Jarmo Kekalainen

The Pascal Vincent Era Begins

There’s no limit to the number of reasons why the Pascal Vincent era should have begun in Columbus much sooner than September 17; however, as we all know, the irresponsible hiring of Mike Babcock by the Blue Jackets front office ultimately delayed the first-time NHL head coach from being named the tenth – if you […]

OPINION: Mike Babcock Gone, Jarmo Kekalainen Must Follow

EDITING NOTE: The Columbus Blue Jackets organization has officially apologized for the handling of the Mike Babcock hiring. General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen has taken responsibility for the situation and apologized to both fans and players. Even when it was rumored that the Columbus Blue Jackets were looking to hire Mike Babcock, it wasn’t well received […]

Mike Babcock Resigns as Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach

Mike Babcock has resigned as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, pending an official announcement from the club. After being hired on July 1st, 2023, by Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, Babcock would last just over two months in his latest NHL stint. Mike Babcock would be put on blast by the Spittin’ […]

The Journey of Pierre Luc Dubois: Years 3-4

The Columbus Blue Jackets lost their leading scorer Artemi Panarin, their Vezina-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and their trade deadline pickup a year prior, Matt Duchene, to free agency. Key figures and massive production were leaving the lineup. Players were starting to leave Columbus; they had just had two seasons of going all in just to […]

The Babcock Era begins in Columbus

The cat is officially out of the bag on the worst-kept secret this offseason in Columbus – Mike Babcock was announced as the ninth head coach in Columbus Blue Jackets history on Saturday, prior to the buzz of NHL Free Agency opening at 12 p.m. EDT. The Blue Jackets faithful have had about a month […]

Is Colby Barlow Hockey’s Next Great Goalscorer?

The hardest thing to do in the beautiful game of hockey is scoring goals. At every level, Owen Sound forward Colby Barlow has done so, growing into a real force offensively in the Ontario Hockey League. This season with the Attack’ Colby is on pace for a fifty-two goal season per EliteProspects.com, making him the […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets will suffer short-term ramifications after trading Vladislav Gavrikov

After admitting the two sides could not agree on terms, Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalalinen made the decision to trade D- Vladislav Gavrikov. While it was absolutely the right decision, the move comes with consequences that will be felt for a short while, while Blue Jackets defensive prospects such as David Jiricek, Stanislav Svozil, […]

Columbus Creates Maximum Flexibility for Offseason Moves

Efficient, not sexy captures the 2023 NHL trade deadline for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Trading D- Vladislav Gavrikov and G- Joonas Korpisalo to the Los Angeles Kings for 2023 first and third round draft picks (if the Kings make the playoffs, otherwise it is two second round draft picks) gave Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen […]

Assessing the Columbus Blue Jackets trade of Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov to the LA Kings

It has been no secret the Columbus Blue Jackets planned to trade D- Vladislav Gavrikov, who had been a healthy scratch for trade purposes since Feb. 14. G- Joonas Korpisalo was a player who was first thought to be a trade candidate. Then with the struggles of Elvis Merzlikins, there was talk the organization would […]

Sifting through the Columbus Blue Jackets trade rumors

It is that time of the season once again. The trade deadline is fast approaching. For teams, it is time to buy in hopes of making the playoffs or hoping to make a splash in the playoffs. For other teams, it is time to sell and prepare for the next season. Rebuilding teams use the […]