The Buffalo Sabres have won six in a row, but they’re not making noise on the ice. Over the weekend, new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen began reshaping the front office.

He relieved Jason Karmanos of his duties as associate general manager. Later that day, it was reported that Marc Bergevin was leaving the Los Angeles Kings organization to take on that vacated role with the Sabres. He wasn’t done there.

Kekalainen reached into the Columbus Blue Jackets organization and brought over Josh Flynn to serve as an assistant general manager. Flynn and Kekalainen worked together for a long time with the Blue Jackets organization.

Marc Bergevin

Bergevin spent the last five years with the Kings as a senior advisor. When Rob Blake didn’t return as general manager, there was some belief that he could be the one who stepped into that spot. The Kings, however, decided to bring in Ken Holland as the new general manager.

That left him in an odd spot with the organization. I was honestly surprised he remained with them after not getting the job. Sabres fans discussed Bergevin as a candidate for the senior advisor role that Kekalainen eventually held.

The 60-year-old was the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens from 2012 to 2021 before joining the Kings organization. The Canadiens appeared in the playoffs six times during his tenure, including a run to the Stanley Cup final during the COVID bubble in 2021.

He made some big moves with the Habs, including trading for Shea Weber during the crazy hour of NHL news in June of 2016.

As in most cases, there was bad that went with the good. You would expect that over a 10-year history of running an NHL franchise. Bergevin is known for his scouting and talent evaluation. The Sabres press release indicated that he would assist in all aspects of the hockey operations department. Still, I wouldn’t be shocked if many job responsibilities are in the scouting arena.

Josh Flynn

Josh Flynn was the addition that I didn’t see coming right away. It’s rare for another NHL team to allow one of their front office executives in a critical role be plucked out in the middle of the season. I assume that Flynn was near the end of his contract with the Blue Jackets. They probably respected his experience with the organization and allowed him to take this opportunity elsewhere.

He was the Director of Hockey Administration in Kekalainen’s front office for many years before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2019. Flynn and now Florida Panthers’ general manager Bill Zito worked closely with Kekalainen as his two key sounding boards for most of his time in Columbus.

This is an interesting hire because he has extensive experience across different areas. Salary cap management and contract negotiation have been his primary focus with the Blue Jackets as of late. He’ll likely pick that up in Buffalo.

The Sabres have a handful of contract decisions for key players coming up, and it makes sense for Kekalainen to hire someone right away whom he can trust to be part of those discussions.

Flynn also has a long history of being at the forefront of analytics in the NHL. He was a key part of an analytics conference taking place in Columbus in 2020. As part of that community, he has some experience with the Sabres’ current VP of Hockey Strategy and Research, Sam Ventura.

That’ll help Flynn get involved with the organization quickly if Ventura remains on Kekalainen’s staff.

Amerks

The only void at this time is the identity of the Rochester Americans’ general manager. Karmanos was responsible for that for the past five years. I would doubt that Bergevin would pick up that responsibility, and it wasn’t something Flynn was a part of with the Blue Jackets.

Logically, it would make sense for Ventura to add that to his job duties at this point. He has the familiarity, as I’ve said a few times, of how involved the analytics department has been in putting that team together. It has been a successful model and, at least in the short term, would be an easy transition.

I would expect the changes in the front office to continue as we work our way through the season and into the offseason. The Sabres currently have an associate general manager and three assistant general managers. Jerry Forton and Mark Jakubowski remain as the holdovers in that capacity from Kevyn Adams’ staff.

Based on his history, Flynn seems like a direct replacement for Jakubowski. It doesn’t have to mean that, but it’s hard to ignore the obvious in that case. Elliotte Friedman mentioned on the 32 Thoughts Podcast today that Kekalainen doesn’t like to leave his staff in limbo. With most of the front office in the final years of their contracts, we’ll likely start to see decisions sooner rather than later.

This past weekend was another step toward the Sabres’ credibility. It’s no longer a front office of limited experience in a particular role. It’s now led at the top by two people with at least a decade of experience as general managers. The speed at which this occurred and the ability to pull from other organizations are other signs that Terry Pegula has indeed handed the keys to Kekalainen to run this hockey department.

That doesn’t guarantee this will work, but it removes a layer of excuse. We’ll see which moves are still to come in the front office and when he begins to make his mark on the team on the ice.

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