Jarmo Kekäläinen has never been afraid to make big decisions, but now the biggest catch of the Finnish boss’s NHL career has hit him, writes Tommi Seppälä, Urheilu’s NHL reporter.
Jarmo Kekäläinen started to build a champion team from HIFK, which had floundered in the bottom mud of the SM league after the mid-1990s, with big money. The end result was the SM league group of all time.
In the NHL, Kekäläinen hasn’t changed his style, even though he hasn’t had the money to do so. He has been piloting the Columbus Blue Jackets for almost ten years now and has never been satisfied with the usual.
When the place has been, Kekäläinen has not hesitated to make big decisions. by Artemi Panarin acquiring from Chicago a few years ago was a very successful search by the Finnish boss.
When at a later stage Panarin and the first keeper Sergei Bobrovsky wanted out of the club, instead of last-minute trades, Kekäläinen completely unexpectedly hit all the marks in the middle.
Kekäläinen decided instead of trading the Russians to acquire more reinforcements in the middle of the season, such as Matt Duchene, to thrive in the spring. Brave rock eater. However, the big prize did not come, and the Russians left the club for free.
During Kekäläinen’s years in Columbus, the doors have been closed and many have questioned the actions of the club management from time to time.
Kekäläinen has – for different reasons – sold two number one centers and one number one pack over the course of nine years. In a somewhat strange atmosphere, the number one striker and goalkeeper also left for once.
It has been asked why star players don’t want to commit to Columbus. It has been impossible for Kekäläinen to give a clear answer to this.
I imagine Columbus to be the hardest hitter of all time
However, early Thursday morning in Finland became candy day for Kekäläinen.
Haavi was grabbed from the free agent market Vladimir Yursinov I said quality salmon. The kind of salmon that Kekäläinen has never had in the NHL world.
A superstar who represented Calgary throughout his career Johnny Gaudreau completely unexpectedly signed a seven-year contract with Columbus.
The American forward scored no less than 115 (40+75) points for Calgary last season. Since entering the NHL in the fall of 2014, Gaudreau has scored the sixth most points among all players. One can with good reason speak of the best individual who has ever represented Columbus.
For Kekälä, capturing such a big player, even with a long contract, was certainly a great relief. The club’s GM recently announced to the local media that the “bullshit” about nobody wanting to commit to Columbus can now be stopped.
Gaudreau instantly makes Columbus a completely different team. The winger, known by the nickname Johnny Hockey, brings a huge amount of intrigue and decision-making power to the blue jackets’ puck play, including the possession game.
It is an indisputable fact that the hijacking on Thursday morning was a huge success for Kekäläinen.
What is the effect on Patrik Laine’s situation?
If Columbus still doesn’t become one of the favorites of the Eastern Conference, the playoff spot will be talked about on a completely different note after this.
You could also imagine that the club now appears as a more attractive option for other players in the league.
In this regard, there is no need to look away Patrik Laineta further. Laine is still negotiating with Kekäläinen through his agent, but the latest capture could be imagined to tilt the scales comfortably in the direction of an extension contract.
Gaudreau would be the best chain mate of Laine’s career, at least on paper.
However, Kekäläinen set fire to the model on Thursday morning that Laine’s extension contract requires measures with the current group. Gaudreau’s contract is seven years long and worth around 68 million euros.
Laine is such a valuable player that his new extension contract would not fit under the salary cap right now. So Kekäläinen has to give up something.
I’m sure everyone in Columbus is happy now.
Grabbing Gaudreau and Laine’s possible extension would give the team completely new opportunities to fight for a place in the sun.
In addition to these, the club has a few talented young people emerging from the background by Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson and Yegor Chinakov meet, to name a few.
As long as Kekäläinen gets Laine’s name on paper, summer in Columbus can be called very good.