It turns out a GM change wasn’t the only front office move the Sabres are making this week. New GM Jarmo Kekalainen has made his first big change as the team announced that associate GM Jason Karmanos has been relieved of his duties.
The 51-year-old has been involved with an NHL team for the better part of three decades now. Karmanos started his career in Carolina as an assistant GM in 1998 while his father was the principal owner of the team. He remained in that role until 2013.
After a year out of the league, Karmanos resurfaced in Pittsburgh’s front office under GM Jim Rutherford, with whom he worked in Carolina. It wasn’t long before he became an assistant GM there as well, a title he held until being let go in October 2020.
Later that season, now-former Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams brought Karmanos in with a more prominent role as associate GM and GM of AHL Rochester. However, he remained based out of Pittsburgh, often working remotely. At this point, no replacement has been named for either role so in the interim, either Kekalainen or assistants Mark Jakubowski or Jerry Forton will shoulder the extra responsibilities.