On Monday, the team announced that general manager Kevyn Adams has been relieved of his duties, with the team hiring Jarmo Kekäläinen to replace him. Adams’ reign started in the summer of 2020, lasting parts of six seasons with the teams.

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6:55 PM · Dec 15, 2025

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The former Sabres general manager made a bunch of trades with the team, the biggest of which saw him trade Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers for Devon Levi and a first round pick in 2022. He also sent Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and picks. There were some wins there as well, such as trading Matthew Savoie for Ryan McLeod (more of a win-win), as well as acquiring Bowen Byram for Casey Mittelstadt.

As you likely know, the Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010-11 season, and haven’t won a playoff series since 2006-07. The closest they’ve come was in 2022-23, when they finished with a 42-33-7 record and 91 points, falling just two points shy of earning a wild card spot. With a 14-14-4 record, the Sabres have the fewest points in the Eastern Conference, but are six points back of the final wild card spot.

The team immediately in front of them, the Columbus Blue Jackets, employed Kekäläinen, as the Finn served as their general manager from 2013 until he was fired midway through the 2024 season.

Leon Draisaitl reaches 1,000 points

Midway through the first period of Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl became the 103rd player in NHL history to reach the 1,000 point mark.

Draisaitl is, by far, the best German-born player in National Hockey League history, accumulating 416 goals and 1,003 points in 824 career games, including a four-point night on Tuesday. Since 2018-19, Draisaitl has failed to reach 100 points in a season just once, during the 2020-21 season where the league only had 56 games.

He’s well on his way to reach the 100-point mark again, as he has 17 goals and 47 points through 34 games this season, on pace for 41 goals and 113 points, which would be his second-highest point total of his career.

Also in that game, Sidney Crosby picked up an assist to move just one point behind Mario Lemieux for the all-time record in Penguins history. Crosby now has 644 goals and 1,722 points in 1,384 games, and there’s no signs of him slowing down anytime soon.

Two players claimed on waivers on Tuesday

There were three players placed on waivers on Monday. Two of them, Jonatan Berggren and Vladislav Kolyachonok, were claimed, while former Calgary Flames’ prospect Laurent Brossoit went unclaimed.

Berggren was placed on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings and claimed by the St. Louis Blues, while Kolyachonok was placed on waivers by the Dallas Stars and claimed by the Boston Bruins.

Starting with Berggren, the 25-year-old Swede was drafted 33rd overall by the Wings in the 2018 draft and has played 169 NHL games, scoring 31 goals and 64 points. His best season came in his rookie year back in 2022-23, potting 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games. However, he produced reasonably well in 2024-25, scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 75 games. Through 15 games in 2025-26, Berggren has two goals and six points in 15 games.

Kolyachonok, a Belarussian, was also drafted in the second round, albeit in the 2019 draft by the Florida Panthers. He’s bounced around the league, playing for the Arizona Coyotes, Penguins, and Stars, and has five goals and 17 points in 85 NHL games.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.