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.
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