Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - BREAKING: Sabres FIRE GM Kevyn Adams — What Happens Next?? | BB Clips

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Boomer, Rhett and Pinder react to breaking news out of Buffalo as Sabres owner and president Terry Pegula announces the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams and names Jarmo Kekäläinen as the team��s new GM. The guys break down what led to Adams’ dismissal, what this move signals for the Sabres’ direction, and whether Kekäläinen is the right person to finally stabilize the franchise. They also debate the future of head coach Lindy Ruff — is he next on the chopping block, or does this move buy him more time behind the bench?VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/zgVJqPRv5Rw#nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #buffalosabres #buffalo #buffalobills CHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barn burner. We do have breaking news this morning. I'm going to want to hear this. Rhett, just days after you had strong words for the Buffalo Sabres, Kevin Adams has been fired, Yarmokekelein, promoted to general manager. Poor bastard was just out in Seattle. Had to fly all the way home to hear this. He just won that game.

He was just starting to turn things around. And Elliot had said on Friday, they're on the road. We'll see what happens when he gets back. Buffalo. He's probably, thank the good Lord. Yeah. Celebrate Christmas. This is here.

This bullshit. Yeah. I don't know if there was writing on the wall, but it felt like an evidentability. Yeah. An evadability. Specifically in the last week, it really felt like, okay. And I don't know. Feels like it was a week ago.

We were talking about them. They were playing the flames. We had Rob Ray in studio. It's the barn burner bump. I'll send your front page. We start talking about a Quinn Hughes trade. Quinn Hughes gets traded later that day. We start talking about Kevin Adams, Robrey, this, that, boom.

You know what sucks for you guys? What's up? You know what else we were talking about? Rob Bray for president. And if Rob Ray's president, I'm selling popcorn. You're all out of here. Yeah, yeah. That's okay.

We talked about it. Like the amount of time that Adams had been. hands on wheel, you can't really say it's not his team. Oh, he's been there plenty of time. It was time. And the first thing I think about isn't Yarmow is GM and it isn't, you know, Ray is president. It isn't the owner.

Like, where's Lundy Roth at? That was clearly, um, he'll be done at the end of the year. They'll bring in a whole new. Yeah. And I'm like, they're not that far out of this. And he didn't bring in any coaches.

That's another, like, I don't know what. It wasn't his staff. You're right. Yeah. They kept a staff that had not had success. And I'm sure there's people that work hard and all that. There are a few Kevin Adams buddies will puckered up right now. I would think so.

The sabers are six out of a wild card. Six out at 500. 500. And have no identity. They've won three in a row. In that respect, it's a good time to make a change. I know it's, oh, but they've been went. No, no, no.

Finish a road trip. You come home. You had to, for anybody, it's successful 500 road trip. Okay. And you got a Christmas break. You can wrap your head around some stuff. Now, I don't know how I've been great for he's coming up. Do you have a vibe on Yarmelkeleinen?

He's been doing hockey. I don't have a vibe. He's very, he is highly respected. He's an excellent draft and developed guy. And he got a little too horny. Do you remember the year in Columbus where they had Panarin expiring and Bobrovsky expiring and Gustav Nyquist expiring? And we're not going to trade him.

going to keep them, we're going to add assets, we're going to make a run, and then they all left. And they had, uh, torts. Oh, shit. The player, uh, Davidson. No. Give us a clue. Rick Nash. He's in Dallas right now, played in Nashville, loves country music, was a Colorado

Abilash, Matt Duchyne. Yeah. Could have traded Duchyne. Traded. Could have traded Dushane. Yeah. And it didn't. Was that the year they swept Tampa?

I don't think so. Wow. The year after. It was the bubble playoffs. were weird because they beat Toronto in a goalie fest. It was like Merz Likins and Corp. It's tough when that happens. The Tampa thing was, sorry, when Torts first got there because that was

Torricks going back to Tampa. And that was a, they crushed them too. It's tough when you hang your, your nuts out there and do something like that. Because the hockey world at the time was like, you know what, good for them. Yep. You've spent a lot of time being out of the playoffs. Good. Keep your good.

And then when it doesn't work out, I really could have done the team a lot of good if they had moved some of those players. And they're both right. Like you do at times have to say, I'm putting the brassy ones on the table. Like, you know, first round isn't good enough or bubble isn't good enough. And then you're also right. It's like, yeah, if you did trade those players,

the team would be better now. Like if you took Panarin to market, if you took Bobrovsky to market, if you took, you'd get lots of assets. I like his draft track record. It's not perfect, but I don't think he's a red siren on your phone when he calls bad GM. Like there's only a few left in the league. Kobe surrounds himself with good people.

Good people. Like Lou. Bluebo. Like that's the thing. I don't, you know, he went off the board a little bit with Chinikov. No one knew who the hell he was. It's a player though. Well, he's playing.

Yeah. It's just the fact that 30 other organizations or maybe 29 that year or whatever it was, or like, who is he? He's an NHTSO player. Like, that's a feather in the cap of Yarmou Kekalim. Now, did he have to go to get him in the first? That's the real question we don't know the answer to. Because there's some good players that went around there.

That are probably better than Chinikoff. Mr. Bagula. But Narchenko, Varanco. You know your list and Mr. Baguilla. You got your European side of things there. You got your draft and development side of things all in place. Now you need a Buffalo, Perhardt and solar that understands the North American sign and has a little bit of an identity.

Go do the right thing. And honestly, if you're in the spirit of change, there's better coaches for young teams. Not trying to run Lundy. It's just not a fit with this group, man. The moment they hired it, we were all like, that's a head scratcher. Is this a friend's deal or is this the best available coach

for a young team that's lacking structure? Well, there's a guy. I'm going to just going to shut up. Jay McKee call. I'll do it for you. I do like it. We don't need to. We can go on late.

Do you do, if you feel like, And look, Lenny Ruff from doing this forever. He's not going to be the coach of this team in three years. No. Do you do it now? I will. I can,

but Lendie Ruff, no. Like, I don't, because I'm, again, right, I hear you,

like, I totally agree with you, but do we need to make this change now? Or can you, or do you move forward, knowing that in the off season, we're making a change. We don't need to let's fire Lindy Ruff today.

But just pause for one second, because I don't think we're considering the whole picture. You're right in a normal sense of what you're discussing. 14 years. There's nothing normal about the the Buffalo stage. There's an absolute

desperation out of just pure pride and fan apathy. Yeah. You can't go 15 years. And if you don't think he can get you there, how far out are they? Six points. You got 50 games to

make up six points. But are you have to show that town that you're trying to and I don't know if Lundy's a guy or making a trade Who else are you getting is the bigger question Would he go there? I don't know if you offer Pete DeBoar five times five

Then he's coming like it's just one of those things You can overpay to get a better coach back into Now there was I think it was Jeff Merrick on the weekend Who said if you install a new GM Do you make a coaching change And if you do do you call John Tortorella No Good. That's the identity that would fit.

I don't even mean this ignorantly, but I think at some point long and the tooth becomes just effing old. And so is torts there. Torch is on the cusp. Like you saw torts packing it in, not packing it. He doesn't pack it. He's changed. Even Sirch said it on the show. We all do.

And he has for sure. But when you think of torts as a. coach. What do you think of? Structure, work ethic accountability? Yeah, but why do we have to? We don't have to. We don't have to. I'm not lobbying for Torsi and hired here. I'm not. That's not my first pick. But what I am lobbying for is a coach that gives this club what they're missing. They're not short on talent. Like you've got Rasmus Dahlene. You've got Tage Thompson. You've got some really nice pieces to build around the goaltending, you know, when it's there, it's not a problem. But like,

I look at, if you think there's a way to make the playoffs, you make that change now because you've got an Olympic break and you've got a Christmas break. If you're going to install someone, you have to do it before these big windows where you can put a plan in place if you're a new coach. That new GM had better have a bunch of conversations with the players to understand what they think of. Let me rough and it should be based on that. And Yarmel's not tied to him. That is not a Yarmel hire.

I'm with you. If he gets the vibe that no, no, this is, we need to make a turn. The problem I have, and it's the damned if you do, damned if you don't with coaches. Like if Colorado doesn't hire better. Ednar. Who do they hire? And they got in, they were hot on them for a while. Like, how do you bring in some nobody? And now he's probably regarded as really good coach.

Is he a really good coach? I don't know. Was Mike Sullivan a really good coach? Because Dan Bilesba was a really good coach till he wasn't, like, do you go to Pete DeBour again or a torturella and rehash it? I don't even care about the, I've been a coach that's one X, Y, or Z. that team needs a structure and an identity. Lindy's not giving him it.

Okay, great. So I don't know who that guy is necessarily, but if you're already thinking about changes and you don't believe the season's lost, it's happening. If you think the season's lost, absolutely let him run out until the summer. And see, it's a very simplistic way.

I don't think the sabers are where they're at because of coaching. I do a bit. I think they could, could they, every team could probably use better coaching. But I don't look at that team and think they're, because I don't think they're Supreme Least. They have some,

they have some okay players like Tage Thompson is a goal score, but their goaltending is not great. Dahlene is a good, is a very good player. Dahlane is really good. He's better than we think. But their goaltending is subpar. And so it all depends on that internal auto. If they think this roster is under delivering or not.

All I'm saying is that if you bring in a new young head coach who's chopping at the bit, It's like we're, you know what, we're going to be hard to be hard. I don't think it's that easy. But the point I made earlier is probably important as well, where Lindy didn't change out anyone. Do you give him the chance to bring in his own? Now, that's hard to do to go get assistant coaches mid-season. But could you, I could see this.

Now I'm playing the, not conspiracy, but geez, I said from the start that Lindy Rupp will move upstairs. Lindy Ruff will move upstairs after he's done coaching this team. I thought it was a two-year window where he was going to come in and actually crack the whip and he hasn't been able to do that. I would have expected he would have brought in a bunch of guys under him as opposed

to keeping the guys that he inherited. Staff, you're talking about it. Staff, yeah, assistance. I still see that as a possible scenario where he becomes the president. He brings in some guys under him this year. A guy like Michael Pecker, Jay McKee, ex-sabbers guys.

Now, is that important? Maybe not, but there might be more than one car. You know what I mean? There could be some layers to this that play out. That's the thing. It doesn't feel like Lindy Ruff is fired and leaves the team to me. Because what were the circumstances upon him coming in? I don't think it was come in and let's make the playoffs.

And if not, then you're out of a job. It's just he's got ties to that team. It does feel like it was the wrong hire. It was a friend hire. And I don't, but all I'm saying is I don't think that he's just shown the door. If there's a coaching change, it's, he's going upstairs and there's a change of some sort. How much autonomy does kick a line in half here? That's really.

I think he's got a ton of autonomy. And so if he believes rough's the guy, then he's still there. Like, I don't know what you've accomplished if you know that Lindy's not the guy to get him over the hump and you just leave him for the years. Like, well, we didn't want him doing me. See, that's the thing that you. Fresh break. That's hard to know. why doesn't Lindy have his own staff?

Was he told he couldn't bring them in? He chose not to. Is it Kevin Adams' guys? Does he like the guys that he has? I don't, I'm a million miles away from it. But it's hard to think that. Those guys have been there longer as long as Kevin Adams. Those guys were with Don Granato.

Yeah. Probably Ralph Kruger or some of them. Russ. Like, there's going to be some sweaty seats. Yeah. Well, Kevin Adams can rest assured knowing he was given a lot of rope. He was, or at least he was there a long time. This is not a hasty firing.

The hockey world has watched that team for a long time and wondered, okay, don't know how you got the job, but be that as it may. The job you've done, it seems not a lot better other than just young drafted players coming in. Who's in Chicago? A couple of years ago that got a run. Former player. Luke Richardson. Yeah.

Like someone like that second lap, he's seen the young rosters. Again, they might keep Lindy and I'm not telling you I'm an exes and those guy. I just look at a young team with talent playing without structure and work ethic. And I'm like coaching is a big part of those two things. It's not like they are all uncoachable and they all can't work hard. You just need to push the buttons and give them that structure. And he's never been the, oh, we're playing Lundy Rough tonight. Get ready for this structure first.

one guy's opinion that you've heard. And you telling me that it was a friend higher to begin with. Those two things together don't add up to me. And still has a record of success. I mean, it could be more than one thing. It's absolutely more than one thing. It's not like this is a cup winner that's been furthered away. But you just, you keep telling me, you watch them in the D zone.

I'm like, that's coaching. That maybe it's the D. The same D zone as it was four years ago. So how much is on Lindy, how much is on the assistant? Either way it is for improvement on the coaching in my. like they need a huska type guy if they want to get that young roster to like hard work and structure

don't really question it from the flames much in the last two and a half years. Cheese. Pecca, there's some, and again, I'm always saying savers names that I know. But if I was the owner and I I would. I would hire

Rob Ray as the president and I would get those two guys. You could come work under Lindy and Lindy when this season's over you could come upstairs and be in a assistant GM with me and help me out because you do know the game. You've been around the game. You're,

you've great, great knowledge. You're one of the winningest coaches of all time. This is not, you don't have to toss him out with the trash. Yeah. And the one thing you don't have to do with Michael Peck and Jay McKee is try to sell them on moving to Buffalo.

Yeah. And that's going to be a thing. If you're talking to torts, you're talking to DeBore or this, here's the sexy candidate that, oh, who is you going to go to next? because we always hear about those young guys coming.

Travis Green was one at one point. There's numerous other guys we've mentioned along the way. But you don't need to tell Michael Pecka and Jay McKee what the Sabres mean to Buffalo or convince them that it's a place they could live. They know the answer already and they're probably yes as if Brett's mentioned. What area of the city should I look at houses in? Where should we, my wife, we're going to come. So what's it like there?

Do they like the Sabers there? No, they know all these things. well there you go big news monday news yeah man the nchus has been giving us lots this last week you're welcome sabers you're welcome i had to go on the freaking

yeah tv to get the point across thank you Rhett for your work you pleaded with the fans he said hang in there it's coming and look at that sorry to Kevin Adams I guess feels like I feel like Kevin's probably this is the thing it's like I I don't know if I feel bad for Kevin.

I think Kevin had a nice, long opportunity that kind of came from out of nowhere and probably got paid quite handsomely and has lived a dream. This wasn't Jeff Gorton with six months at Bruinshelm. This was a long run. And kind of left field, how you got the job anyway? We were on the business side before. You'd never been a GM or an AGM before. It was not running any business side.

Well, I just mean like his work was not on the hockey off side. He was. And they said, you're going to be our GM. And to surprise of no one outside of Buffalo, that didn't work. What if it did, though? He wouldn't be fired today. That's the thing. You can't feel bad here.

If it worked, he's got the job. But he did. Go ahead. Playing the NHL. Good for him. Was a Sabre. Has it been a coach in the NHL. Here's your opportunity.

Show the world. Had plenty of time. Didn't work out. Adios.