Jarmo Kekäläinen will not continue in Columbus.
Columbus The Blue Jackets have fired their GM Jarmo Kekäläinen57. The club announced the matter on Thursday.
The General Manager's duties are temporarily taken over by the club's head of puck operations John Davidson.
Kekäläinen worked as Columbus' GM for 11 years, starting in the spring and winter of 2013, but his success remained modest. During Kekäläinen's tenure, the Blue Jackets' best achievement was reaching the second round of the playoffs in spring 2019.
Under Kekäläinen, Columbus advanced to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons from 2017 to 2020. The slide started in the 2020–21 season. This spring, Columbus will miss the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.
Before becoming GM of Columbus, Kekäläinen was the sporting director of the Helsinki Jokers. Before that, he worked as an assistant GM for the St. Louis Blues.
At the time of his salary, he was the NHL's first European general manager.
Bridge right now, Columbus is lying as the jumbo of the Eastern Conference. Over the course of the season, an exceptionally large number of grumbling voices about the players' dissatisfaction have been heard from within the club.
Speculations about Kekäläinen's possible firing began in earnest last fall, when Columbus was in the midst of a coaching scandal.
Kekäläinen hired Kohuta as Columbus' head coach in the summer Mike Babcock'sbut in the end he had to resign in a scandal before the first match.
Washed instead of Babcock Pascal Vincent was already Kekäläinen's fourth head coaching hire for Columbus. Before them, Kekäläinen had already managed to hire someone behind the bench by John Tortorella and by Brad Larsen.
Columbus is represented by Finnish players Patrick Laine, who is currently in the NHL's treatment program. Laine is playing in his fourth season in Columbus.
Before until his firing on Thursday, Kekäläinen was the NHL's third-longest GM in his current position. Only St. Louis had operated longer than him Doug Armstrong (2010–) and Winnipeg Kevin Cheveldayoff (2011–).
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