Kekalainen interested in extending both Byram, Tuch

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen had his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday after meeting with all his players, where he covered a broad range of topics over more than 30 minutes at the podium.

Kekalainen liked what he saw from the team from the way they banded together to start playing the game the right way, which vaulted them up the standings and into the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

“I’m just real proud of the whole group and what we went through, and how much we learned," said Kekalainen on Wednesday in Downtown Buffalo. "Obviously we’re not where we want to be right now, and the disappointment will take a little while [to get over], but we did the exit meetings with Lindy [Ruff] together, and I just can’t emphasize enough to them how excited I am about the future of this group and the potential we have.

Kekalainen had a glowing review of his group that he saw on the ice over the course of the season.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of young men that have so many potential center icemen in the group," the Sabres general manager said. "I’ve always believed in building from the back end, and I would put our defensemen against anyone in this league. The goaltending was solid all year, and it’s just the beginning.”

Kekalainen very rarely talks about being excited about something, but he was energized by the fans in Buffalo over the course of this playoff run.

“It was so great to see how this city came together. I get chills even thinking about it," Kekalainen noted. "The atmosphere in the building, the electricity around the whole city.”

There are a couple of big questions surrounding the future of the Sabres that will need some answering this offseason. Perhaps the biggest one facing Kekalainen is whether or not to re-sign winger Alex Tuch. The 30-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent come July 1 for the first time in his NHL career.

It sounds like Kekalainen is being very careful when talking about an extension for Tuch.

“He’s been an important part of our success," Kekalainen acknowledged. "He’s always getting some of the most ice-time of any of the forwards, killing penalties, playing power play, he’s a consistent goal scorer. He’s a valuable part of our team. But just like I’ve told him and I tell everybody in the same situation, we make our decisions based on how can we make our team better. We have to come to an agreement that this is the type of contract where we can still make our team better, and hopefully we can do that.”

As for defenseman Bo Byram, he will have one year left on his contract next year, which makes him eligible for a new extension as of the start of the new league year on July 1. Kekalainen sounded more excited to get him wrapped up on a long-term deal, because he wants to keep that top-four defensive group of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson and Byram intact.

“It’s very important, and I said that to Bo Byram today. I’d like to lock him up for a long time," Kekalainen said. "I think the top-four of our defense is our drive, our engine, and their mobility and ability to move the puck, ability to support offense and also play good defensively; there’s a lot of untapped potential there too. I think Bo’s still a young [defenseman], and he can get better.”

With every team having to have an EBUG goalie at the game as of next season, it seems like teams can solve that by carrying three goalies on the roster. That makes a lot of sense, because the EBUG can’t have any NHL experience.

If Buffalo waives Colten Ellis come next season, the St. Louis Blues would likely claim him back, so it seems like we will see three goalies on the team once again.

Unless there’s a trade, one of them will not be Devon Levi.

“He’s a talented goalie, and he’s played some great hockey at the American League level," Kekalainen said of the 24-year-old netminder. "He’s played some games in the NHL, and I think almost every goalie in the league has gone through the process of when they need to develop and play games, they need to play in the minors. It’s the most demanding position, and you don’t get better by sitting on the bench. So he’s just getting through that process now, and next year he’ll need waivers, and we’ll see how he keeps developing.”

With that, the Sabres' offseason has officially begun. It’s going to be interesting to see how Kekalainen navigates his first offseason as general manager in Buffalo.