On Tuesday, Jarmo Kekäläinen held his first press conference as general manager of the Buffalo Sabers and revealed his plans.
Jarmo Kekäläinen wants to see a change in the attitude of the players. Timo Hartikainen / AOP
Buffalo was last seen in the NHL playoffs in 2011. Jarmo Kekäläinen the first task as a club boss is to get the team back into the playoffs.
– But we’re not here just to get to the playoffs. We are trying to build a champion team, Kekäläinen said at his first press conference.
Buffalo is currently in last place in the Eastern Conference. There are already six points to the last playoff spot. However, according to Suomalainen, the team’s goal is to get back to the playoffs already this season.
– I believe that we are close. You can’t press the fast forward button even if you want to. I think we have some good pieces here. I think we are very close. I strongly believe we can make the playoffs this year. There are still many games ahead, Kekäläinen reminded.
Buffalo still has 50 regular season games left, so there really is time to turn the tide.
However, Kekäläinen underlined that he is not going to sacrifice his Stanley Cup dream just for the sake of a playoff spot. He’s going to play the long game.
– We have a plan, and the plan is to win the Stanley Cup. I’m not going to take shortcuts just to get to the playoffs so the streak ends. We have some good core pieces here. We are close. We just have to take the next step, Kekäläinen estimates.
“Everyone is being watched”
Often, the new GM wants “his own man” as the head coach, so to speak. It would be a big surprise if Lindy Ruff65, would not change to a new name until next summer at the latest.
However, Kekäläinen assured the press that he was satisfied with the Konkari pilots.
– He works hard every day and looks for ways to improve.
But right after, the Finn admitted that in the future, he will look closely at everything possible, from player scouts to management and coaches.
– Everyone is currently under evaluation, but there are a lot of good people here who are excellent at their jobs.
On the ice, the new puck boss wants to see more attitude and work.
– It is unacceptable that teams with less talent than ours beat us because they work harder. We can’t allow that.
This has been one of Buffalo’s biggest problems under Ruff. Team players don’t always give their all in games and lose to the opponent in terms of workload due to their slack attitude.
Kekäläinen demands more competitive spirit from his players.
– We have to be ruthless about it.
Source: NHL website