Kekalainen leaves NHL trade deadline with mixed emotions

It hasn't been easy for Blue Jackets fans to watch players like Nick Foligno, David Savard and Riley Nash leave Columbus ahead of today's NHL trade deadline.
Rest assured, it was just as hard to stomach for the man making the deals.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen spoke about the deals, which netted Columbus five draft picks including two first-round picks in the upcoming 2021 draft, after the passing of the deadline Monday, acknowledging hard decisions had to be made with his unrestricted free agents-to-be.

"We say it's the worst part of the job, trading players that you have gone through some great success with and battles and ups and downs that you have as a team," Kekalainen said. "You have a personal attachment to those guys and their character. I can't speak enough about the character of those three guys. It's the worst part of the job, for sure."
Yet for the Blue Jackets' future, the trades were the moves that made the most sense. With just 13 games left on the schedule, Columbus goes into action Monday night seven points adrift from the final playoff spot in the Central Division, and recent season-ending injuries to Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski haven't helped the cause either.
Columbus has spent some of the past few trade deadlines -- in particular in 2018, when the team nabbed Thomas Vanek and Ian Cole, and 2019, when Matt Duchene highlighted an all-in deadline -- trading draft picks for assets to help in the upcoming playoff run. This time around, the moves help strengthen the future of the Jackets, as Columbus will now have three first-round picks in the 2021 draft and nine picks overall, not to mention eight picks in the 2022 draft.
"I think the return was good," Kekalainen said. "We're happy with it. I think it gives us an opportunity to reload, what we call it."
While the Blue Jackets likely won't see the fruits of that labor for years down the road -- after all, most picks take years to make it to the NHL level considering they're just 18 at the time of the draft -- the immediate future still isn't too dark for Columbus.
While Foligno, Savard and Nash represented 22 years of CBJ experience, Columbus still retains such scorers as Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Max Domi and Patrik Laine; a deep defensive corps led by Seth Jones and Zach Werenski; a leadership core featuring Jenner, Atkinson, Jones, Gus Nyquist and a potential summer return of Foligno in free agency; and a pair of standout goalies in Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins.
In addition, the moves do give Columbus flexibility this offseason, and with the Seattle expansion draft on the horizon as well as a flat salary cap continuing to pin down some squads, the Blue Jackets see the ability to have a quick turnaround.
"We wouldn't call it a step back," Kekalainen said. "Obviously we've had a disappointing season, but these are moves we think we can do a reload. We can decide the pace of it with moves we made in the offseason and we'll be better for it."

Trading the Captain

Kekalainen admitted the trade of Foligno was an unusual situation, as the captain had spent nine seasons in Columbus and is third in franchise history in games played, goals and points.
That, of course, is just part of Foligno's impact in the capital city, as he also has been an integral part of the community through his charitable efforts, became a fan-favorite for his skill and toughness, and as a leader helped build the Blue Jackets into a consistent winner.
That has earned him a fair amount of respect everywhere in Columbus and certainly in the team's front office. As such, Kekalainen said he made sure to keep the captain in the loop during the trade process, as not only was Foligno set to be an attractive trade chip, he also was looking for the chance to chase hockey's ultimate prize this spring by taking a run at a Stanley Cup if the right situation came along.
"It's an unusual situation," Kekalainen acknowledged. "It's a delicate situation trading your captain. I wanted to be open about it with Nick and keep him in the loop when it came to the final steps. I told him what teams were involved and I wanted to give him the respect to have some input there. I told the teams I would be doing that, too, so it was all transparent in that way. We came to a conclusion and got the best deal for our team and a choice that Nick was very excited about."
It is believed multiple teams had strong interest in Foligno, but the Blue Jackets ended up trading him to Toronto as part of a three-team deal that netted Columbus a first-round pick in 2021 and a fourth-round pick in '22.
"I have the utmost respect for Jarmo and how he brought this to my attention," Foligno said Sunday after the deal was concluded. "Ultimately it comes down to what is best for the team, but he was able to fill me in on some things and see where I was headed. It just fell into place that it worked out to come to Toronto."

Other personnel notes

• The deadline has passed and defenseman Michael Del Zotto remained with Columbus. The 30-year-old in his 12th NHL season was thought to be a potential trade chip given the depth he could bring to a contender, and he also is a UFA-to-be like Foligno, Savard and Nash. But he ended up staying in Columbus after the deadline.
"He's been one of the players that I think this year has exceeded our expectations, and that's a good thing," Kekalainen said. "He's been a great Blue Jacket this year, he's expressed intent in staying here. We appreciate everything he's done so far."
As the general manager said, that likely was music to Del Zotto's ears, as the veteran has said multiple times in interviews that he's enjoyed his time in Columbus, calling it an "ideal situation" to continue his career.
In 40 games this year, Del Zotto has a 4-6-10 line and is plus-10.
• Kekalainen said he's not sure if forward Gus Nyquist will return to the CBJ lineup this year as the veteran forward has not played this year yet thanks to shoulder surgery. Nyquist has been skating with the team in practice for the past couple of weeks, but Kekalainen said the rehab for his surgery is around six months, and that would put May 3 as a target for a return.
The Jackets' last game of the regular season is set for May 8, so the general manager acknowledged it might not make sense to push Nyquist to return for just a handful of games.
"I'm not sure if it makes any sense to test his shoulder says after he is cleared or rather just keep strengthening it and get ready for next season," Kekalainen said.
• Head coach John Tortorella has said Kekalainen will have a big hand in helping set the lineup over the last 13 games of the season so the general manager can get an on-ice evaluation of the players he wants to see going into an offseason where a lot of big decisions will have to be made.
For example, young forward Kole Sherwood made his season debut Saturday, while defenseman Andrew Peeke was added to the active roster Monday. In addition, recently signed forward Josh Dunne and defenseman Gavin Bayreuther were added to the taxi squad in recent days, and the Blue Jackets might want to see what those players bring to the table.
Dunne, a 22-year-old forward with intriguing size who was signed this spring after the end of his season at Clarkson University, was mentioned specifically by Kekalainen as someone who might get a look soon on NHL ice. He has two goals and an assist in seven games in Cleveland since signing a two-year entry-level deal.