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Breaking down Kevyn Adams’ fit as Canucks GM: Canucks Conversation
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Photo credit: © Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Clarke Corsan
Apr 22, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 21, 2026, 22:44 EDT
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On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal broke down whether former Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams could be a fit for the Vancouver Canucks, especially in light of how dramatically Buffalo turned things around after his dismissal earlier this season.
Adams was let go on December 15, 2025, with the Sabres sitting at 14-14-4 and tied for last in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo went 36-9-5 the rest of the way, won the Atlantic Division, and opened the playoffs with a Game 1 win over the Boston Bruins – a turnaround that naturally raises questions about his tenure.
Harm pointed out that the Sabres’ post-Adams success doesn’t necessarily mean the roster itself was flawed.
“This is an interesting one where the success the Sabres have had since Adams got fired, it makes us rethink the way he built this roster,” Harm said. “Make no mistake; Jarmo Kekäläinen didn’t come in and make a bunch of moves that fixed this team. He came in as GM, it gave the Sabres a sense of credibility and authority with an experienced leader in charge now, which matters because Adams was originally hired in 2020 with barely any hockey ops experience.”
In Harm’s view, much of Buffalo’s current success can still be traced back to the foundation Adams helped build.
“This is Kevyn Adams’ roster,” Harm said. “When you step back and look at his body of work, he inherited Dahlin, Thompson, and Samuelsson; that’s your top defence pair and number one centre, so it’s important to keep in mind he didn’t draft this entire core.”
Still, there were positives during his tenure, particularly in certain trades and roster decisions.
“He had decent drafting results early on, some of his trades didn’t work out, but selling high on Casey Mittelstadt, bringing in Bowen Byram – who is a flawed player but better than Mittelstadt,” Harm said. “The[JJ] Peterka trade, where everyone thought that was a light return with [Josh] Doan, yet he’s been better than Peterka this year.”
Beyond roster construction, Harm also noted that Adams has experience operating under less-than-ideal ownership conditions, which may or may not be a criterion in Vancouver.
“I don’t mean this to be funny, but he has experience working with constraints, which you’re going to have in Vancouver,” Harm said. “The only owner that was ranked worse than Francesco Aquilini in The Athletic’s owner rankings was the Pegulas. He has experience managing up with an ownership group who doesn’t have the best reputation and players not wanting to go there. A lot of players don’t want to come to Vancouver, especially the top guys. Vancouver is absolutely not a hotbed where top players want to play.”
While that’s partly tied to organizational instability, Harm emphasized that Adams has already navigated similar challenges.
“The point is he has experience building a team knowing you won’t have players chomping at the bit to join your organization,” he said.
Despite those positives, there are still real concerns about whether Adams is the right fit – particularly when it comes to leadership and communication.
“Is he the best candidate overall? I’m not certain,” Harm said. “I remember reading about how happy Rasmus Dahlin was when Adams was let go. He also wasn’t great at dealing with the media and there were a fair amount of controversies that went on,” Harm said. “If you’re going to be in Vancouver, a big Canadian market, are you going to be able to put out those fires? Are you a good messenger? Can you get people to buy in?”
Ultimately, the way Buffalo responded after his departure leaves a lingering doubt.
“The Buffalo Sabres felt like a Mickey Mouse operation when he was there, even though they did a lot of the right building,” Harm said. “When your captain is giddy that you’re out the door and your team does a complete 180 once you’re gone, something doesn’t sit right with me there.”
As the Canucks evaluate potential GM candidates, Adams presents an interesting case. A savvy front office builder with some tangible strengths, but also enough red flags to make the decision far from straightforward.
You can watch the full segment below!
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