Adams signs multiyear contract as Sabres GM
Enters third season at position, praised by owner for 'leadership and vision'
By
NHL.com @NHLdotcom
"Certainly an amazing feeling for me and my family," Adams said Thursday. "I'm really thankful and appreciative for the opportunity I have every day. ... I've said this probably a million times, but I feel like it's such an honor to have this job. It's such a responsibility to our players, our coaching staff, our whole organization and our community and Sabres fans to get this right. So for me, it's exciting, but it's focused on how do we get better."
Adams enters his third season as GM. He worked in various roles within the organization for more than a decade, last holding the role of vice president of business administration until replacing Jason Botterill on June 16, 2020.
"Kevyn's leadership and vision over the past two seasons has proven to be invaluable, and I am confident in his ability to continue to move us forward as an organization," Sabres owner Terry Pegula said. "He is respected by players, coaches, staff, and peers around the league alike due to the poise with which he carries himself and the respect he reciprocates to every individual he encounters. He has grown in different roles throughout the organization, providing him unique perspectives that help him perform at the highest level as general manager."
The Sabres were 32-39-11 last season and have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011 but went 16-9-3 in 28 games from March 2 to the end of 2021-22, a .625 points percentage that was tied for 12th in the NHL with the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. They return a core group of young players led by defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 and 2021 NHL Draft, respectively.
"I mean we have a long way to go," Adams said. "We have to earn everything. This time last year, we talked a lot about we have to earn the respect within our locker room of each other. We have to earn the respect through the staff. We have to earn the fans respect. We have to earn the media's respect. And I think our guys took that to heart and took some big steps last year in connecting with what it means to be a Sabre, and really showing that they want to be here for the right reasons.
"But we're nowhere near where we need to be, where we want to be. And we're going push every day to get there. I think in this job, you have to wake up every day figuring out ways to get better, figuring out ways to help your players, help the coaching staff, help the organization be better than you were the day before regardless of what you've done the year before, where you are in the standings. And that's always been my mindset."
Forward Tage Thompson, acquired from the St. Louis Blues for Ryan O'Reilly on July 1, 2018, agreed to a seven-year, $50 million contract (average annual value of $7.14 million) Aug. 30 that starts next season after scoring an NHL career-high 38 goals.
Former captain Jack Eichel was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 4, 2021, for forwards Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch, a conditional first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft (forward Noah Ostlund) and a conditional second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
"So, for me, yeah, I'm excited about the group we have," Adams said. "I'm excited about where we're at. I know we're young. I know we have players that are going to go through ups and downs. It's just the nature of it. But I stood in front of the team yesterday and I looked the guys in the eye and I was excited about this group and what's being built here. But the challenge is to get better every day. The challenge is to make sure we hold each other accountable to be our best, and that's all of us. If we do that then I really believe we're going to take steps."
NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report
