every day," said Adams. "He's as frustrated as I am with the way the season went and where we are. And I'm certainly sure that he'll be asking me a lot of hard questions and why we are where we are and where do we go from here. But that's just kind of the normal process that we go through."
