Kekalainen 'good starting point' for Sabres, Hradek says

Jarmo Kekalainen's message to and about the Buffalo Sabres on his first full day as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres was on point, NHL Network analyst E.J. Hradek said on this week's episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast.

"Isn't that the statement everybody should make when they take over a professional sports team; like we're not here just to be good, to be OK, we're here to get to the ultimate place and to win the Stanley Cup -- that should be the mission statement for every professional sprots team, to win the championship,” Hradek said on Wednesday.

Kekalainen was named Sabres GM on Monday, replacing Kevyn Adams. Buffalo has not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, the longest postseason drought in League history.

"It's great to make the playoffs, but we're not just here to make the playoffs, we're here to try to build a championship team,” Kekalainen said on Tuesday. “Winning the Cup is the goal."

Hradek thinks the Sabres have the bones to be a contender, or at the very least better than they have been.

"I am a big fan of their roster," he said. "I think they should be better than they perform."

He said he likes Buffalo's defense group, led by Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson.

"I think they've got a top four group of defensemen that are as good as any in the League when you think of Dahlin and Power and Byram and Samuelsson,” Hradek said. “That's a good group of players."

The Sabres have had a rotating carousel of goalies with Alex Lyon, Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but Hradek doesn't think goaltending is an issue. He also said the forward group, led by Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, should give Buffalo a chance to improve.

The Sabres (14-14-4) are last in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"I just think it's been a culture thing there for a long time and maybe Jarmo can help clean that out and clean it up," Hradek said. "It's just frustrating to watch that team, and watch players come and go and the team struggle. So, we'll see what Jarmo can do in Buffalo. He's a worker."

Hradek believes Kekalainen's experience as a GM will be a welcome change. Kekalainen held the same role with the Blue Jackets from 2013-24.

"Under Terry Pegula's ownership, Jarmo is the most experienced guy by far of any of the managers he's hired," Hradek said. "Remember, he started with Darcy Regier, who was an experienced guy, very experienced, but he moved on from Darcy. He brought in Tim Murray, who had no experience as a manager, who had been a good scout but really wasn't suited, I don't think, to be a manager as it turned out. He brought in Jason Botterill, who had been an assistant GM prior to taking that job -- no experience as the manager when he got that job. Kevyn Adams, same thing.

“So now he has Jarmo Kekalainen, who was the general manager in Columbus for many, many years and saw a lot of different situations play out with players coming, players leaving, team being good, team not being so good, moving players out. So, he's got a lot of experience. … That's a good starting point for what's been going on in Buffalo."

The conversation with Hradek also touched on Quinn Hughes' impact on the Minnesota Wild and if it changes the balance of power in the Central Division, which is currently led by the Colorado Avalanche (24-2-7), followed by the Dallas Stars (22-7-5) and then the Wild (20-9-5).

"Certainly, Minnesota is closer to that group than they were," Hradek said.

Hradek also discussed the goalie swap of Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner between the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins and which team might make out better, some of the Anaheim Ducks’ young and impactful players, and what's going on with the struggling New Jersey Devils.

In addition, there was an Olympic roster conversation between co-hosts following the interview with Hradek. Players mentioned include Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie, Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson, Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier, Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson, and goalies Jacob Markstrom (Devils) and Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators).

The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.