After over a decade in the position, the Columbus Blue Jackets relieved general manager Jarmo Kekalainen of his duties on Thursday, the club announced.
Kekalainen was hired in February of 2013, taking over for Scott Howson and becoming the first European to be named general manager of an NHL franchise.
Prior to his firing, Kekalainen was the third-longest tenured GM in the league, behind just Kevin Cheveldayoff of Winnipeg and Doug Armstrong of St. Louis.
Kekalainen's tenure was full of ups and downs, but the downs were much lower than the highs. The Blue Jackets underwent several different identity changes during this time, but the core philosophy that Kekalainen returned to was the idea of making Columbus a total nuisance to play against.
He really successfully built a team this way twice. In 2019, the Jackets sneaked into the wild card and famously swept the record-setting, top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning out of the playoffs.
In 2014, the Blue Jackets were a hard-working bunch that put a scare into the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, but they lost in six games.
Frustration with Kekalainen boiled over this off-season when he hired Mike Babcock, checkered past and all, to be the team's new head coach. Babcock resigned in disgrace before coaching a single game for the team after another scandal highlighting his inability to understand appropriate ways to build relationships with players, to say the least.
Outside of 2016 and 2019, the Blue Jackets have not been much to write home about. Let's take a look at Kekalainen's best move and one of his biggest missteps, and see where things could go for the Jackets from here.
Jarmo Kekalainen's Trade For Artemi Panarin
The best move Kekalainen made by far still stands as one of the biggest fleecings in a trade in recent history.
In June of 2017, the Jackets acquired star winger Artemi Panarin from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for winger Brandon Saad, goalie Anton Forsberg, and a fifth round pick.
Chicago was desperate to bring back Saad, a fan-favorite two-way winger who had been a part of two Stanley Cup runs before his departure, but Panarin had put up over 70 points in his two seasons in the Windy City.
The trade played out disastrously for Chicago quickly, and the acquisition of Panarin set the stage for Columbus being good enough to knock off the Lightning in 2018-2019.
Columbus got two productive seasons out of the Russian winger before he walked in free agency, joining the New York Rangers.
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The Signing of Johnny Gaudreau
Kekalinen's other big move to acquire a star winger has not played out nearly as well as acquiring Panarin did.
Johnny Gaudreau's desire to leave Calgary in free agency was well-known, but it was long assumed that the South Jersey native would want to play in Philadelphia, New Jersey, or possibly for the New York Islanders to be closer to home.
Gaudreau shocked the hockey world in 2022 when he opted instead to sign with Columbus, becoming the franchise player for a team mired in a rebuild instead of joining those other teams, who were also closer to contention.
Johnny Hockey's tenure in Columbus has not gone well, as the team struggled mightily despite his strong output last season, and his stats have taken a big dip this season as the team continues to fade.
What's Next for the Blue Jackets?
This is going to be an attractive job for general manager candidates. For one, Columbus is a good hockey market with a slightly-dormant fan base that will be ready to explode again for a winner.
When the Jackets have home playoff games, that arena becomes a difficult place to play in a hurry. And for all his shortcomings, there's reason to believe Kekalainen left this roster in a state that could see it return to the postseason soon enough.
A group of young forwards led by Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Yegor Chinakhov, and Cole Sillinger with veterans like Gaudreau and Boone Jenner in place could become a strength quickly.
On defense, Zach Werenski, David Jiricek, and Adam Boqvist make up a similarly enticing core of players 26 and under, and Damon Severson and Andrew Peeke are among the players who look good for a while as support pieces.
If the young players develop, which is a big if given the trouble Columbus has had developing young talent, this core could be one of the better ones in the Eastern Conference over the next couple of years.
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