Pegula does set parameters for the team in terms of total spending, authorizes the contract extensions and is kept informed by Adams on a daily basis.
He used to be much more involved in decision making, this is how the Sabres ended with Alex Nylander over Charlie McAvoy or Chychurn, McAvoy even told Jerry Forton he thought the Sabres were taking him.
Since Kim Pegula’s Medical Issues, he has taken a step back from the day to day decision making as he has a large amount of trust in Adams.
He does have His Roster favorites as reported by Jeff Marek (Zemgus and Peterka) so there was some misplaced sentimental feelings that went into re-signing both Zemgus and KO without adding any other experienced forwards.
He does let the scouting staff make the final decisions on draft picks though.
From various accounts, Adams does do a good job of insulating the Hockey Ops Department from Him and allows them to do their jobs.