"It's obvious what we went through with the injuries," he said. "It's an unfortunate situation for all of us. We do our evaluation every day here. We watch every practice. We watch closely. We try to watch closely what is going on in the locker room, and we're communicating with the coaches every day. That's how we do our evaluations on what goes on with our team, and especially the direction we want to take with our team.
"We came to the conclusion that this was absolutely a necessary change that we needed to make. That's why we are here today."
The Blue Jackets also announced that the organization would not be extending the contract of goaltending coach Manny Legace after five seasons of work with the team's netminders.
Larsen first joined the Blue Jackets organization in the 2010-11 season, shortly after the end of a playing career that included 294 NHL games over eight seasons. After two years as an assistant with the team's American Hockey League team in Springfield, Larsen moved up to head coach of the Falcons for two seasons, reaching the playoffs both years.
He then ascended to the NHL staff under Todd Richards, then stayed on for all six seasons of the John Tortorella era. That left him with longstanding relationships with a number of CBJ players, and when Tortorella and the team parted ways at the end of the 2021 campaign, Larsen's ability to work with young players and the franchise's hope for stability led to his move up to the top job.
Team captain Boone Jenner first met Larsen when he played for Springfield at the end of the 2011-12 season, making today a bittersweet day for the longest tenured Blue Jacket player.
"It's a difficult day," Jenner said. "I've been through the ups and downs with him and learned a lot from him. He's a great man, and I truly wish nothing but the best for him and his family and his two kids and his wife."
At the same time, the Blue Jackets acknowledged that change couldn't be a surprise given the difficult nature of the season, which included the second lowest points percentage (.367) in the 22-year history of the franchise.
Many of the players who met with the media Saturday on team exit day acknowledged improvement would be required, starting with each and every player on the roster.
"I think everyone just has to look in the mirror and say this year wasn't good enough, myself included," said alternate captain Zach Werenski, whose season ended 13 games into the year when he suffered a shoulder injury. "It's a freak thing, but I can't get hurt. It's one of those things I have to play 72, 75, 80 games, and that goes for a lot of guys."
Much will be sorted out in the weeks and months to come, starting May 8 when the Blue Jackets find out the results of a draft lottery that could leave the squad picking anywhere from first overall (13.5 percent chance) to fourth. The draft is set for June 28-29 in Nashville, with free agency to follow.
At some point in that timeline, Kekalainen will have a new coach in charge, and he said the organization will start to evaluate potential candidates immediately. Coaches currently on the staff, including associate coach Pascal Vincent and assistant Steve McCarthy, will be under consideration, and no doors have been closed when it comes to the direction the team might go.
In the end, the ultimate goal is taking steps forward quickly given what the organization believes is a solid core of veterans, offensive weapons and talented youngsters.
"We need a change," Kekalainen said of the coaching staff. "That became clear. We need a change in how we go about our things on a day-to-day basis and how we are moving forward, the type of hockey we want to play in the future and what's going to take us to the next level and back into the playoffs and being a competing team for the Stanley Cup."
