ESPN News: Buffalo Sabres’ unwillingness to fire GM Kevyn Adams won’t end the team’s playoff drought…

ESPN News Article
Buffalo Sabres’ Unwillingness to Fire GM Kevyn Adams Won’t End the Team’s Playoff Drought
By ESPN Staff Writer
May 29, 2025

BUFFALO, N.Y. — At some point, the Buffalo Sabres have to decide whether loyalty is more important than results. And if the franchise’s historic playoff drought is any indication, the scales have long since tipped too far in the wrong direction.

As the Sabres miss the postseason for an NHL-record 14th consecutive year, the team’s decision to retain general manager Kevyn Adams has sparked frustration across the fanbase and confusion among league observers. Adams, hired in 2020, has overseen a rebuild that promised growth but has delivered only incremental progress—and not nearly enough wins.

The Sabres finished the 2024–25 season once again on the outside looking in. Despite a promising young core featuring Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Tage Thompson, and Dylan Cozens, the team lacked the consistency, goaltending depth, and veteran balance needed to compete in a cutthroat Eastern Conference. For a franchise steeped in nearly two decades of underachievement, patience is wearing thin.

Accountability Missing at the Top

While head coaches have come and gone—Don Granato was let go in 2024 and replaced by Lindy Ruff in a nostalgia-fueled return—the front office has remained largely untouched. Adams continues to enjoy the support of ownership, particularly from Sabres owner Terry Pegula, who has prioritized internal stability over drastic change. But stability without success isn’t a virtue—it’s inertia.

Under Adams’ tenure, the Sabres have had ample cap space and a treasure trove of draft picks. But question marks still hang over key decisions. The trade returns for veterans like Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart have yet to fully pan out, and while Adams has drafted well on paper, the development pipeline hasn’t translated into postseason hockey.

A Roster with Talent, Not Traction

Buffalo’s young core is enviable on paper. Dahlin and Power represent arguably the best one-two punch on the blue line under age 25. Thompson emerged as a goal-scoring force last year before regressing due to injury and inconsistency. JJ Peterka and Zach Benson flashed brilliance in spurts. But for every glimpse of potential, there’s a stretch of mediocrity—and that has become the hallmark of the Adams era.

The goaltending situation remains murky. Devon Levi showed potential but struggled with the demands of a full NHL season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been serviceable, but not the franchise backstop Adams hoped he’d become. Adams’ decision to avoid signing or trading for a proven veteran netminder last offseason looks increasingly like a critical misstep.

The Pegulas’ Blind Spot

What’s clear is this: the Sabres’ playoff drought won’t end through hope alone. And hope is what Adams continues to sell. The idea that growth is linear, and that eventually, the youth will blossom into winners, is dangerously optimistic in a league where other teams reload every season with aggressive trades and win-now mentality.

It’s not that Adams hasn’t had good ideas—his vision for a young, fast, homegrown team is modern. But the NHL doesn’t reward visions. It rewards results. And the longer Pegula clings to Adams out of personal trust or fear of another regime reset, the longer this franchise will spin its wheels.

Time Is Up

The Sabres aren’t a rebuilding team anymore. They’re a team that should be winning. But until ownership is willing to hold management accountable for on-ice failure, fans will continue to watch April hockey from their couches.

Kevyn Adams may be a well-liked figure in Buffalo. But likability doesn’t win championships. And unless the Sabres make a bold, necessary change at the top, the NHL’s longest playoff drought is likely to continue.