Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams On Drafting Radim Mrtka, Trading JJ Peterka | 2025 NHL Draft

Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams On Drafting Radim Mrtka, Trading JJ Peterka | 2025 NHL Draft

you know talking about maybe teams that might want to give you a player uh for that pick or not
Yeah I mean a lot of conversations but I mean my intention was to be open if there was a way to help the team now to move in the pick and a lot of conversations but yeah know as you can see like not many first drum picks are traded and that type of deal Um but we worked at it and ultimately didn’t feel like we uh were comfortable with anything that was presented Um and we were excited to make the pick
What excites you about
Well I think you know it’s it’s a package that’s pretty rare 6’6 right shot defenseman that plays good two-way game Um good with the puck good feet mobile um plays hard really really good kid Um you know and just in my experience as general manager over the years it’s uh extremely challenging to get those type of players if you don’t draft them So we just felt when when that uh that guy’s on the board that was the that was the the right pick to make How do you project Rody Murka Is he NHL ready or do you have a development plan for him
Yeah I mean he I think with these young players you know they they they take time you don’t want to rush them but um I just philosophically I I always feel like they’ll tell us when they’re ready and then you make room You know if that means right away it’s great If it means year two years three years you just don’t know But um there’s a there’s a good player there and you know we project him as a top four right shot defenseman whenever that time comes We’ll see But uh excited about him
When you end up getting to that spot I mean Murk is there McQueen is there Was that a a pretty easy pick I know you had a lot of interest in it Back to the combine in both those players Yeah they’re both both extremely talented and um yeah I mean we like the the other guy you mentioned a lot as well but just where we had MK on our list you know was ahead and um like I said it’s just you get to that spot um it’s tough to pass on a guy like that with that package
You talk about the trade situation I’m assuming most of it was you guys inquiring trying to make a move and it’s just you weren’t getting a lot of interest from other teams Is that accurate They weren’t that interested and that willing to do much Yeah I guess that’s a bit best way to say it is it’s it’s um it’s just tough to this time of year with the way it goes to get an impact player off of a team um right now for a draft pick It’s just you know I guess just the easiest way to say it but um we were having conversations right up till you know close to when the pick was made Um but just there weren’t the deals that I felt would have made our team better And that’s that’s what I set out to do If we were going to trade pick nine it was because it was going to help the Buffalo Sabres right now um be a better team and that just didn’t present itself
What else stood out about him I know he went through some qualities but what what was what really like
Well I think his background is in unique and Frank Mucil um in Czech Republic our our scout over there Um you know he grew up relatively close to him and he knew the family background and just his path Um you know not easy to get where he’s gotten and then his even transition from from Europe into North America this year uh the steps he took You know I personally saw him uh at the Helena last year in Edmonton whatever is that August And um you know he caught my attention right away just with the the size and the mobility And then so we were tracking him pretty close but to see going from the Czech league and you know you’re not getting as much ice time as a young guy and all of a sudden playing junior in the West Hawk that’s a big life transition His English is great Um just an impressive kid So there’s more than just a hockey player there It’s a pretty impressive kid just as a as a person as well
Kevin what made the uh deal with Utah the other day for JJ something that you guys ultimately decided to do
Well I think it for me um you know when I talked to you guys the other day about you know you come out of the exit meetings at the at the end of the season then you have your coaches meetings and meetings with Terry and you just really start to put a plan together Okay what what are we focused on How do we make our team better Um and ultimately when we made the decision to make the trade that’s what we felt we were doing We were uh we identified um 6 foot you know five right shot defenseman that we think has big upside still Um competitive plays hard skates well um and really just for me that was a critical piece that we needed to fill we’ve been working on it for a long time and had hadn’t found the right fit Um and he is So that was a big part of it And then for me Don is uh is someone that he’s such a good just competitive honest two-way player at a young age And we we think you know he’s going to step in our lineup and be impactful but we think in time the ceiling is is higher as well He’s going to be able to be an all situation player um big strong physical and elite character and listen both these guys they want to be here This is they’re excited This is they want to be part of the solution and that for me um when they check the boxes that we were looking for and then you add the the character part and I certainly did my homework um you know even talked to Ta Thompson the uh a few hours before the the trade was finalized just to make sure you know he had just spent time with them and knew both of them as well Um you know he was pretty excited when he heard the potential to bring these guys in our locker room
How much talk was there How much talk was there if any about flipping nine and four
Uh you know that there was negotiations going on at different times Um ultimately yeah those are things that we went back and forth discussed but for me um I was focused on Don and Kessle rank That’s the guys I wanted understanding what they bring to your team what you believe they bring to your team
How do you replace the offense that you’re ultimately losing Do you feel like you have that internally Is that something you still need to address And how do you plan to do
Yeah that’s a it’s a great question Madd and it’s something that we internally as a staff have spent a lot of time on you know recently And okay if you take 28 goals out of your lineup um and potentially more because JJ’s still a young player um what do you do How do you replace that What happens And some of it can be the internal the guys like the Jack Quins of the world and Zack Benson’s um just progressing and in their own game But to be honest with you when I really boil it down I think with the with the talent that we have we weren’t as focused or concerned about um scoring goals It’s more can we defend better Can we be a team that is harder to play against uh defensively plays the game uh more responsible I guess would be a better way to say it Um and I think both of these players that’s why we focus so much in them will help in that regard So that’s that’s a big part of it but it’s a good question
On that note when it comes to Bo Byron what’s what’s the status there Are you looking to resign or is that is that something where you’re looking to make a trade Yeah like you know I for me Bo is uh he’s an elite defenseman in the league right now you know and so I am definitely open if it’s kind of like the situation with JJ If it’s if it’s the right trade that we think helps our team um we’re definitely open to that In saying that I love Bo Byum as a player and as a person and I’m be more than more than fine um with him part of our decor right now the way our decor looks on paper with bow in there is is I think very very good So um if it’s the right thing and the right trade comes across we’ll definitely be open to it but not something that I’m um going to force
Did Kesler Ring maybe take another step forward playing Team USA He was in a lot of high pressure situation playing for them Did you see him almost go to another level playing
Yeah I did Paul I think that’s a good a good thing if you notice that you know he did elevate and it felt like in big moments you know wanted to be in those type of moments And the other thing you know in in Utah tracking them pretty close last year um you know there were depending on what their health was in their lineup there were times where he was you know in a bigger role and was thriving in that So we that’s part of the comfort of saying that you know where we see him right now we think he can be you know in in a top four role and he can continue to grow and get better So that was definitely something that we talked about
At what point in the off season would you say you were comfortable or made the decision that you do will train you
Yeah I think um you know our intention after the season and when we sat down was to sign JJ Um we we had those discussions and it became apparent to me and to our group that it wasn’t going to work And for me then it the focus was if this isn’t going to work then how do we how do we make sure we’re we’re helping the Buffalo Sabers improve and and that’s going back to really getting guys like Don and Kessle Ring that that are going to play certain roles the the the identity they have this wanting to be part of the solution that type of of character is important So um that’s why we did it Kevin
you say it wasn’t going to work I mean how disconcerting is it that one of your top players didn’t want to be here again Yeah No it’s it’s not for me It’s it’s Hey you you get you get to the end of the season you take all the information in Um it’s it’s fine It’s uh it’s what’s best for the Buffalo Sabres and the trade was what’s best Was there really realistically any talk about dollars and term with him and his agent or was it just he didn’t want to move on with
Yeah I mean we we like made it clear to them in the early on that okay we’d like to work at this and um let’s figure out a solution and um it became clear to me that that wasn’t going to happen and that’s when we changed the changed our focus you’ve mentioned you know several times in the process that you guys need to find you know a big right shot to obviously castle ring is that what do you still need to address What are the holes you still have on your team
Yeah I I I’d say that um you know when we went into tonight you’re you’re still talking about hey we need to be a better defensive team And if there was and maybe there still is I mean there’s there’s a long off season ahead of us And you know there’s still moves that could potentially be made whether it’s in the next couple days or sometimes after July 1st you know like last year I think we traded for Mloud I don’t know at some point a few days after July 1st because sometimes the dust settles and then teams that maybe we’re in on a player it doesn’t work out you know So um what I would say is we need to be better defensively Um so we would we would look for that type of acquisition if if they’re available um whether that’s free agency trade and I continue to say this but um we have to be harder to play against We have to have guys in our lineup that just raise the compete level And some of that can be you know our own internal growth you know like our own players just just getting harder and stronger and you know even a year older some of that that happens in the maturity So um that’ll be our focus the rest of the way
Signing Jack and just what that speaks to his potential
Yeah you know Jack Quinn for me is um there’s so much upside there and I think coming out of his uh entry level contract if you look at the path since the when we drafted him he’s had some challenges you know just with the health and the adversity and um I think physically he wasn’t where he needed to be last year and some of that was out of unfortunate circumstance But what I do know about Jack Quinn is there is not a player that I’ve been around in my time here that that assesses his own game as honestly as as he does And the the the honest conversations that I had with Jack after the season I know he took a heart and he’s he’s going to come back he’s going to come back better So this is a contract that um puts him in a position to kind of take the next step and we’re super excited about him I think Jack’s got a huge upside in front of him
Did you make an attempt to sign JJ at all like during the season or before the season Like try to engage in that type of
Oh you mean like last year at this time Um no I think the the conversations for me if I go if I go back to whenever he hired his agent Alan Walsh um because he he had originally had a different agent and then um had a new agent That was probably a couple years ago every conversation with Allen from um the moment JJ hired him was hey we really believe in this kid and um think he’s got upside and um whenever there were whether it’s and it’s I don’t want to say it on a negative whenever there were problems or concerns or things were arising or something was going on um Allen would call me we’d have a great conversation I would sit with JJ we’d talk about it um so and did we ever get into contract talks no over the year um but we he he knew that how we felt about him and that you know we were we were excited about the potential in them But you know we we made the trade because we think it was the best thing for the Buffalo Savers and that’s that’s the truth
Thanks guys
Okay

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams spoke with the media after the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. He talked about drafting Radim Mrtka 9th overall, trading JJ Peterka, acquiring Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring, and more.

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