The NHL season hasn’t resumed, but the Buffalo Sabres are making a change at the top.
The Sabres announced Tuesday that General Manager Jason Botterill is relieved of his duties, and will be replaced by Kevyn Adams, the team’s senior vice president of business administration.
The changes also stretch to the Rochester Americans, as Amerks General Manager Randy Sexton, Head Coach Chris Taylor and Assistant Coaches Gord Dineen and Toby Petersen have all been relieved of their duties.
In a statement, Sabres and Rochester Americans owners Terry and Kim Pegula said, "This morning, we informed Jason Botterill he will no longer be the General Manager of the Sabres. This decision was made after many candid discussions with Jason during a full review of our hockey operation. We recognized we have philosophical differences regarding how best to put ourselves in a position to compete for a Stanley Cup. So, we decided to make this change."
Botterill, a former Sabre and Amerk, was named general manager in 2017. The team failed to reach the playoffs in his three seasons at the helm.
Adams is a western New York native, growing up in Clarence, Erie County, and was an assistant coach with the team from 2011-13 after his playing career ended. Adams came back to the team in 2019 in his current role.
"New General Manager Kevyn Adams and Head Coach Ralph Krueger already have a close working relationship and we are excited to see what they can do together as we reconfigure our hockey operations,” the Pegulas said in a statement. “We have the benefit of this long 2020 pause to take time to reorganize and re-energize our hockey department. We recognize the importance of this offseason with so many player decisions to be made."
When the NHL season resumes, the league will immediately move to a 24-team playoff format, one that the Sabres won’t qualify for. It will be the ninth straight season the Sabres have missed the playoffs, the longest drought currently in the NHL.
"Our fans deserve better, and we are all tasked with the burden to improve and provide them a consistent, contending team for years to come," the Pegulas said.