Pegula - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Buffalo Sabres to host 2026 NHL Draft, outdoor game in future

BUFFALO – Since the NHL began moving the NHL Draft from city to city in the mid-1980s, Montreal has hosted the event five times.

Who’s next on the list? Buffalo, which on Monday was awarded 2026 draft that will take place on June 26 and 27.

It will be the fourth time the event has come to Buffalo. The city also hosted it in 1991, 1998 and 2016.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Lindy Ruff sad to see GM Kevyn Adams fired, faces uncertain future

BUFFALO – Coach Lindy Ruff walked into the media room, his whistle still hanging around his neck after running the Sabres’ first practice since general manager Kevyn Adams’ dismissal, and stood at the podium looking somber.

Ruff, 65, and Adams, 51, go way back and enjoyed a close working relationship.

Late in Ruff’s first tenure here, he hired Adams as a skills coach before promoting him to an assistant on his staff. Last year, Adams ... Read the full article

GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s plan for Sabres includes more competitive identity; Lindy Ruff, coaches will be evaluated

BUFFALO – Oh, you bet Jarmo Kekalainen has a plan to improve the Sabres. In his first remarks as general manager, he spoke clearly and firmly about what he values.

Character, the hockey lifer said Tuesday before taking questions, is the biggest part of talent. He wants the Sabres to develop a competitive and relentless identity.

“There’s been games this year where we looked like it was going to be easy, and then we lost ... Read the full article

More change likely coming after Jarmo Kekalainen replaces Kevyn Adams as Sabres GM

What happens next? General manager Kevyn Adams, having been fired on Monday by owner Terry Pegula and replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen, is gone after a five-and-a-half-year run in which he failed to build the Buffalo Sabres into a playoff team.

Adams, a Clarence native Pegula and his wife, Kim, a co-owner, hired as GM despite having never worked in an NHL hockey department, came oh-so-close to delivering that elusive playoff berth in 2022-23, when the ... Read the full article

Sabres fire GM Kevyn Adams, name Jarmo Kekalainen replacement

The Buffalo Sabres this afternoon fired general manager Kevyn Adams, ending a five-and-a-half year tenure in which he failed to build a playoff team. Jarmo Kekalainen, who had been serving as a senior advisor to Adams since late May, was named the new permanent GM.

Kekalainen, 59, spent 11 years as GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets before being let go in 2023-24.

Right now, the Sabres, who an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought, sit in ... Read the full article

Captain Rasmus Dahlin rejoins Sabres after temporary leave of absence

Captain Rasmus Dahlin rejoined the Buffalo Sabres today in Detroit after taking a temporary leave of absence to return to his native Sweden for a personal matter.

Dahlin, who left the Sabres last Friday, skated with his teammates this morning and will play against the Red Wings tonight.

The defenseman missed the first three games of Buffalo’s road trip.... Read the full article

Sabres likely to renew KeyBank Center lease with Erie County; Firm examining arena for possible renovations

BUFFALO – The Sabres will likely allow their KeyBank Center lease agreement with Erie County to automatically be extended for five years on Sept. 30, Pete Guelli, the chief operating officer of the Sabres and Buffalo Bills, said Wednesday.

“We can also opt out, and then there’s another year on the lease after that, but the way conversations are trending, it’s likely just to continue the way it is,” Guelli said after the Sabres and ... Read the full article

Rochester Amerks fight to finish, fall to Laval Rocket in second-round opener

ROCHESTER – The Laval Rocket has won seven of its nine meetings with the Americans this season, including Wednesday’s opener in the AHL North Division final.

The Amerks, of course, have ranked among the AHL’s heavyweights all season, boasting a deep and skilled lineup. However, Laval, having finished first overall, is the class of the AHL, which it proved again in Game 1 of the best-of-five series in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Rocket erased ... Read the full article

Sabres make first move of offseason, hire Eric Staal as special assistant to GM Kevyn Adams

Hiring former NHL center Eric Staal as his special assistant marks the second time Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has turned to his friend and former teammate.

In his first trade as GM in 2020, Adams acquired a graying Staal from the Minnesota Wild. The move, of course, did not work out, and Adams traded the respected veteran months later in the midst of an 18-game winless skid.

Still, perhaps the roughest stretch of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kevyn Adams can’t say if he’ll stay in GM role

BUFFALO – In the coming days, general manager Kevyn Adams will be sitting down with owner Terry Pegula to review the season and offer insight into the Sabres’ sorry seventh-place finish in the Atlantic Division.

Adams, who was hand-picked by Pegula for the job in 2020, talks to his boss every day. Their relationship is closer than perhaps any GM and owner in the NHL.

But their annual end-of-season meeting to discuss the state of ... Read the full article