Blue Jackets Make Major Change With Front Office

The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a major move, as they have fired Jarmo Kekalainen from his duties as the team's general manager. They also announced that President of Hockey Operations John Davidson will serve as the club's interim general manager while they look for a replacement.

Davidson had this to say in response to letting Kekalainen go: "This is one of the hardest days I have had in my career as Jarmo is a friend, someone I have a great deal of respect for, and someone who has done a lot of good things during his time here. While the future of our club is bright, our performance has not been good enough, and it is time for a fresh perspective as we move forward."

Kekalainen has been on the hot seat for quite some time, and the team's atrocious play this season only added to it. The hope was that the Blue Jackets would improve this season, as they added Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov to their group over the summer. Instead, they are once again at the bottom of the NHL standings, and this is likely a big reason why the Blue Jackets are making this change.

Kekalainen was the club's general manager for 11 years, as he took over the role on Feb. 13, 2023. Over his tenure with the team, the Blue Jackets put together a 374-327-82 record and led the club to five playoff appearances. Overall, he certainly had some strong moments as the club's general manager, but there struggles over the last handful of seasons is the primary reason for this change.

This firing comes at a very interesting time, as the Blue Jackets are gearing up to be sellers at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Several of their players have been brought up in the rumor mill, and it will be interesting to see what kind of moves now occur with Davidson running the show as the club's GM.