Blue Jackets shouldn't worry about increased expectations, GM says

BOCA RATON, Fla. --No fear. That's what the Columbus Blue Jackets showed leading up to the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25, adding Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Keith Kinkaid and Adam McQuaid, and that's what they have to show on the ice.

"The one thing that we have in our values from management to coaches to players is that, don't be afraid to make a mistake," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said at the NHL GM meetings Monday. "Give it your best shot and go for it, and good things will happen."
The Blue Jackets have gone 1-3-0 since the trade deadline. Entering their game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+2, FS-O, NHL.TV), they're two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
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If they're going through a transition period, that isn't the main problem.
"Yeah, it probably takes a little bit of time for each player to come to a new team and get familiar with the style of play and all that," Kekalainen said. "But these guys are all pros. They know how hockey's being played. It's just minor differences between the coaches and how they want the game to be played and the systems and all that, getting used to new teammates. That kind of stuff is definitely not an excuse for any of our performances as of late. I think we can play a lot better."
The main problem appears to be dealing with increased expectations.
The Blue Jackets, who entered the NHL in 2000-01, are the only team that hasn't won a round in the playoffs. The question hanging over this season was whether they would trade two of the best players they've had -- goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Artemi Panarin -- or risk losing them for nothing as unrestricted free agents July 1.

Well, not only did they keep the two pending UFAs, they added four more.
"Maybe [Bobrovsky and Panarin are] here for the last time or last spring, and we're going to enjoy it while it lasts," Kekalainen said. "Let's add to the group and give it a best shot while they're still here, and then we'll look at our group July 1 and see where we're at."
About the same time Kekalainen spoke in Boca Raton, the Blue Jackets held an unscheduled, 25-minute practice in Columbus. Coach John Tortorella said that there was a different kind of pressure with expectations, that he and the players had talked about how it was supposed to be fun, and that he wanted them to allow themselves to play and learn how to handle it.
"I want to see our team play at our best," Kekalainen said. "That's what I want to see. I want to see us not being afraid of making a mistake, not feeling like … When you feel like you have to win, I don't think that's going to ever result in the best performance on the ice. I always try to put the performance ahead of the result, where if you play the right way, if you do the right things on the ice, that'll lead to good results sooner or later. Concentrate on just leaving it out on the ice."
Kekalainen tempered the all-in talk. The Blue Jackets gave up two prospects and several draft picks, and they have six pending UFAs, including star players. But they have a young core that will remain no matter what; still have top prospects Emil Bemstrom, Alexandre Texier and Liam Foudy; and still can make more moves.
"Futures are important, yes, but we have a lot of prospects left," Kekalainen said. "Our best prospects are still left. We have time to get some of the draft picks back that we used, and draft picks are still draft picks. If you're getting two (NHL players) out of seven (picks) in a draft, you're doing a heck of a job drafting, so you can count the percentages on what it is even if you have seven picks. Just have to do a better job with the fewer picks now."
The reward outweighs the risk.
"I think Columbus has the potential of being a great hockey city, because it's an unbelievable sports city," Kekalainen said. "You look at the [Ohio State] football tradition there, and I think the fans there … The franchise has been around for a long time, and it's been challenging at times, and you've got to earn the trust of the fans. And you earn it by being consistent in winning. That's what we have to do. We have to earn that trust.
"We're still among the top five teams in the last three years in the regular season. Now we have to again do it in the regular season to earn the spot in the playoffs and then do it in the playoffs to keep earning more of their trust. I think we'll have a sold-out building every time once we get there, and then we want to stay there for a long time."
Asked if he had received feedback from his colleagues, Kekalainen said with a laugh: "Yeah, from a lot of them. But my response is always and will be, 'Time will tell. Time will tell.' But I don't have any second-guessing. After we do our due diligence and we talk about it, we make our decisions. Then we move forward, and we live with it. And I'd do it again."