The Columbus Blue Jackets have decided to move on from general manager Jarmo Kekalainen after 11 years and two days on the job. He was hired by John Davidson on Feb 13, 2013 and was fired by Davidson on Feb 15, 2024.
The question on the table today is just how will Kekalainen be remembered in Blue Jackets’ circles? His tenure certainly had its good moments. But it also had some rough patches too especially since the departure of head coach John Tortorella.
There are many ways Kekalainen’s tenure can be looked at. If we’re evaluating just on winning a Stanley Cup, of course he fell woefully short. But if we evaluate him from the point where he became GM until he was released, it’s clear he did leave the Blue Jackets in a better place in 2024 than when he started in 2013. While he made several questionable and bad decisions, he made some great ones too.
As you will see, Kekalainen’s impact will be lasting. But his time as GM had clearly expired.
Kekalainen’s Start
The Blue Jackets moved on from then GM Scott Howson after one of their worst seasons as a franchise. It was clear a new voice was needed. It didn’t take Davidson long to find his man.
Enter Kekalainen. The Blue Jackets hired him as the first European GM in NHL history. With a strong scouting background, it was clear what the Blue Jackets wanted. They wanted someone with an eye for talent who could help them build their team from the draft.
Kekalainen would immediately get his chance to make a major impact on the roster. The 2013 NHL Draft saw the Blue Jackets own three first-round picks. At the time, that was deemed a crucial draft as it would shape how the next several seasons could go.
Who were the three picks? Alexander Wennberg. Kerby Rychel. Marko Dano. Wennberg is still making an impact in the NHL with the Seattle Kraken. But his time with the Blue Jackets ended with a buyout. In fact, he’s still on their books from that buyout. Ouch, not exactly a great start.
While the first round didn’t go well, Kekalainen did draft Oliver Bjorkstrand 89th overall in 2013. Remember that trade? The Penguins acquired the 44th pick while the Blue Jackets acquired picks 50 and 89. That turned into Tristan Jarry for Bjorkstrand and Dillon Heatherington.
Outside of that, the rest of the 2013 draft didn’t land any impact players. Would 2014 start to see a trend in the right direction? With their first-round pick, Kekalainen took the highly-skilled Sonny Milano.
Milano’s overall struggles in Columbus were well documented. He played just 116 NHL games with the Blue Jackets. He’s found himself a home with the Washington Capitals these days.
Later in the 2014 draft, the Blue Jackets held picks 76 and 77. That turned into Elvis Merzlikins and Blake Siebenaler. But what were the two picks after Siebenaler? They were Ilya Sorokin and Brayden Point. Oh man.
Drafting Did Get Better
A low-key storyline from the early-Kekalainen days was not fully utilizing the 2013 and 2014 drafts. Three of the four first rounders didn’t even get to 120 NHL games played with the Blue Jackets. But better days were ahead.
The Blue Jackets drafted Zach Werenski in 2015. Despite trading up to draft Gabriel Carlsson at the end of the first round, they did draft Vladislav Gavrikov and Markus Nutivaara in rounds six and seven.
The Blue Jackets chose Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi in 2016 in a move that was highly criticized early before it was shown that was the correct pick to make. With no first in 2017, the Blue Jackets traded up to get Alex Texier and then also drafted Daniil Tarasov and Emil Bemstrom. In 2018, they drafted Kirill Marchenko and Trey Fix-Wolansky later on. Despite having limited picks and nothing until the fourth round, Kekalainen was able to draft Dmitri Voronkov in 2019.
Then things started to really turn well for Kekalainen and the Blue Jackets beginning in 2020. It’s safe to say the hockey world knows who Yegor Chinakhov is now. The 2021 draft saw them pick Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger and Corson Ceulemans. David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk were drafted in 2022 while Adam Fantilli was drafted in 2023.
Kekalainen isn’t in the chair to see how it will all turn out. There is a good chance that this four-year stretch of high-end drafting will have a lasting impact on the Blue Jackets. His overall draft record isn’t perfect by any stretch. But whoever the team hires to replace him won’t be working from an empty cupboard. This current crop of prospects is the envy of many teams in the NHL.
Other Notable Moves
While we could be here for a long time to go over each and every move, some moves that Kekalainen made stood out for one reason or another. Acquiring Scott Hartnell and Artemi Panarin stand out as two of his better moves.
On the other side, the way the Vegas expansion draft was handled hurt them. There was an agreement for the Golden Knights to not take Josh Anderson. That left William Karlsson exposed. He’s now a Stanley Cup champion. Meanwhile Anderson was eventually traded for Max Domi. Domi never reached his potential and was dealt at the deadline by the Blue Jackets.
Kekalainen was able to sign Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. But that eventually cost the Blue Jackets Oliver Bjorkstrand. Then there was the summer of 2019. Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene all left town. Although they tried to lock down Panarin, it was no go. The decision to go all-in at the 2019 trade deadline did yield NHL history with the Lightning sweep and the team’s first ever trip to the second round of the playoffs. But the run lasted just six games before the Bruins eliminated them.
When all moves were considered, some were good. Others were not. The one thing we can say for certain was that Kekalainen was not afraid of the big move when the opportunity presented itself.
Beginning of the End
The Blue Jackets were able to play in the Toronto bubble. After defeating the hometown Maple Leafs in five games, it was a rematch with the Lightning. Game 1 might still be going on as we speak.
Brayden Point ended the game in the fifth overtime. Although the Blue Jackets took Game 2, they didn’t win another game in the series. They haven’t been back to the playoffs since.
The Dubois saga unfolded which led to a trade bringing Jack Roslovic and Patrik Laine to the Blue Jackets. Tortorella and the team mutually agreed to part ways. In came Brad Larsen and the “Lars Bar.” He lasted just two seasons.
Kekalainen then took a massive swing by attempting to hire Mike Babcock. We all know what happened next. The clock started ticking on his tenure. Only a massive season would save him.
Davidson was away from the team due to health issues including getting back surgery. Once he returned to the rink, evaluations were well underway. He along with Mike Priest and ownership decided now was the time to make their move. The performance of the Blue Jackets was simply not good enough.
A sign-and-trade for Damon Severson and a trade for Ivan Provorov didn’t help the defense. Players were expressing their frustration for different reasons. There was even word the team was interested in acquiring Elias Lindholm before he landed with the Canucks. It pointed to Kekalainen at least being interested in moves to save a lost season. By then it was too little, too late. The damage was already done. A fresh voice and perspective was needed in the eyes of upper management.
Blue Jackets Under Kekalainen
Here are some notable stats from Kekalainen’s tenure with the Blue Jackets.
- The club amassed a 410-362-97 record in 869 games during his tenure, which is the longest in franchise history.
- Columbus qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs five times (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) and posted its four winningest seasons based on points percentage during that span: 2016-17 (50-24-8, 108 pts., .659), 2018-19 (47-31-4, 98 pts., .598), 2017-18 (45-30-7, 97 pts., .591) and 2019-20 (33-22-15, 81 pts., .579).
My Overall Thoughts
So where does this leave Kekalainen’s legacy? It’s a great question that requires consideration of all elements. His draft record was mixed but much better in recent years. His signings and trades were mixed too. He was known as a tough negotiator. But he was as passionate and pro-Columbus and Blue Jackets as anyone. He would defend the team at all points when given the opportunity.
His career-scouting resume is still really good even if 2013 and 2014 didn’t go as well as they’d hope. But there were times where it was fair to wonder what the plan was especially in recent years. Was it a rebuild or was it playoffs? The messaging was mixed which led fans to question if he should continue as general manager.
Kekalainen made a lot of missteps but also deserves to be remembered for being their most successful general manager. He was just their third GM so the bar was low. But taking the Blue Jackets to the playoffs four-consecutive seasons was no small feat given where they had been before.
The word best used to describe Kekalainen to those that knew him best was professional. He handled every situation as professionally as possible. It didn’t always lead to the best end result. But he was consistent in his approach.
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On a personal level covering him since 2014, he was always generous of his time and was courteous. He cared very deeply about the Blue Jackets. It was clear he took things personally such as players not wanting to be in Columbus when that was a big story.
All things considered, his time was up. 11 years is a long time in one position. But with just one playoff series win and one additional postseason win, the results were not there. He signed over $1 billion in contracts over time. Being near the bottom of the standings was simply unacceptable.
But to look at Kekalainen’s tenure as a complete failure is just wrong. There is a foundation he helped build. He helped bring some respect to a team who had virtually none when he first arrived.
Kekalainen will be remembered by most fans as not delivering on his promises. But he did leave the Blue Jackets in a place where the next GM can come in and continue to build on the foundation that was started. Once this groups of prospects pops, he will deserve credit for that.
The Kekalainen era is officially over as GM. His impact on the Blue Jackets will be remembered in history. However, there could have been so much more too. Eventually, some of his decisions caught up to him.
In the end, Kekalainen gave everything he had to Columbus and the Blue Jackets. He gave the team some of its best years. It’s now time to turn the page onto the next chapter, one in which the team hopes it’s onward and upward from here.
