3 things to know about Senior Advisor Jarmo Kekalainen 

The Buffalo Sabres have added an experienced voice to their front office.

Jarmo Kekalainen has joined the Sabres as senior advisor, the team announced Friday. He will report to General Manager Kevyn Adams.

Kekalainen is the third hire aimed to bolster the organization this offseason, following the additions of triple-gold member Eric Staal as special assistant to the general manager and renowned Team USA strength coach Brian Galivan as director of performance.

Kekalainen previously spent more than a decade as general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, during which he oversaw the most successful period in franchise history. He previously worked for Ottawa (as European scout and director of player personnel) and St. Louis (as director of amateur scouting and assistant general manager).

Here’s what the Sabres’ newest addition will bring to the table.

Worldwide experience

The Tampere, Finland native played 55 NHL games across three seasons – two with Boston, one with Ottawa – from 1989 to 1994. His first post-playing work came as an agent, partnering with Stanley Cup-winning GM Bill Zito (currently with the Florida Panthers) and representing 40 player clients.

Kekalainen boasts plenty of international front office experience, having served as general manager of two Finnish teams – HIFK and Jokerit of Liiga – across seven seasons. He also served as Finland’s assistant general manager for the last three best-on-best tournaments: the 2014 Olympics, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.

With Columbus, he was the first European-born general manager in NHL history.

Playoff pedigree

Kekalainen has a proven track record of building playoff contenders, as the Blue Jackets qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five of his first seven full seasons as general manager. Some highlights from those seasons:

• In 2014, the first two playoff game victories in franchise history (2000-present).
• In 2016-17, a 50-win, 108-point season – both franchise records – and the first of four consecutive playoff appearances.
• In 2019, a four-game, first-round sweep of the 128-point Tampa Bay Lightning – the first playoff series win in Columbus franchise history.
• In the 2020 COVID-19 bubble, a five-game Qualifying Round victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That 2018-19 club got major contributions from Kekalainen’s big-ticket acquisitions, including Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and Seth Jones. Panarin and Bobrovsky were both headed for unrestricted free agency that summer, and both wound up signing elsewhere, but Kekalainen boldly held onto the star players and enjoyed playoff success as a result.

Draft success

In Ottawa, under Kekalainen’s watch, the Senators’ draft picks were highlighted by Jason Spezza, Martin Havlat and Hall of Famer Marian Hossa.

With the Blues, he oversaw seven NHL Drafts that yielded accomplished, longtime NHLers including Alex Pietrangelo, Erik Johnson, David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Lars Eller.

And the Blue Jackets’ 2024-25 club, which nearly achieved an unexpected playoff berth, was led by Kekalainen draft picks like Zach Werenski, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli.