Sabres fire associate GM Jason Karmanos in first front-office move by Jarmo Kekäläinen
Moving on from Jason Karmanos is the first move Jarmo Kekäläinen made in Buffalo’s front office. Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Sabres have fired associate general manager Jason Karmanos, the team announced on Saturday.
This move comes five days after Jarmo Kekäläinen replaced Kevyn Adams as the team’s general manager. When Kekäläinen was introduced as the team’s general manager on Tuesday, he noted that he already had changes in mind, some that would be in the short term and others that would be longer-term in nature. Moving on from Karmanos is the first move he’s made in Buffalo’s front office.
Adams hired Karmanos as an associate general manager in April of 2021. In that role, Karmanos served as the general manager of the Rochester Americans, the Sabres’ AHL affiliate. The Amerks made the playoffs in each of the four seasons Karmanos served in that role, and he also helped hire the current Amerks coach, Michael Leone. Karmanos was based in Pittsburgh during the entirety of his time with the Sabres.
This is further evidence that Sabres owner Terry Pegula will give Kekäläinen the necessary autonomy and resources to build the Sabres’ front office in his image. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported this week that, “I’ve heard for years one of the biggest impediments in Buffalo is that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.”
In an interview with The Athletic this week, Sabres COO Pete Guelli said that will not be the case under Kekalainen.
“Jarmo’s the only cook, and actually, he’s more like a chef and it’s his kitchen,” Guelli said. “He’s making all of the decisions relative to hockey and we’re excited to get behind him and give him the resources to make this organization successful.”
The Sabres still have two assistant general managers, Mark Jakubowski and Jerry Forton. Kekäläinen, who spent more than a decade as the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, worked closely with several high-ranking front-office members still employed by that organization and may seek to surround himself with trusted assistants to begin changing the culture in Buffalo.
