The Buffalo Sabres have begun rebuilding their management staff, officially naming Jason Karmanos as the team’s associate general manager, they announced on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the team’s release, Karmanos will serve as the general manager of the Rochester Americans while overseeing the Sabres’ scouting, player development and analytics departments.
The scouting department currently holds a few directors and seven scouts, while player development includes four men (Matt Ellis and Dan Girardi among them). The Sabres’ analytics department is incredibly slim, consisting only of Jason Nightingale, who serves as director of analytics as well as assistant director of scouting.
Karmanos’ hiring by the Sabres is not at all surprising. He’s been a part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams (Carolina in 2006, Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017) and is very familiar with GM Kevyn Adams.
Karmanos, 46, previously worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014-2020. He served as vice president of hockey operations for three years before working as assistant GM, both under Jim Rutherford. His dismissal from the Penguins organization reportedly came as a surprise.
Prior to his time in Pittsburgh, Karmanos spent the years between 1998 and 2013 with the Carolina Hurricanes, including some time with Rutherford. In Carolina, he served as executive vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager. His father, Peter Karmanos, is a minority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes.
During his player career, Jason spent four years with Harvard University (1992-1996) and played for the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships. He briefly appeared with the ECHL’s Raleigh IceCaps before transitioning to the executive side of the sport a few short years later.