COLUMBUS -- Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson put aside personal feelings and fired Jarmo Kekalainen as general manager Thursday.
The Blue Jackets (16-26-10) are last in the Eastern Conference.
"Unfortunately, as a team, our results haven't been good enough," Davidson said. "We all, starting with myself as head of hockey operations, share responsibility for that. It became apparent a new voice was needed to lead us forward as we turn the page. This decision was difficult because of the quality of person that Jarmo is. He's a dedicated, loyal, hardworking guy who did a lot of great things, both on and off the ice, in our community over the past decade.
"The pluses outweigh the negatives as to where we are as a team on the ice. We're going to need someone who will open our eyes, make us think further and to help us keep going in the right direction to where we're going to be a club that is a threat."
Kekalainen was named the third GM in Blue Jackets history Feb. 13, 2013.
"It's about results. It's a business, but there's also human beings involved," Davidson said. "So, I knew when we brought Jarmo in that someday this might happen. It happened. It's not a lot of fun, but that's hockey. It's pro sports and we go on. Now is the time to turn that page and go forward with all the decisions that we have to make that are ahead of us. We've also done some very good things this season."
The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8 played a factor in the decision, Davidson said. Columbus has not made the postseason since four consecutive appearances from 2016-20.
"We're all in there and we take responsibility, too, for where we are as a team," Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. "Obviously, I just want to thank [Jarmo] for the relationship and the work over the last 11 years since I've been here with him; been through ups and downs with him."
The Blue Jackets were 410-362-97 in 869 regular-season games since Kekalainen was hired. They qualified for the playoffs five times, including a four-game sweep of the 62-win Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round to advance in the postseason for the first time since joining the NHL in 2000-01. They lost the 2020 first round in five games to the Lightning and subsequently haven't finished higher than sixth in the Metropolitan Division.
"If you're a winning team consistently, a playoff team consistently, things like this don't happen," Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski said. "We're obviously not where we want to be."
John Tortorella left as Blue Jackets coach May 9, 2021, after six seasons. Brad Larsen, promoted after he was an assistant under Tortorella and previous coach Todd Richards for seven seasons, was fired April 15, 2023, after Columbus went 25-48-9 to finish 31st in the NHL ahead of only the Anaheim Ducks.
Mike Babcock replaced Larsen on July 1 but resigned Sept. 17, five days after the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast reported that he asked players to share personal photos on their private mobile devices, which was investigated by the NHL Players' Association before Babcock announced his resignation. Associate coach Pascal Vincent was named his replacement and signed a two-year contract through the 2024-25 season.
Blue Jackets ownership said in a statement at the time they were "deeply frustrated and disappointed" by the events surrounding the Babcock situation but following "candid conversations" did not anticipate changes to the hockey leadership team.
Davidson, with Blue Jackets president Michael Priest standing a few feet away inside Nationwide Arena on Thursday, said he still has the support of ownership. The search for a GM begins immediately outside of the organization without a timetable.
"I think we'll get a lot of calls. I really do," Davidson said. "In fact, I've already had a couple. It's a good situation here with ownership, the city itself, with the amount of talent that we have already assembled. It's not like starting from the bottom.
"I'm looking for a person that's going to look outside of the box, will look everywhere, and that's what we have to do and that's why we're in no rush to do this. But we're going to look for energy. We're going to look for smarts, we're going to look for a player evaluator, a person that understands analytics, everything from A to Z."
Before joining the Blue Jackets, Kekalainen was GM of Jokerit of Liiiga in his native Finland. He was also the assistant GM and director of amateur scouting in 2002 for the St. Louis Blues, where he was part of the front office that drafted defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron, core players who helped the Blues win their first Stanley Cup championship in 2019.
"It has been my great honor and privilege to serve as the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets," Kekalainen said in a statement on Friday. "I want to thank the (Blue Jackets owners) McConnel family, John Davidson and (president) Mike Priest for the opportunity, and all the truly wonderful people I have worked with from our players, coaches and scouts to our hockey operations and business staff. The past 11 years have been the best of my life thanks to each of you.
"I also want to thank The 5th Line for your support and passion for Blue Jackets hockey. I wish we could've brought you the Stanley Cup that you deserve, but I am confident that will happen one day. Columbus is a very special place and will always remain in the hearts of my family and I. The friendships and memories we've made here will continue, as will our support for the Blue Jackets."
Notable moves during Kekalainen's tenure were the trades for defenseman Seth Jones with the Nashville Predators on Jan. 6, 2016, forward Artemi Panarin with the Chicago Blackhawks on June 23, 2017, and forward Patrik Laine with the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 23, 2021.
Panarin and No. 1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky each left Columbus on July 1, 2019, as an unrestricted free agent.
Jones, who at the time was a pending unrestricted free agent, was traded to the Blackhawks on July 23, 2021, with a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft for forward Adam Boqvist, a first- and second-round pick in 2021 and a first-round pick in 2022 or the 2023 NHL Draft.
Perhaps Kekalainen's biggest move as GM was acquiring unrestricted free agent forward Johnny Gaudreau, who signed a seven-year, $68.25 million contract ($9.75 average annual value) on July 13, 2022.
Notable Blue Jackets draft picks during Kekalainen's tenure are Pierre-Luc Dubois (No. 3, 2016), forward Adam Fantilli (No. 3, 2023), and defensemen David Jiricek (No. 6, 2022) and Werenski (No. 8, 2015).
The Blue Jackets visit the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, BSOH). They're 3-7-1 in their past 11 games.
"It's unfortunate," Vincent said. "It happens but we chose that business. Our job, just like what we tell the players, is to move forward, learn, move forward. All I can do today is take care of today with the team. And that's how we move forward."
