An official announcement from the Blue Jackets organization states that General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen has been fired after 11 years of service. The firing comes during a tumultuous season in which the Blue Jackets have had a losing record so far. In recent seasons, the Blue Jackets have also had a hard time getting wins, which may also have been considered in the firing of Kekalainen. Only three other current NHL General Managers have had similar or longer tenures.
A Word From the Blue Jacket’s President
Earlier today, several members of the Blue Jackets organization and team were able to meet with the media to talk about the recent firing. The Blue Jacket’s President of Hockey Operations, John Davidson, started the meeting by giving a statement and answering questions. President and Alternate Governor Mike Priest was also there to answer questions. Davidson opened the meeting with the following quote,
“It’s a very hard day for me as Jarmo Kekalainen is a friend and a very smart and talented manager. Unfortunately, as a team, our results haven’t been good enough.”
Davidson went on to talk about how he feels that he shares responsibility for how the team is doing. He mentioned that the team is improving but that a new voice is needed. There was also discussion on how the decision was made and why it was decided that now is the best time. Davidson stated that “with evaluations, now is the time for change.”
The question of who will be taking over until a new GM is named was also answered. Davidson discussed that he, Mike Priest, and assistant General Managers Josh Flynn and Basil McRae will be taking over the responsibilities of the General Manager position until a new General Manager is found. There is no set timetable to find a new General Manager, and the search for a candidate will start outside of the organization. Davidson said there is no one currently in the Blue Jacket’s organization they are looking at to fill the position.
When asked about why now seemed like the right time, John Davidson stated that the timing is in part due to a recent back surgery he had. The surgery had made it hard for Davidson to be as present and potentially fill in as acting GM. He would also throw in that Kekalainen was always very professional, honest, hard-working, and passionate.
“He’ll always be a Blue Jacket. Him and his family.”
Head Coach Pascal Vincent Answers Questions
Pascal Vincent was asked how he’s able to keep moving forward with how turbulent the season has been and with everything that has happened. He had this to say,
“That’s the profession and the business we chose to be in. It’s unfortunate. It happens, but we chose that business. Our job, just like what we tell the players, is to move forward. Learn, move forward. All I can do today is take care of today with the team, and that’s how we move forward.”
In later questions, Pascal Vincent went on to say, “Jarmo is a good man, he’s done a lot for this team.” Vincent also mentioned that Kekalainen has a really good eye for evaluating players. He also doesn’t seem concerned that his day-to-day coaching operations will drastically change, saying that he’ll be talking to Davidson instead.
Vincent was also asked about how much autonomy he had as a coach under Jarmo Kekalainen and said, “Jarmo was really good with that. That was one of his philosophies that he lets the coaches go.”
Boone Jenner and Assitant Captains Take the Podium
The media also got a chance to interview captain Boone Jenner and assistant captains Zach Werenski, Erik Gudbranson, and Sean Kuraly. Jenner was the first to step up to the microphone to answer the question of how the team took this news.
“Yeah, it’s a tough day, you ask anyone in our room. We found out this morning and had a meeting about it. It’s a tough day obviously. The spot we’re in is not where we want to be. Things like this happen. It’s unfortunate, we all take responsibility. Jarmo drafted, traded, or signed everyone in that room. We’re all in there, we take responsibility for it too and where we are as a team.”
Sean Kuraly was then asked what it would take for a team to continue to grow and get better and not give up after a big mid-season move like this. He had this to say,
“I think you realize that if you’re in this league for a while, there’s really no game to takeoff or period to takeoff. There’s always steps to take to move forward. You’ve got 30 games you can’t take a period for granted in this league. There’s just so many other people chomping at the bit to be where we are. … It’s pretty apparent that in this league there’s so much competition that if you’re not taking steps forward you’re going to be in trouble and as a group we gotta take steps forward.”
Zach Werenski talked about what Kekalainen meant to him, how he played his whole career for him, and also, like Jenner, feels a shared responsibility for the situation.
“He’s meant a whole ton to me, kind of similar to Boone he’s been here the whole time I’ve been here. He’s given me an opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dream of playing in the NHL. [He] signed me to a contract, put trust in me, put trust in all of us.”
When talking of shared responsibility, Werenski says, “If you’re a winning team consistently, if you’re a playoff team consistently, things like this don’t happen.” He ended his statement by saying that Kekalainen means a lot to him and that he would like to thank him for being there from day one.
Erik Gudbranson took the next question and was asked his opinion on how far away from their goals the team is and how the firing of Kekalainen could affect that. He mentioned that he thinks the team is close, but there’s still work to do. Here’s his full quote,
“I think we got pieces here that are very good moving forward. It’s about us getting time and beginning now to execute together and start building. I think there’s starting to be a good enough experience where we need to execute on a night-to-night basis and take it upon ourselves to finish these games off and place ourselves in a better position. I don’t think we’re far off by any stretch of the imagination. it’s up to us in the dressing room to execute that plan. We say continue to build, we need to start building the upper echelon of what we’re expecting.”
The group was then asked about how much input they should have, and how much they want to have with finding a new GM. Boone Jenner stepped up to the mic and said that is a decision for the “front office.” He would go on to say their focus is on other things right now. He stated, “For us, it’s making sure we are where we need to be on the ice, in the locker room, day-to-day practice, and taking care of things in the room.”
Gudbranson answered a related question about what the team expects from the next GM and how important it is that they’re able to maximize the young players’ potential. His answer was similar to Jenner’s. He said, “We gotta come out and just do our jobs, really. And just take it as basic as that. Just take care of what we have in front of us.”
The next question was directed towards Jenner again and it was about the culture of the team and if that needs to change moving forward. Boone went on to say that it’s something they’re working towards as a group and that they’re trying to develop a winning culture. He said, “You’ve seen it this year a few times, the team we want to be. Tough to play against, making this building a hard building to play in.” he then went on to say that they want to set the standard high throughout the entire organization.
Finally, when asked about how the Blue Jackets will go from process to execution, Jenner said, “The toughest part is trying not to get frustrated. That’s not going to help you at the end of the day. Doing things when times are tough.” He went on to talk about how teams with winning cultures have been through tough times and that finding the energy is something they need to do and to not give up and to “stick to it.”
Moving Forward
During Kekalainen’s ten-and-a-half-year tenure, the Blue Jackets were able to get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs five different times. Of those five times, they were able to continue to the second round once. The Jacket’s last playoff appearance was during the 2019-20 season under coach John Tortorella. While the future of who will fill the Blue Jacket’s General Manager position may not be certain, one thing is for sure: the current leadership group is not afraid to make changes if and when they need to. The firing of Jarmo Kekalainen does not come lightly by any means, and this could be a wake-up call for others.
With a first-year coach and a soon-to-be new GM, the Blue Jackets organization seems to be making an effort to make positive changes. The question of what will happen by the NHL trade deadline on March 8th remains. There doesn’t seem to be much certainty surrounding any recent trade rumors. It’s possible that this recent firing may be in part to blame for that, as a leadership group may not have wanted an exiting General Manager to make team-changing decisions. We will get the answer to that soon, as the deadline is only three weeks away.
The Blue Jackets currently have a losing record. Whether this big change could affect them negatively might not be as apparent this year. Hopefully, for the Blue Jackets, this doesn’t affect their young and developing players. Many fans on social media are also hoping that the recent shake-up will help the team move forward in the right direction.
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