Columbus Blue Jackets fire GM Jarmo Kekalainen

The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially fired general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen.

Kekäläinen is the second GM fired this season after the Ottawa Senators parted ways with Pierre Dorion in November.

According to a release from the Blue Jackets, John Davidson will work with members of the hockey operations team to handle GM duties until a replacement is found.

“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,” Davidson said.  “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.”

Kekäläinen took over as GM during the 2012-13 season, replacing Scott Howson. He has held the post ever since, with the highlight being a first-round sweep of the Presidents Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019. The Lightning won the qualification round to make the playoffs during the 2020 bubble playoffs, but has failed to make the playoffs with three consecutive losing seasons ever since.

His best season came in 2016-17, when the Blue Jackets finished third in the Metropolitan Division with a 50-24-8 record. The team lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the postseason.

Kekäläinen has been criticized for the team’s management over the past few years. One of the most notable instances was his hiring of coach Mike Babcock in July, only for him to be let go just days before the 2023-24 season.

Despite the big acquisition of Johnny Gaudreau in 2022 and the emergence of young talent such as Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, the Blue Jackets find themselves in a dismal 29th spot, with hopes of landing a top-five spot in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Davidson, 70, has served as Columbus’ president of hockey operations for a large chunk of his career. The former NHL goaltender held the role for six years in St. Louis before jumping over to Columbus in 2012-13. He stayed there until 2019, where he kick off a two-year run as president of the New York Rangers before jumping back to Columbus.

The Blue Jackets are off until Saturday when they visit the San Jose Sharks for a 10:30 PM ET game time.