Sabres aren't going to be pushovers anymore, Kekalainen says

Jarmo Kekalainen does not want the Buffalo Sabres to be a pushover anymore.

The Sabres general manager made that point loud and clear ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.  

“The one thing that I’ve noticed since we’ve had some success is that teams try to test us a little bit,” Kekalainen said. “They’ve been trying to push us around, and I think we added some elements that that’s not going to happen so easily anymore.”

Buffalo (37-19-6) has been arguably the NHL's most surprising story this season.

On Dec. 8, the Sabres were in last place in the Atlantic Division and coming off a 7-4 loss at the Calgary Flames. One week later, Kekalainen was hired as general manager, replacing Kevyn Adams.

Since then, the Sabres have gone an NHL-best 23-5-2 and have catapulted into a tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic. As a result, Buffalo is in a strong position to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010-11, the longest drought in League history.

But when Kekalainen took over, he set the bar higher than just qualifying for the playoffs. He wanted Buffalo to be a Stanley Cup contender.

“Our guys compete, and I think that’s the thing that I give this group and coaching staff a lot of credit for,” Kekalainen said. “I think everybody knows we have a lot of skill, but our guys compete and we’ve shown a lot of character throughout the season, and that’s part of the growth process, too, and I think that’s the greatest part of the success here in the last few months that I’ve seen. We’ve really shown a lot of character.”

Kekalainen decided to reward that growth by being a buyer at the deadline.

The Sabres acquired forward Sam Carrick in a trade with the New York Rangers on Friday for a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn were acquired from the Winnipeg Jets for forward Isak Rosen, defenseman Jacob Bryson, a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft.

Later in the day, the Sabres made another trade with the Jets, sending them a seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft for forward Tanner Pearson.

“We have a lot of faith in this group the way they’ve been playing, the way they’re competing, the way they’re having fun,” Kekalainen said. “So, we wanted to reward the group as well, to show them that we have that faith and we want to help them and bring in some players in different areas that we needed. I think we addressed those needs, and we’re a stronger team because of it.”

Stronger, and bigger, especially on the back end.

Stanley, who stands at 6-foot-7, 231 pounds, had 21 points, including an NHL career-high nine goals, in 59 games for the Jets this season. The 27-year-old is in the final season of a two-year, $2.5 million contract ($1.25 million average annual value) he signed with Winnipeg on July 6, 2024, and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Schenn (6-2, 225) had seven points (one goal, six assists) and led the Jets in hits (139) in 46 games this season. The 36-year-old, who helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, is in the final season of a three-year, $8.25 million contract ($2.75 million AAV) he signed with the Nashville Predators on July 1, 2023, and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

“I’m a big believer that the further you get into the spring (playoffs), you need that size that protects the front of the net,” Kekalainen said. “Luke Schenn has a Stanley Cup, and he knows what it takes to go through the grind the further into the spring and summer you can get.

“Logan Stanley is obviously a huge man at 6-foot-7 and has the length and the size and ability to clear the front of the net. Again, the further you get into the springtime here, and we’re in a battle to make it to the postseason, I think that’s really important. We tightened up the defensive game by being real strong in front of our own net.”

Stanley and Schenn are joining a blue line that is led by captain Rasmus Dahlin, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. But the talent doesn't stop there as the defensive group also features Mattias Samuelsson (the No. 32 pick in the 2018 draft), Bowen Byram (the No. 4 pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft) and Owen Power (the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft).

“We have a lot of skill on our defense, mobility, the ability to join the rush, offensive-minded defensemen,” Kekalainen said. “I think we can use the defensive side of things with the big two trees that we got in these trades.”

In Carrick and Pearson, Buffalo added depth to its forward group. Carrick, 34, had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 60 games for the Rangers, and Pearson, 33, had 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 52 games for the Jets.

Carrick has one season remaining on the three-year contract he signed with New York on July 1, 2024, and Pearson is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

“We added Sam Carrick, who is a very good face-off man,” Kekalainen said. “He’s a right-handed shot and can take D-zone face-offs, crucial face-offs, penalty-killing face-offs.”

More importantly to Kekalainen, though, is his belief that all four players will only serve to enhance, not disrupt, the chemistry the Sabres have developed throughout the season.  

“I think that ties with the faith we have in the group,” he said. “We don’t want to disrupt something that’s going really well, the chemistry. They have fun together. They believe in each other and they trust each other, and you can see that. They’re having the time of their lives.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report.