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Opinion: Sabres GM Kekalainen's Inaction On Hellebuyck Trade Has Proven Costly For Buffalo
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- Opinion: Sabres GM Kekalainen's Inaction On Hellebuyck Trade Has Proven Costly For Buffalo
Jarmo Kekalainen has to be kicking himself these days.
After presiding over what was the best season in nearly two decades for the Buffalo Sabrres , the team's GM followed it up with arguably one of the worst off-seasons in franchise history.
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Where to begin?
The Sabres lost winger Alex Tuch to free agency. They were forced into trading defenseman Bowen Byram, who priced himself out of Buffalo, to the Chicago Blackhawks . And worst of all, they failed to acquire disgruntled goalie Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets .
After taking a step forward, the surprise team of 2025-26 has now taken a step or two backwards. And Kekalainen only has himself to blame.
The Sabres, who finished first in the Atlantic Division last season and then advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007, should have entered this season looking to build upon the momentum from last year.
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Instead, they are tied with the Detroit Red Wings with the fewest number of wins (7) and points (17) in the crowded and competitive Atlantic.
The Sabres, who scored the fifth-most goals last season, are now ranked 23rd overall in goals-for per game.
No question, Buffalo could use the 10 goals that Tuch has scored for the Washington Capitals , particularly on the power play, where the Sabres are tied for the fifth-worst on the man advantage.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Tuch said he "never wanted to move on" from Buffalo. However, Kekalainen recently disputed that Tuch was interested in signing a long-term deal with the Sabres, telling Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News that "(Tuch) decided he didn't want to negotiate with us anymore and he was gone a month before free agency."
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Of course, the bigger blunder was not going all-in and trading for Hellebuyck.
Hellebuyck is 3-0-0 with the New Jersey Devils after sitting out for the first month of the season. It's a limited sample size. But he is bit of the reason why the Devils currently have the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division.
And it's not a stretch to say that he would have made a similar impact in Buffalo, where the Sabres have allowed the 14th most goals this season.
Part of the problem is that Alex Lyon, who went 20-10-4, has been out all season. That has left Buffalo with a goaltending tandem that includes Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (4-3-3 with an .874 save percentage) and Colton Ellis (3-2-0 with a .891 save percentage) that simply has not been good enough.
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Once Lyon returns, maybe the Sabres' defensive issues will go away. But even at his best, he's far from being a Vezina Trophy candidate — or anything close to what Hellebuyck is.
Devils' Connor Hellebuyck Addresses Jets Fans: 'There Were Several Considerations That Went Into My Decision'
Hellebuyck is everything that the Sabres needed to remain as the top team in the Atlantic. He's the best goalie in the world, and he would have been the Buffalo's first true No. 1 goalie since Vezina Trophy-winner Ryan Miller was patrolling the crease.
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Whatever the price was to acquire him, the Sabres should have paid it. Instead, New Jersey won the bidding war and — while they are reaping the rewards — the Sabres are now paying the price for an off-season of inaction.
Buffalo fans deserved more . They patiently waited 14 long years for the team to finally get good. They endured multiple rebuilds. They bid goodbye to superstars like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Ryan O'Reilly and more, wondering when — or if — the next superstar would arrive to save the day.
And when the team finally turned the corner and made the playoffs, they frittered it all away in an off-season where all the teams around them got better.
That included the Devils, who missed the playoffs last season but are now considered a Stanley Cup contender with Hellebuyck in net.
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Give Devils GM Sunny Mehta credit. He did what Kekalainen was unwilling to do. He went all in and sent a package to Winnipeg that included forwards Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, top prospect Alexander Command, and a couple of draft picks.
According to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period , the trade package that Buffalo was prepared to give up at one time included Luukkonen, winger Jack Quinn, another piece that may have been 2025 first-rounder Radim Mrtka, and a swap of the fourth-overall pick obtained in the Byram deal (Daxon Rudolph) for Winnipeg's eighth-overall pick (Viggo Bjorck).
The word is that the Jets wanted to retain the pick to select Bjorck. Another point of contention was that Luukkonen may have been unwilling to waive his no-trade clause.
Fine, let's say both were true. Make another deal. Give up prospect Konsta Helenius and goalie Alex Lyon. Toss in a couple of more picks if you have to.
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Whatever you had to do to get Hellebuyck, Buffalo should have done it.
They needed him. More importantly, they needed to keep this train rolling.
After all, Hellebuyck is not just any goalie. He's the difference between sitting in last place in the division right now or leading the division. And the more games he wins with the Devils, the worse it looks for the Sabres — especially if they end up missing the playoffs this season.
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