Columbus fires Jarmo Kekalainen

TheFamousFart

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Dec 25, 2020
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He let Bob go, moved Anderson because he didn't want to pay for that contract. Moved RyJo for Jones right before Johansens big deal and then was able to turn what would've been 9M for Jones and a late first into Sillinger, Boqvist, Bean and Jiricek. Boqvist could be a legitimate top 4 dman if he could stay healthy and get some pp time. Bean is likely on his way out but both Sillinger and Jiri should be core pieces moving forward (Sillinger is arguable but Jiri isn't)
Yes, and even if Laine is what he is at the moment, he was a great catch for an arrogant piece of.. PLD in the situation pld had put them in. Its a nut job to do when so many of the stars were looking elsewhere everytime contract came up. The panarin<-> saad deal was epic also.
 
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kyne

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Oct 24, 2007
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Does this mean Columbus wants Josh Anderson back?

Like a lot of other GMs who had mixed results (Benning, Andre Savard, Dorion), you could see he had a great eye for talent but simply couldn't put together a high calibre hockey team. He'd be a great addition to any scouting group though. I'd love to see him with the Habs. He'd fit in well with Lapointe and Bobrov.
 

RandV

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Jul 29, 2003
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I know a lot has happened since then, but I think you might be seeing why many GMs don't go for it like that... If it doesn't work, and in hindsight it almost certainly was not going to, the team could be crippled for future seasons.
Nah this is actually a great example of how fans, HFBoard fans in particular, overrate these things. We're coming up to 5 years of that trade deadline, where Jarmo acquired Duchene, Dzingel, McQuaid for a playoff run. The 'crippling future' of picks & prospects he gave up has ended up being Jonathon Davidsson, Vitaly Abramov, Lassi Thomson, Joel Blomqvist, Josh Doan, Hunter Skinner, and Eric Ciccolini, who have a combined total of 29 games.

Sure they could have given up a Bowen Byram or Tage Thompson in there, but you have to consider the odds of that happen are probably in the same ball park that they could have won the Cup, or the extra push could have convinced Panarin to stay.

Jarmo gets a lot of flack and at the end of the day for a lack of results he's canned, but trade deadline wasn't something he did wrong. It's something a lot of fans think he did wrong that permantly created an impression of him being a bad GM.
 

jcs0218

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Apr 20, 2018
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I remember when Jarmo Kekalainen was first hired as GM of the Blue Jackets.

Everyone on the internet was talking about how "new age" he was and how he was far ahead of the curve compared to other GM's.

I guess he wasn't as good as he was hyped to be.
 
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Bounces R Way

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Nov 18, 2013
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I haven't minded a lot of his moves but yeah, 10 years with one playoff series win just doesn't get the job done. JD doesn't inspire a lot of confidence either but hopefully for them whichever guy comes next can right the ship. Some real decent talent to work with.
 
Dec 15, 2002
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I haven't minded a lot of his moves but yeah, 10 years with one playoff series win just doesn't get the job done.
Ignoring the fact that Columbus won 2 series, the 2nd being in 2020: when people say things like this, it's factual but it's also a lazy comment.

Which of the 5 playoff series that the Blue Jackets lost under Kekalainen should they have won?
* 2014 - 2nd time ever in the playoffs, lost to Pittsburgh who won the Metropolitan with 109 points
* 2017 - lost to Pittsburgh, who went on to win the Cup
* 2018 - lost to Washington, who went on to win the Cup
* 2019 - lost to Boston, who went to Game 7 of the Finals
* 2020 - lost to Tampa Bay, who went on to win the Cup

Or: which of the years that the Blue Jackets didn't make the playoffs should they have (a) made the playoffs, and then (b) won a series once there? They never had (and have never had, in franchise history) a record such that they started a series with home ice advantage, and 3 of the 4 years they lost to the eventual Cup champions. What were the reasonable expectations for their postseason performance given their regular season performances and their initial playoff matchups?

I'm not even asking for moves that Kekalainen should have made to help Columbus win series - because, that's presupposes anyone knows what moves those should have been and they absolutely, without question, resulted in a more favorable outcome. I'm just asking for reasonable answers to why they should have won more series, not even asking how that would change the decision announced this morning.

As many have said in this thread, he should have been fired years ago.
 

Channelcat

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Feb 8, 2013
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I don't think the timing is particularly odd. I'm guessing Jarmo and ownership didn't agree on how to approach the deadline, so they expedited firing Jarmo.
 

SteelCityCannon

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Mar 25, 2017
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Not gonna crap on Jarmo on the way out. I was generally positive on the vast majority of his moves. Didn't work, winning's hard. I do agree it's time to move on.

The one thing I disagree with is people thinking this has something to do with the trade deadline. I don't see us being very active at all honestly. Roslovic will likely go for cheap. Maybe a depth defender. Dont see much movement otherwise.
 

Caps8112

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Aug 12, 2008
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amazed he got 11 years. this isnt like he was a gm of a successful team and riding into the lean years like maybe the caps gm. Whatever small accomplishment he may have achieved, beating the lightning in round 1 is all Columbus has to show for 11 years. He should have been fired a long time ago.
 

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