Confirmed with Link: CBJ Fire Scott Howson, name Jarmo Kekalainen replacement

[Hello Johnny]

At least we dont have the nerdiest looking GM in the league anymore

If only Jarmo had a scar or an eyepatch, then we'd have the most sinister looking GM in the league.

 

[KeithBWhittington]

If only Jarmo had a scar or an eyepatch, then we'd have the most sinister looking GM in the league.

Totally, I think the dude looks like a Bond villian already

 

[bishop12]

I'd be pumped if I were a BJs fan....always like Jarmo.

 

[Samkow]

I can live with arrogance. I just hope it's not stupid arrogance. Hope Kekalainen never says something like "I wouldn't trade my roster for Detroit's roster"

 

[Nanabijou]

I can live with arrogance. I just hope it's not stupid arrogance. Hope Kekalainen never says something like "I wouldn't trade my roster for Detroit's roster"

Hopefully in 5 years, a statement like that won't seem that preposterous.

 

[bishop12]

Have you ever watched Finnish National teams. They are some are some of the hardest checking teams you'll ever see. Kekalainen is far from liking soft players.

No kidding. Finland is a mini canada imo. Tough as nails..they aren't soft.

That 2004 WC team was unreal.

 

[bishop12]

At least we dont have the nerdiest looking GM in the league anymore

Bahaha this was funny

 

[Needles]

Totally, I think the dude looks like a Bond villian already

No, Mr Jones. I expect you to slide!

 

[Miggus]

http://video.blues.nhl.com/videocent...ed-share-video

I figured i'd copy this post for those of you who might like to get a better idea of how GMJK and JD worked together during the 07 draft year (here in cbus). Btw they had 3 first round picks that year.

Very interesting documentary, thanks for sharing! It's good to know that our new brass of Kekäläinen and Davidson have both the knowledge and balls to pull off trades like that one where they traded down from 9 to 13. Though of course in hindsight they would've been better off picking Couture, but the point is that they had their eyes set on Eller and managed to get him and an extra 2nd rounder and a 3rd in 2008 while on it.

 

[bishop12]

Maybe Jarmo can get Schwartz from the Blues. I know he was a big fan of his.

 

[hossua34]

At least we dont have the nerdiest looking GM in the league anymore

No, in fact, one of the most badass looking!

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Blue Jackets will get many more Finnish fans after this,

Sad that Mr. Pirjeta wasn't enough.

(j/k - check screen name)

 

[HoldFast13]

Totally, I think the dude looks like a Bond villian already

That was the first thing out of my mouth when I saw his picture haha

 

[CapnCornelius]

If only Jarmo had a scar or an eyepatch, then we'd have the most sinister looking GM in the league.

I'm sending him a cat to hold on his lap and pet during press conferences.

 

[pete goegan]

expecting all of your posts to now have ascii ☺ so that you can be cool and unique instead of using the standard that everyone else uses.

Thanks for the tips, Skraut, though this old dog requires treats in order to learn new tricks (and I never use emoticons or smilies of any variety - a lazy way to convey underlying meaning!).

 

[Oiled up*]

Wish you guys nothing but the best... Hopefully things can turn around sooner rather than later. I'm genuinely excited to see what they can do with your team as you guys are without a doubt in my mind an under rated fan base who was subject to complete crap since your inauguration.

 

[Kentti]

Trivia: Kekäläinen is a word that derives from the Finnish word "kekäle" which means "cinder" or "firebrand" in English. So his surname could be translated as "Cinderly".

Edit: or "Ember"

 

[cbjfaninmo]

I like this move, but I think I like the swift, decisive manner in which JD operated. He fired Howson and hire JK in 12 hours. He knew exactly what he wanted, he got the guy to match his vision and he made it happen. This should put the fear of God into the players and coaches. The message they should have gotten from JD is "we're going to win here and if you're not on board, I'm not going to **** around with you, I'll find someone else that shares that vision.

I think I said this after the opening home game and listening to JD speak to the crowd, I got chills (only other time was the playoffs) and told my wife that this team will win and probably sooner rather than later. I love the direction JD is taking.

We finally have some front office personnel that is not going to dwell on the past, they have a clear cut plan on how to make this organization a winner and their focus is to execute this plan. We fans are going to be real happy in the future, JD is going to make this a perennial playoff team.

Agree 100%. JD is all about winning but winning with a plan that he sticks to. If someone is not on board they will be gone in short order. Things should be interesting leading up to the trade deadline and at the deadline. I am also really relieved that Jarko will be in charge of the draft. A great day to be a Jackets fan!

 

[JacketsFanWest]

I'm very pleased to see a GM hired that will focus on drafting and player development. I was afraid if Howson was fired, he was going to be replaced with another GM would would keep trying to make a splash with trading picks/prospects and make big free agent signings. That's not a long-term solution for a smaller market team like Columbus and I like JD/Jarmo's concept on continuously building, not "rebuilding".

The Jackets are in a much better place now with the pipeline of prospects. Having a bad season during a good draft year like this is necessary. The Penguins and Blackhawks wouldn't be where they are now if they hadn't essentially tanked and gotten their star players. Since the beginning, the Jackets have been screwed in the draft and over-achieved, never getting the star players they needed. That's going to change.

I have a lot of faith in Jarmo picking the best possible players in this draft and the turnaround being very quick. Howson got a lot of the pieces of the puzzle, and I don't want to see the team gutted. But adding to it sure-fire prospects and making the most of this draft should get the skilled players the Jackets need to move beyond being a constant lottery team.

 

[JacketsFanWest]

Blue Jackets will get many more Finnish fans after this, because this will give them more attention from our national media.

Jokerit fans are crazy (in a good way) too. Over 1,500 traveled to an away game across Finland versus their rival TPS (from Helsinki to Turku/Ã…bo).

Video of the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA_hTGx7D7Q

 

[OldGoaltender]

Said it earlier, I couldn't be happier. For the first time in a long time I feel we are headed in a positive direction.

 

[IHeartZherdev*]

Just checked out the NHL drafts during the "Jarmo era" in St. Louis (2002 - 2010)...not sure why this guy is being treated like some amazing draft guru..his 1st round record is pretty poor outside of Petro.

(pre-howson)
2002: CBJ select Rick Nash, STL no 1st round pick
2003: CBJ select Nik Zherdev , STL select Shawn Belle (but selected David Backes in the 2nd round)
2004: CBJ select Alex Picard, STL select Marek Schawrz
2005: CBJ select Gilbert Brule, STL select TJ Oshie
2006: CBJ Derick Brassard, STL select ERIK JOHNSON 1st OVERALL (Ahead of Toews, Kessel, Staal, Backstrom, Grioux) and Patrik Berglund (25th)

(howson-era)

2007: CBJ select Jakub Voracek, STL select Lars Eller (13th) Ian Cole (18th) and David Perron (26th) (I sure hope Jarmo spends our 3 first rounders in 2013 a lot better)
2008: CBJ select Nikita Filitov, STL select Alex Petrangelo (4th)
2009: CBJ select John Moore, STL select David Rundblad (17th)
2010: CBJ select Ryan Johansen, STL select Vladamir Tarasenko (16th) and Jaden Schwartz (14th)

I'm cool with Howson being given the boot, but going "north" with the guy who took Erik Johnson 1st overall...? Obviously, any draft record is better than the CBJ but pretty sure if the CBJ have any success in the next 2-3 years it will be from "bricks" from the Howson era (Murray, Atkinson, Anisimov, Johansen, etc)

Although if Jarmo can get rid of Tyutin by this year's deadline he has my vote for Exec of the year

 

[SuperGenius]

Just checked out the NHL drafts during the "Jarmo era" in St. Louis (2002 - 2010)...not sure why this guy is being treated like some amazing draft guru..his 1st round record is pretty poor outside of Petro.

(pre-howson)
2002: CBJ select Rick Nash, STL no 1st round pick
2003: CBJ select Nik Zherdev , STL select Shawn Belle (but selected David Backes in the 2nd round)
2004: CBJ select Alex Picard, STL select Marek Schawrz
2005: CBJ select Gilbert Brule, STL select TJ Oshie
2006: CBJ Derick Brassard, STL select ERIK JOHNSON 1st OVERALL (Ahead of Toews, Kessel, Staal, Backstrom, Grioux) and Patrik Berglund (25th)

(howson-era)

2007: CBJ select Jakub Voracek, STL select Lars Eller (13th) Ian Cole (18th) and David Perron (26th) (I sure hope Jarmo spends our 3 first rounders in 2013 a lot better)
2008: CBJ select Nikita Filitov, STL select Alex Petrangelo (4th)
2009: CBJ select John Moore, STL select David Rundblad (17th)
2010: CBJ select Ryan Johansen, STL select Vladamir Tarasenko (16th) and Jaden Schwartz (14th)

I'm cool with Howson being given the boot, but going "north" with the guy who took Erik Johnson 1st overall...?

Feel free to name any executive in the history of the NHL who nailed every single first round pick he made.

 

[1857 Howitzer]

Feel free to name any executive in the history of the NHL who nailed every single first round pick he made.

In his own mind he did.

 

[mikko1995]

Just checked out the NHL drafts during the "Jarmo era" in St. Louis (2002 - 2010)...not sure why this guy is being treated like some amazing draft guru..his 1st round record is pretty poor outside of Petro.

(pre-howson)
2002: CBJ select Rick Nash, STL no 1st round pick
2003: CBJ select Nik Zherdev , STL select Shawn Belle (but selected David Backes in the 2nd round)
2004: CBJ select Alex Picard, STL select Marek Schawrz
2005: CBJ select Gilbert Brule, STL select TJ Oshie
2006: CBJ Derick Brassard, STL select ERIK JOHNSON 1st OVERALL (Ahead of Toews, Kessel, Staal, Backstrom, Grioux) and Patrik Berglund (25th)

(howson-era)

2007: CBJ select Jakub Voracek, STL select Lars Eller (13th) Ian Cole (18th) and David Perron (26th) (I sure hope Jarmo spends our 3 first rounders in 2013 a lot better)
2008: CBJ select Nikita Filitov, STL select Alex Petrangelo (4th)
2009: CBJ select John Moore, STL select David Rundblad (17th)
2010: CBJ select Ryan Johansen, STL select Vladamir Tarasenko (16th) and Jaden Schwartz (14th)

I'm cool with Howson being given the boot, but going "north" with the guy who took Erik Johnson 1st overall...? Obviously, any draft record is better than the CBJ but pretty sure if the CBJ have any success in the next 2-3 years it will be from "bricks" from the Howson era (Murray, Atkinson, Anisimov, Johansen, etc)

Although if Jarmo can get rid of Tyutin by this year's deadline he has my vote for Exec of the year

I'm pretty sure Erik Johnson was considered the consensus first overall pick at the time; in fact both CSS and TSN had Johnson above anyone else. I think the one thing that really hurt Johnson anyway was his golf cart accident that took a year out of his development.