Kevyn Adams Speaks

[Cascade Youth]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7295050/2026/05/21/kevyn-adams-exclusive-sabres-vindication/

He sounds chipper as ever, not bitter at all, but slowly and methodically taking credit for the current season's success.  I say that without (much) judgment, just passing along for folks to read and draw their own conclusions.  But he basically says "We're right on schedule."  Regrets the Palm Trees debacle.  Compares himself (subtly) to Jarmo - goes out of his way to point out that Jarmo was unceremoniously fired and learned from it, the implication being that Kevyn is on that same trajectory.

[Taro T]

Thanks for posting that.

Read the article.  Didn't get much out of it.  He's proud of how the team is doing.  He's made mistakes and the only one mentioned is the "palm trees and taxes" press conference.  Is any of that remotely newsworthy?  Not really.

Good on him that he's smart enough to not come across as bitter about being let go.  Expected that, especaially with having 5 months to figure out what he'd say about that.

Still expect him to get offers to be an AGM.  Maybe he'll get another chance to be a GM without taking that lesser role before that but will be a little surprised if he does.

 

[Mango]

Roster moves post Lindy hire vs. pre Lindy hire are different. I don't think Adams moves Savoie or Cozens without Ruff here. Zucker, McLeod (trade), Malenstyn fall into that group as well. 

The new additions to the roster have been overall much different than prior roster moves. 

I think the straw that broke the camels back was Östlund. Lindy was public he didn't like moving him back to Rochester. Adams was gone one week later. 

[Weave]

Damn paywalls.

[PromoTheRobot]

8 minutes ago, Mango said:

I think the straw that broke the camels back was Östlund. Lindy was public he didn't like moving him back to Rochester. Adams was gone one week later. 

I think this is utter nonsense.

[PASabreFan]

3 minutes ago, Weave said:

Damn paywalls.

I sent my DNA sample to Fairburn and am awaiting approval.

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I think this is utter nonsense.

So, what was the reason Adams was relieved of his duties?

[Mango]

2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I think this is utter nonsense.

Why?

Lindy's comments on it were "the only negative was him being sent down" and "he was one of our top players". 

Osltund played the required one game in Rochester and was brought back to Buffalo. 

Adams was fired a day or two later. 

Östlund never went back to Rochester again. 

[PromoTheRobot]

11 minutes ago, Mango said:

Why?

Lindy's comments on it were "the only negative was him being sent down" and "he was one of our top players". 

Osltund played the required one game in Rochester and was brought back to Buffalo. 

Adams was fired a day or two later. 

Östlund never went back to Rochester again. 

Lindy also knew Östlund was the only waiver exempt player that could be sent down. And nothing in that statement or the way it was said indicated that Ruff was upset with the move.

12 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, what was the reason Adams was relieved of his duties?

Probably Pegula hearing chants of "fire Kevyn" and "sell the team." Fans were fed up.

Edited May 21 by PromoTheRobot

[Doohickie]

17 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

26 minutes ago, Mango said:

I think the straw that broke the camels back was Östlund. Lindy was public he didn't like moving him back to Rochester. Adams was gone one week later. 

I think this is utter nonsense.

There are several narratives about what triggered Kevyn's firing.  The one thing in favor of the Östlund move to Rochester is the timing.  I believe it was Kevyn's last roster move and was immediately reversed by Jarmo.

[Mango]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

There are several narratives about what triggered Kevyn's firing.  The one thing in favor of the Östlund move to Rochester is the timing.  I believe it was Kevyn's last roster move and was immediately reversed by Jarmo.

I also don't think it is any one thing either. Hence the "straw that broke the camels back" platitude. 

I think fan sentiment was part of it too. 

Again, the roster moves post Ruff play different than pre-Ruff. I don't think Adams moves on from Savoie/Cozens if he GMKA is the loudest voice in the room. 

[transient]

18 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, what was the reason Adams was relieved of his duties?

Honestly, I think it was a business decision by Terry because Adams's continued presence was slowly destroying the fanbase.

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Lindy also knew Östlund was the only waiver exempt player that could be sent down. And nothing in that statement or the way it was said indicated that Ruff was upset with the move.

Probably Pegula hearing chants of "fire Kevyn" and "sell the team." Fans were fed up.

Thank you for once again entering a discussion openly and honestly.

[PromoTheRobot]

20 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

There are several narratives about what triggered Kevyn's firing.  The one thing in favor of the Östlund move to Rochester is the timing.  I believe it was Kevyn's last roster move and was immediately reversed by Jarmo.

Adams was fired in December 15. Östlund was back with the Sabres on December 11. Östlund would have been back sooner but was required to play one game for the Amerks on the 12th 

Edited May 21 by PromoTheRobot

[#freejame]

39 minutes ago, Weave said:

Damn paywalls.

All athletic articles can be shared for free. Not sure why this one wasn’t, I don’t have to do anything special on my end to make it free. Here it is again. Let me know if there are issues. 
 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7295050/2026/05/21/kevyn-adams-exclusive-sabres-vindication/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.kFA.SF5f.YgoqMruYJaEq

[PromoTheRobot]

Here's a refresher:

The Buffalo Sabres sent Noah Östlund to the AHL's Rochester Americans on December 7, 2025, strictly as a roster numbers move to provide injury insurance on a long road trip.The reassignment was driven by the following factors:

The Road Trip Need: The Sabres wanted an extra, seventh defenseman on their western road trip. They called up Zach Metsa to fill that role.

Waiver Exemption: Because Östlund did not need to clear waivers, he was the most flexible player for the team to send down.

Not Performance-Based: Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed it was a numbers game and praised Östlund's play, noting he was just temporarily assigned to make room on the active roster.Players assigned to the AHL are required to play a game before being recalled. Östlund played one game in Rochester on December 10, tallied three points, and was officially recalled to Buffalo a few days later.

[PromoTheRobot]

16 minutes ago, Mango said:

I also don't think it is any one thing either. Hence the "straw that broke the camels back" platitude. 
 

Adams had a foot and 4 toes out the door by that time. The Östlund move, which was not even a controversy, didn't add to his departure.

[dudacek]

Adams was fired because he failed to make the playoffs 5 years running, was trending toward a 6th, and he had lost the fan base and quite possibly the room.

This ain’t one of the great mysteries of the world people.

And it’s OK to acknowledge that he laid a lot of the groundwork that helped set the team up for the success that he absolutely failed to deliver in the significant time allotted to him.

He’s not a villain or a martyr, just a guy forced to learn on the job after being dropped into a difficult situation that he was unqualified for.

[GoPuckYourself]

1 hour ago, Cascade Youth said:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7295050/2026/05/21/kevyn-adams-exclusive-sabres-vindication/

He sounds chipper as ever, not bitter at all, but slowly and methodically taking credit for the current season's success.  I say that without (much) judgment, just passing along for folks to read and draw their own conclusions.  But he basically says "We're right on schedule."  Regrets the Palm Trees debacle.  Compares himself (subtly) to Jarmo - goes out of his way to point out that Jarmo was unceremoniously fired and learned from it, the implication being that Kevyn is on that same trajectory.

Oh great, it's always fun hearing Kevyn Adams talk....

[PromoTheRobot]

5 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

Oh great, it's always fun hearing Kevyn Adams talk....

[Pimlach]

6 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Adams was fired because he failed to make the playoffs 5 years running, was trending toward a 6th, and he had lost the fan base and quite possibly the room.

This ain’t one of the great mysteries of the world people.

And it’s OK to acknowledge that he laid a lot of the groundwork that helped set the team up for the success that he absolutely failed to deliver in the significant time allotted to him.

He’s not a villain or a martyr, just a guy forced to learn on the job after being dropped into a difficult situation that he was unqualified for.

Thank you.  

I was not for sending a kid to Rochester, or having 3 goalies, it was his performance after 5+ years.  His 6th season was already spiraling away.  Fan were chanting and the league was laughing at Terry.  

 

[Mango]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Thank you.  

I was not for sending a kid to Rochester, or having 3 goalies, it was his performance after 5+ years.  His 6th season was already spiraling away.  Fan were chanting and the league was laughing at Terry.  

 

And part of 5 years of failure is a collection of bad decisions.

Sending Östlund down when the HC wants him up, not adequately addressing the goaltender for most of his tenure, failing to do anything with the savings from the Skinner buy out, are all things that lead to that.

Like all bad employees, there's always one final bad decision that causes your boss to walk you out the door.

[K-9]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Here's a refresher:

The Buffalo Sabres sent Noah Östlund to the AHL's Rochester Americans on December 7, 2025, strictly as a roster numbers move to provide injury insurance on a long road trip.The reassignment was driven by the following factors:

The Road Trip Need: The Sabres wanted an extra, seventh defenseman on their western road trip. They called up Zach Metsa to fill that role.

Waiver Exemption: Because Östlund did not need to clear waivers, he was the most flexible player for the team to send down.

Not Performance-Based: Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed it was a numbers game and praised Östlund's play, noting he was just temporarily assigned to make room on the active roster.Players assigned to the AHL are required to play a game before being recalled. Östlund played one game in Rochester on December 10, tallied three points, and was officially recalled to Buffalo a few days later.

Not sure why this issue is being re-litigated here after this was all made clear in December. And another thing, since when does a HC not have a say in day to day roster management? The Östlund decision simply wasn’t GMKA’s decision alone to make. 

[Mango]

2 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Not sure why this issue is being re-litigated here after this was all made clear in December. And another thing, since when does a HC not have a say in day to day roster management? The Östlund decision simply wasn’t GMKA’s decision alone to make. 

Östlund was never sent back to Rochester again.

[PromoTheRobot]

5 minutes ago, Mango said:

And part of 5 years of failure is a collection of bad decisions.

Sending Östlund down when the HC wants him up, not adequately addressing the goaltender for most of his tenure, failing to do anything with the savings from the Skinner buy out, are all things that lead to that.

Like all bad employees, there's always one final bad decision that causes your boss to walk you out the door.

Adams didn't address the goaltending situation? Does the name Alex Lyon ring a bell? Sabres were 10th in fewest goals allowed. All three goalies were .903, .907 and .910.

And one more time to the Östlund issue. Lindy wanted a 7th Dman for the Western trip. Östlund was the only waiver exempt player on the roster. Why would Lindy have a problem with a move he asked for???