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Jarmo Kekäläinen

Sabres Hire Jarmo Kekäläinen As Senior Advisor

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The Sabres have named former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior advisor to GM Kevyn Adams, per a team release.

Kekäläinen “will be involved in all areas of the hockey department,” the club said. This is Kekäläinen’s first NHL job since Columbus relieved him of his duties as GM in February 2024. He’s been working in his native Finland since then as a senior advisor to Helsinki’s HIFK. Still, he’s interviewed for multiple NHL GM vacancies in the meantime, including the Hurricanes’ last year and the Islanders’ earlier this month.

It’s no secret the Sabres were looking to hire a more established NHL executive to work with the much younger Adams this summer as the franchise navigates a turning point amid their league-record 14-year playoff drought. They’ve been linked to recently-fired Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello and Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan at points over the last few weeks, but opted for Kekäläinen instead.

“As we navigated the process of hiring for this role, it very quickly became apparent that Jarmo was an ideal candidate to augment our front office,” Adams said in a statement. “From his extensive history in scouting, his long tenure as an NHL general manager and his vast experience at the international and European pro levels, Jarmo has a remarkable resume and a long history of success in this league. I spoke with a number of candidates about this role and it’s clear to me that Jarmo is a perfect fit for our team. I couldn’t be more excited to add another significant piece to our front office as we continue the process of adding to our staff.”

Kekäläinen will advise Adams as the duo determines whether to trade or extend a slate of pending restricted free agents that includes defenseman Bowen Byram and winger JJ Peterka. Also on the team’s offseason checklist is a new deal for center Ryan McLeod and opening extension talks with winger Alex Tuch.

The 58-year-old Kekäläinen hopes today’s appointment is a stepping stone back to an NHL GM role, whether that ends up being in Buffalo or elsewhere. He was one of the league’s longest-tenured GMs until his firing in Columbus, which hired him midway through the 2012-13 campaign. Before that, he spent three years as the Senators’ director of player personnel (1999-2002) and eight years with the Blues as their director of amateur scouting and assistant GM (2002-2010).

Islanders To Interview Jarmo Kekalainen For GM Position

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Several candidates have interviewed or will soon be interviewed for the Islanders vacant general manager position including Ken Holland, Marc Bergevin, Mathieu Darche, and Kate Madigan.  There’s at least one more candidate for the spot as Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that former Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen is also expected to interview for the job this week.

Kekalainen was one of the NHL’s more longer-tenured GMs until last spring when he was let go after spending parts of a dozen seasons running the Blue Jackets.  Over that time, Columbus made the playoffs only five times and only once did they make it past the first round.  Having said that, a large chunk of the Blue Jackets’ current core was either acquired or drafted by Kekalainen.

The 58-year-old also has spent time working with Ottawa and St. Louis before joining Columbus.  With the Sens, he started out as a European scout before becoming their Director of Player Personnel in 1999.  Three years later, he joined the Blues as their top amateur scout before moving to an assistant GM role three years after that.

As far as candidates go, Kekalainen is certainly one of the most experienced options available.  He also has plenty of familiarity with the division from his time with Columbus and would have seen or scouted most of New York’s current roster.  On the flip side, missing the playoffs in each of the last four years with the Blue Jackets might hurt his candidacy to replace outgoing GM Lou Lamoriello.

Staple also touches on how Lamoriello might be impacting the team’s efforts to replace him.  He relays that owner Scott Malkin is actually hoping to keep the 82-year-old past the end of his contract on June 30th in an advisory role.  While the belief is that Lamoriello would act as an advisor to Malkin and not the new GM, his continued presence could act as a deterrent to potential candidates who might be unnerved at the prospect of shaking up the roster that Lamoriello built while Lamoriello still has some involvement with the team.

To that end, Staple notes that the search is not running as fluidly as it first seemed though it’s unclear how much is tied to Lamoriello’s potential advisory role.  Holland appeared to be their top choice but he’s interviewing for the same role in Los Angeles and may prefer to remain on the West Coast.  Staple suggests the door isn’t entirely closed on Holland getting the job if he doesn’t join the Kings but at the moment, it’s unlikely he’d take the role.

For now, Kekalainen joins Darche and Bergevin as those expected to formally interview for the job in the coming days so if one of those emerge as the successful candidate, the search will be over.  Otherwise, they might have to start widening their search to find their next general manager.

Jarmo Kekalainen Linked To Hurricanes’ GM Vacancy

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The Hurricanes are considering hiring former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen to fill their vacancy, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Speaking on the “32 Thoughts” podcast on Monday, Friedman said Kekäläinen is a “contender” for the position. Their GM vacancy was created last month after Don Waddell resigned from his post, joining Columbus to replace Kekäläinen within days.

Kekäläinen, 57, is the first external candidate firmly connected to the Carolina opening. He was fired from his post in Columbus in February after 11 years with the organization.

It’s unclear if the Hurricanes have obtained permission to interview him from the Blue Jackets yet, but it would make sense as a virtual GM-for-GM trade. Carolina’s assistant GMs under Waddell, Eric Tulsky and Darren Yorke, are also strong contenders to replace Waddell, with the former serving as interim GM in his absence.

Notably, Friedman said the candidate pool for Waddell’s replacement isn’t terribly large due to how the organization wants to structure its front office. The team has made it clear to potential candidates that, unlike with other teams, their GM won’t be their sole primary decision-maker. Instead, they’ll work in a more collaborative environment with AGMs and owner Tom Dundon, with their main duties being facilitating communication with other teams. Evidently, that hasn’t scared off Kekäläinen, but Friedman reports it has swayed a few candidates away from having an interest in the role.

It’s also the first opening Kekäläinen has been connected to in earnest since his firing. While it’s been a tough go in Columbus lately, he did oversee the longest sustained period of success in franchise history, helping construct a Jackets roster that made the playoffs four years in a row from 2017 to 2020.

With Waddell heading over to Columbus, the Canes are the only team with an active GM vacancy. The Oilers are likely to end up with one after the Stanley Cup Final ends with Ken Holland in the final year of his contract and not expected to return.

Columbus Blue Jackets Fire Jarmo Kekäläinen

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have parted ways with general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen. The team’s President of Hockey Operations, John Davidson, will share the general manager duties with the rest of the hockey operations staff while Columbus searches for a replacement, per team reporter Aaron Portzline.

Kekäläinen has been with the Blue Jackets for 11 seasons, taking over for Scott Howson in 2013. He was just the fourth general manager in the team’s history and became the first to lead them to multiple playoff appearances. Unfortunately, those playoff appearances never turned into much – with a second-round exit in 2014 marking the farthest the team has ever made it. And it seems those days may be behind them, as Columbus hasn’t made the playoffs – or even ranked above sixth in their division – since 2020. They are currently ranked last in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-26-10 record this season.

Columbus’ recent seasons have instead been marked by top 10 draft picks, including taking Kent Johnson fifth overall in 2021, David Jiricek sixth overall in 2022, and Adam Fantilli third overall in 2023. While Johnson did manage 16 goals and 40 points last season, he’s on an 82-game pace of just 36 points this season, even playing in his first 10 AHL games of his three-year pro career. Jiricek has yo-yoed between the major and minor leagues, playing in nine AHL games and 36 NHL games this season – but failing to yet earn a role on the team’s special teams and managing just nine points. The best impact from a recent draft pick has undeniably come through Adam Fantilli, who currently ranks third on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 27 points through 49 games. But even Fantilli hasn’t been safe from headache, playing with 10 different linemates this season, more than his counterparts Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson combined.

The usage of the team’s top prospects ultimately falls on rookie head coach Pascal Vincent, who was thrust into a head coaching role after the Blue Jackets unsuccessfully tried to bring back Mike Babcock. The long-time Toronto Maple Leafs head coach ran into controversy even before he was able to command the Columbus bench for the first time, leading to his resignation in mid September.

Kekäläinen’s biggest strength – and the talent that will certainly earn him attention from other NHL teams – is his drafting ability. The Blue Jackets boast plenty of top prospects, including Denton Mateychuk, Stanislav Svozil, and Gavin Brindley. These talents, along with their trio of top 10 picks, sets up Columbus well for the future. But there will need to be a lot of polishing around the edges if the team wants to find consistent playoff success. They’ll look to find that success under John Davidson, now the fifth general manager in team history, or whoever may succeed him.

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