Analyzing Kevyn Adams' work in Buffalo as Canucks consider him for GM
Kevyn Adams has been on a roller coaster ride during his time with the Buffalo Sabres. Based on that alone, he might be a perfect fit for the Vancouver Canucks.
Jim Rutherford has been on a roller coaster ride of his own since being hired as Canucks president of hockey operations in 2021. His story in Vancouver is well-documented, from the rise of the 2024 Canucks to their dramatic plummet to the bottom of the NHL standings.
Could these two poster boys for chaos unite in Vancouver?
Adams is one of the names that has been connected to the vacant Canucks GM job this week. The Canucks were reportedly granted permission by the Sabres to interview him.
The court of public opinion on Adams has shifted after the Sabres dramatically ended their playoff drought following his dismissal.
So, does Adams deserve a second chance with the Canucks? Let’s take a look at some of the major moments in his Buffalo tenure.
Tumultuous start in Buffalo
Perhaps the Adams tenure was doomed from the get-go.
The former Stanley Cup champion was hired by the Sabres in June of 2020, replacing Jason Botterill. Buffalo then fired more than 20 members of the organization, including executives and scouts, in what was seen as a cost-cutting measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That decision was controversial because Adams himself didn’t have a lot of management experience before taking over as Sabres GM. All of a sudden, he didn’t have a veteran staff around him as he got acclimated to the role.
Things took a turn for the worse during his first season on the job, as Jack Eichel suffered an injury in March of 2021. That led to the artificial disc-surgery saga, where the Sabres refused to let Eichel get his preferred surgery. He was then stripped of the captaincy by Adams and company before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a first-round pick (Noah Ostlund), and a second-round pick (Anton Wahlberg).
Within his first 14 months on the job, Adams also dealt Brandon Montour and Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers in separate deals, both of which ended up being stains on his reputation.
Other key moves
There isn’t a GM out there who hasn’t made a bad move. However, the totality of Adams’ work in Buffalo is truly a mixed bag. And, that’s excluding the three lost trades for Eichel, Reinhart, and Montour.
Here are some of Adams’ other key trades in Buffalo:
- Traded Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar to Boston Bruins for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick.
- Traded Rasmus Ristolainen to Philadelphia Flyers for first and second round picks along with Robert Hagg
- Acquired Jordan Greenway from Minnesota Wild for second and fifth round picks
- Acquired Bowen Byram from Colorado Avalanche for Casey Mittelstadt
- Traded second-round pick (Cole Hutson) to Washington Capitals for Beck Malenstyn
- Acquired Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio from Edmonton Oilers for Matthew Savoie
- Traded Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a second-round pick to Ottawa Senators for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker
- Traded J.J. Peterka to Utah Mammoth for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan
It’s a list of trades that doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence if Adams were to get the job in Vancouver.
Sure, there were some good moves in there, like acquiring Byram and trading Ristolainen for two decent draft picks.
There were some risky ones too, like dealing former top-10 pick, Matthew Savoie, for someone who was a career third-line centre in McLeod.
Adams also had two much-maligned trades that paid off this season, even though they were viewed as losses for Buffalo at the time.
The Norris for Cozens swap may still work out. Norris has a higher points-per-game average than Cozens, but he’s continued to battle injury issues. The fact that Buffalo had to throw in a second-round pick also isn’t a great look.
Adams also did well to unearth Doan from the Mammoth, as he outproduced Kesselring this season.
Of course, there are the trades of the Jim Benning variety, like trading a second-round pick for career fourth-liner Beck Malenstyn. Buffalo got a little salt in the wound after the Capitals selected talented young blueliner Cole Huston with that pick.
In fairness to Adams, there aren’t as many blemishes on the signings and drafting front. Adams unearthed quality contributors in free agency, like Jason Zucker and goaltender Alex Lyon. He also got Tage Thompson to sign for $7.14 million per season back in 2023, something that has paid dividends for the franchise.
On the draft floor, the Sabres grade under Adams could be classified as a “B.”
Although there is some good, it’s hard to overlook some of Adams misfires, while the rest of his work could be classified as middle-of-the-pack, at best.
Has Adams learned from mistakes?
Without knowing their behind-the-scenes process, it’s hard to gauge whether a GM candidate with previous experience in the role has learned from their mistakes.
It can go both ways. Someone like Kyle Dubas has seemingly made the most of his second chance with the Pittsburgh Penguins, while retreads like Peter Chiarelli went down in Flames.
This excerpt from Sabres reporter Matthew Fairburn from The Athletic might perfectly encapsulate Adams’ tenure in Buffalo.
“Adams hasnāt made enough truly impactful trades to reshape the Sabresā roster over the last few seasons,” Fairburn wrote back in 2025. “Most of what he has done was around the fringes of the roster. Heās gotten decent value in draft pick trades but hasnāt added enough NHL talent to supplement the young core in recent years.”