Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen says new adds necessary, willing to make more

OTTAWA – For now, the roster will stay intact. Why would new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen mess with it? The Buffalo Sabres carried a six-game win streak into Tuesday’s contest against the Senators.

“There’s no need to disrupt anything right now with the good flow going,” Kekalainen said prior to Tuesday’s game in the Canadian Tire Centre.

Over the final two periods of Sunday’s 3-1 win in New Jersey, the Sabres’ third straight win under Kekalainen, they held the Devils scoreless and to just 15 shots. Kekalainen called those 40 minutes “clinical.”

“It’s amazing what confidence does,” he said. “I always say that if you can bottle that thing and sell it, you’d be a billionaire, because it’s everything.”

In those recent outings – the Sabres had won their first three under Kekalainen entering Tuesday – they showcased a more disciplined and focused style.

“I think we’re playing to win rather than playing to score another goal, and I think that’s important as the team matures and learns to play the right way is to understand that there are certain situations when you’re up 3-1 or 4-2, or whatever, it may be that you don’t have to score another goal,” Kekalainen said. “You just need to play the right way to win.”

While Kekalainen hasn’t made any significant roster moves, he quickly revamped the front office by hiring Marc Bergevin as an associate GM and Josh Flynn as an assistant GM on Sunday, a day after associate GM Jason Karmanos was fired.

Kekalainen inherited two assistant GMs in Jerry Forton and Mark Jakubowski. Both front-office veterans are respected voices who have remained in the organization through multiple regimes. Kekalainen said that Forton and Jakubowski will be staying put.

“We’re all going to work together,” he said.

Kekalainen said he brought in Bergevin and Flynn because the moves “were necessary now.” More additions could be coming.

“We told everybody all along that we’re going to keep evaluating the staff, and our goal is to get better every day as a staff, too,” he said. “And that’s what I expect from everybody: to approach their job with diligence that is going to make us better into the future. … If we need to add some people, we’ll add some people.”

After the Sabres named Kekalainen a senior advisor to Adams in late May, he attended the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in Czechia and saw Forton, who’s in charge of amateur scouting, and the staff up close. He also worked with the staff as they prepared for the NHL Draft.

“I’ve taken a very close look at our amateur scouting process and the staff, and they do a good job, and they’re very diligent about their work,” Kekalainen said. “I’m happy with the way things have gone so far on that side”

Kekalainen said he has “enjoyed my time working with Mark.” Jakubowski works closely with the collective bargaining agreement and salary cap, which Flynn did in his recent job as an assistant GM with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“We’ve already talked amongst the staff that everybody’s going to have a role,” Kekalainen said. “Everybody’s going to have an important role, and the responsibilities are going to be spread. We’re going to be working on this together as a team, just like the guys on the ice.

“Sometimes you’re going to have to grind, sometimes you’re going to be on the power play and sometimes you’re going to be on the penalty kill.”

Bergevin most recently worked as a senior advisor for the Los Angeles Kings. Much of his nine-year tenure as GM of the Montreal Canadiens overlapped with Kekalainen’s run as GM in Columbus.

While they’ve never worked together, Kekalainen knows Bergevin well.

“I think he brings a lot of experience, something that I was looking for,” Kekalainen said. “Somebody that’s been in my seat and knows the ins and outs of it and what you’re dealing with. So I’ve always had a lot of respect for him as a general manager who was at the other end of it when we were talking about things.

“I know he works hard, he’s a good player evaluator. I think his track record in Montreal, as far as the trades go, he’s among the best in the league. So I think it’s a great fit for us.”

Kekalainen said Flynn, an attorney he called “extremely organized,” knows “exactly the way I want things organized.”

“He knows the cap, the CBA in and out,” he said. “He knows the analytics, he’s got scouting experience. He’s from Toronto, so he’s grown up watching hockey, following hockey, loving hockey.”

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Kekalainen said he hopes center Jiri Kulich, who has missed the last 24 games with a blood clot issue, can play again this season.

“We’re just all hoping that it’ll solve itself here soon,” he said. “And his health is the most important thing, obviously, and after he gets healthy, we’ll get the good hockey player back as well.”

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The Sabres made one lineup change among their skaters Tuesday, inserting winger Jordan Greenway, who has been resting as part of a load-management plan, and scratching rookie Isak Rosen.

They also scratched defenseman Jacob Bryson (healthy) and center Tyson Kozak (upper body).