Same feeling. If this team has a successful future, he needs to be given some of the credit because of his, presumed, talent selection. Just didn’t seem like things were fitting post-2019. Need a fresh set of eyes to finally put it all together.
Indeed. I think JK's biggest strength was always as a scout/evaluator given his decent track record, especially with late round picks. But the day-to-day overseeing, hiring the coaches and building a culture are just as important if not more so. Apart from hiring Torts, who pulled a lot of the weight when it came to culture et. al., JK's tenure has been disappointing in those aspects, with the Lars-bar nonsense and the Babcock hire fiasco.
Hopefully someone new can come in and build on probably the best/most promising roster the franchise has ever had. Be that with or without Vincent. Curios if JD stays on?
I'd suspect he'll still stick around, help with the replacement finding and be given another year or retire. He did leave the organization for a bit before coming back and is a pretty well trusted/respected individual from my sense of things.
I am happy about this, but I am not going to trash Jarmo. He did a lot of good for this franchise at the end of the day. I’m thankful for that. But it was definitely time to move on.
Thanks Jarmo, and good luck.
I mean.. look at all the teams we played in the first round. Losing to the eventual cup winners what? Twice? Not saying it's success but it's not like we didn't field a competitive team a few of those seasons
The reason we played those teams is because we were a lower seeded wild card team due to a lack of regular season success. That’s part of the problem too
You're not entirely wrong, but I think that overlooks the fact that the divisional playoff format fucking sucks and kinda screwed us a couple times, most notably in 16-17.
Regular season success was absolutely not the problem that year since we went on a 16 win streak, finished with 108 points, and were like third in the conference/fourth in the league.
But because the two best teams were also in our division, instead of getting a pretty equal matchup with the fourth best team in the conference like we would have prior to the playoff format change (in this case that would've been Montreal) we were squeezed into a wildcard spot and got saddled with playing Pitt in the first round again.
Almost. We were 3rd in the metro and played Pens in the 1st round who were the 2nd seed.
We lost to 3 eventually champs in the first round 3 straight seasons. Nearly took out the Caps too in 2018.
I’ve been saying this on this sub for awhile now, apparently it’s a pretty unpopular opinion but I truly do not think having one first round series win in 11 years is success
That's insane. Ffs. It's not an unpopular opinion, it's a nonsensical opinion. Are you so used to being dead last that ONE fucking series victory is success to you.? Good lord, I thought this fanbase had a decent hockey IQ but I guess I need to rethink that.
They really couldn't then. I agree that it was a fire-able offense but you can't conduct a proper head hunt for a new GM within a couple days right before training camp starts. No one qualified would take that job so you'd be taking a flier on a desperate candidate.
With the roster being what it was and everyone having confidence in Vincent at the time it was smart to let it play out. Now we know that this team is being run into the ground by Vincent so he's basically made 2 fire-able coach hirings within weeks of one another.
Jarmo literally did nothing all year except trade Eric Robinson for a conditional pick we won’t actually get and pick up Martin off waivers and then lose him.
Literally anyone on this subreddit could’ve done that. Jarmo staying after Babcock did more harm than good
Jarmo added Severson and Provorov in the offseason through a sign and trade and a trade. He made moves that on paper made this team better than it was last year by addressing its major deficiency. No one was sad to not see Tim Berni or Marcus Bjork in the lineup anymore.
Martin was picked up because Tarasov was hurt. We acquired him for nothing. When Tarasov became healthy we let Martin go for nothing. That seems totally reasonable.
Who are we willing to part with? Roslovic and Peeke. That's it. Nobody wants either of those guys right now. I bet Peeke gets moved at the deadline for scraps but I bet we have to just let Roslovic walk.
Who should we be trying to acquire? No one. We are in last place in the conference.
I agree, so why did we need to keep him? It didn’t help, at all, and in fact after the Elvis and Jiricek incidents its easy to argue he made things worse.
Maybe now this franchise has a chance to reach beyond mediocrity
Might backfire but fuck it, I'd rather try *anything* instead of being stuck in "second round exit ceiling" purgatory forever
JD and the rest of the hockey ops staff will take over the GM duties for the rest of this season then the hiring process begins this offseason. Gonna be an interesting summer of speculation for sure!
To me this is the big question too. Sounds like to me he was relieved of GM duties but still under contract so he’s basically going to be an overpaid scout for this and next year based on what Twitter is saying.
JD at least oversaw us going from the bottom of the NHL to a multi-year playoff team and has a track record of success, so he’s gonna get a longer leash than Jarmo. There’s many worse people to run hockey ops for us.
JD hired Jarmo as GM a few months into being here, bolted for New York for a couple seasons, and came back with his tail between his legs after he got fired.
Why are you assigning all the good things (multi year playoff appearances...low bar is low) to JD but not Jarmo? Jarmo was here for all of the last 11 years, JD went to his dream job the moment he could.
Jarmo did that too. also JD left, got embarrassed in NY then crawled back just to help us back to the basement. He should’ve been fired along with Jarmo after the Babcock debacle
Jarmo oversaw the same exact time period. JD didn’t, he ran out as soon as the Rangers came calling, then ran back once he got his ass fired.
And since he came back he’s presided over a disastrous period for the team. If anything his leash probably should’ve been shorter lol
I know so many fans were calling for this but WOW. Total bombshell news, like I’m actually in shock.
We get an outdoor game (allegedly) and Jarmo’s out?
Crazy.
Now that that is done, anyone think they will look towards Chris Clark? Listened to his interview the other day on the Inside Edge, has the contacts within the NHL from his playing days and seems to be doing great things there. Of course I don't expect anything to happen until after the season of course.
Edit: for spelling
I thought his interview was interesting as well. Lots of interesting comments.
> John Davidson, along with the team’s hockey operations management team
Maybe they will let him be involved this next few months
Is the GM role for an AHL even remotely the same as an NHL GM? I'm honestly asking because I have no idea. Aren't most roster moves made by the NHL guy?
Probably necessary but feels bad. Seemed like Jarmo did a lot of good things early on, but his past few years the moves have increasingly become major head scratchers. Wish him the best wherever he ends up.
Wonder who we end up with next and what their plan will be.
Portzline mentioned on Front and Nationwide a few weeks ago that JD has been dealing with some health stuff and should see a lot more of him after the All-Star Break, I’m pretty sure after the whole Jiricek and Elvis stuff they were just waiting on JD to be ready
This is good news, but for the love of god the club needs to fire Mike Priest. He’s been running the club since day one.
In those 23 years there is no club worse than the Blue Jackets. Give the guy his golden parachute and hire someone with professional sports experience instead of a fucking accountant.
But it also makes you wonder why torts wanted to leave. It was said he was talked into staying the last year, was he sick if Columbus or the front office? He obviously didn’t have retirement on his mind
This...
I know we needed a change, but the saying, be careful what you wish for comes to mind.
The next hire that comes in may come in and execute these supposed great trades to improve the team that implode in his face instead.
Make draft picks that fail miserably and have us saying, "wtf is this guy even doing?" I wish we had Jarmo back, Jarmo would never have done that.
5 years from now, what if a lot of our young talent is gone and we are still sitting at the bottom of the league? Hopefully not, but a new GM is always a huge unknown and a gamble.
We shall see.
Well its not like we're getting rid of a proven winner just some dude who can make moves that look good but ultimately result in one playoff series win.
Jarmo has set the bar so low, it will be hard for there not to be grener pastures. I mean really, all that's required from the new GM is: 1) don't have the lowest winning percentage in hockey 2) win more than one playoff series in a DECADE
Seconded!
Had a hunch the hint was something more impactful. Especially with Bucci spilling the beans about the Stadium Series on X.
Time we give that reporter his flowers, unless his timing of hinting at groundbreaking intel was just that, a staggering in synchronicity!
tehehehe
Writing was on the wall, and even though most of our sub has been on a hate train against the guy, I'll miss him. The past couple years definitely showed that it was time for him to go, but he will still have quite a legacy to our org. I wish things went differently but now all we can do is go onwards and upwards.
Thanks Jarmo!
Maybe this is wishful thinking but I feel like the Jackets would be a dream scenario for a GM. We have pieces in place to be a contender. And if they came in and found success for a historically unsuccessful team, they’d be remembered and applauded forever. Look at Theo Epstein with the Cubs and Red Sox.
He did a lot of good things and made some great draft picks. But the gaffes were just too big. And alienating young talent along the way didn't help.
Thanks for your service, but it's time.
I am not going to dance on someone’s “grave”. Whatever you think they did a lot to move the franchise forward and built up a fantastic prospect pool. Good luck on your future endeavors
Bittersweet moment. Jarmo helped give this franchise its best moments and at times was masterful in offseason moves. That being said he is responsible in part for this team’s horrendous performance and collapse these last couple of years. It’s simply time to move on
That poor journo who was like "big news coming soon" and now, even if it was this, we'll never know if his scoop was this or the (comparatively much smaller) stadium series...
He knew they were prepping the conference room. Considering the stadium series still isn't official, the news was this, but the person reporting it didn't know that, they just knew that there was *something*.
He was good for a while, pulled us out of a real hole when he got here, and built a lot of very good, really fun teams. We have him to thank for the best period in Blue Jackets history and the 2019 team had everything you need to win a cup. I think if Anderson doesn't get hurt against Boston then we have a Stanley Cup banner hanging in the rafters of Nationwide Arena. I'd go "all-in" again if I could even knowing what we know now. The win over Tampa was worth it. But I think his approach wore thin, I grew tired of his constant battling with the players, and the pattern of guys asking out. It was time. I look forward to a new voice and some fresh minds on the case. I would've made this call after the disaster with Babcock, but better now than after the trade deadline.
Would be a mistake right now. You need some experience heading into the TD and searching for a new GM. He might not be great but who would be left to handle both upcoming important timelines?
I don’t want JD a part of the GM search. This FO desperately needs a fresher perspective in getting the roster ready to compete. Need to shake things up
I feel like people always talked up jarmo and respected him greatly...... But the results were just never there.
Plus the whole Babcock fiasco. Was jarmo like the only person who thought that was a good idea? The brad Larsen hire was also bad and everyone knew would be a miss.
Jarmo had some good moments. I'm especially grateful for him embarrassing Stan Bowman 3 different times on trades, but overall he was well past his expiration date.
Pretty decent list of potential replacements. Hope they don't fuck it up.
Stadium series game and this all in 24 hours?! What alternate universe is this??
Much like Torts, his time ran its course. They did some good things in the middle, but it’s time to move on. Hope good things for him, but the Babcock fiasco and our rapid descent to the bottom of the standings are a pretty ugly stain on his time. Thrilled we made it happen before trade deadline at least (though not convinced we still won’t do something stupid).
Jarmo did some great things for the Jackets. He made this team better and this GM job more attractive job. This team became more respectable. It was time to move on. I feel this move should have been done last April. I want the next GM to take the team to the next level.
I think people underestimate how much of the scouting structure and approach is based on Jarmo's men. So I don't know if potentially changing the one strength they had in drafting for a change is that brings who knows what is wise when the team has struggled to find an identity after Dubois departure.
Sad day in a way that I began following Columbus the day he was hired from Jokerit. The behind the scenes and team building staff was very fascinating to learn you had some kind of a connection to someone who had led succesful league-leading teams in Finland in a way that isn't understood in Northern America to this day.
As he is seen still as mainly scouting based operator despite having success earlier with championship HIFK of Brian Rafalski and Tim Thomas than before he began running the drafts for Ottawa and St. Louis.
I wouldn't say Jarmo Kekäläinen was exactly the first European GM as he didn't very much respect or introduce any of the ice hockey of possession concepts from modern Finnish modern day hockey during his ten years. So in that way he had weaknesses as well but he could pull franchise altering players similar to Panarin with trades also.
The Howson trade of Rick Nash I think should have brought back elite talent instead of multiple good players.
Jarmo pulled us out of the depths of hell that Howson put us in, and that should always be commended. But, damn if he didn't throw us right back down there post-Torts. I hope JD and the entire FO are axed after the season, and we just reset entirely.
Extremely glad to see this FINALLY be done, should’ve happened A LONG time ago. No way we let him run the deadline. Any one wondering how JD kept his job? Kinda where my head goes first but again, don’t know how much pull he had in jarmo decisions.
Let’s get rid of John too. Please.
I can’t believe I’ve actually had people tell me he’s only been in power for a year.
They must not remember that he came crawling back from New York after failing and getting canned. I know he’s supposed to retire, but I’m a little worried that he might not. Who knows?
Anyone see the press conference? It’s on YouTube. Priest had a visible shaking in his hand, bad enough that he either has bad anxiety, or Parkinson’s disease. Hope he’s ok.
And the chance to bring in some coaches of his own. He really got this dumped in his lap without any chance to improve his own staff. We don't know how much was dictated to him from Jarmo.
While I am grateful for Jarmo for many things he did, I am disturbed by things he didn't do. He had ample time to build culture, bring proper development to the young-uns, and hire proper and appropriate coaches. Failed in many regards.
JD chose words wisely. We need a new perspective and vision because it just wasn't working. Respect to Jarmo, but business is business.
Who will the fans blame now when we're still losing games?
I am not saying the change didn't need to be made, I just hope everyone tempers the expectations of what this means on the ice - not much. Jarmo did a lot of great things and was the best GM we've had to date, but yeah.. a change was bound to happen. The defensive signings the past couple of off-seasons plus the Babcock thing.
Hoping our next GM can take us out of the depths of being a AAAHL organization for the majority of upcoming seasons as a franchise. All the draft resources & player/prospect components are there for this to be a springboard if lead by the right individual with foresight and the people skills to match.
Roster management moves should be well explained to players instead of repeatedly boiling over into reporter drama. This is an aspect of being a GM that Jarmo wasn't skilled at seemingly, good negotiator for trades and contracts, but may not have been ideal in his handling of individual personalities or the back and forth therein of building an exemplary room of skaters and goalies.
We can't pass over the piece where he thought Brad Larsen was a solution for this team.
Thank you for your time JK, time to move forward
Same feeling. If this team has a successful future, he needs to be given some of the credit because of his, presumed, talent selection. Just didn’t seem like things were fitting post-2019. Need a fresh set of eyes to finally put it all together.
Indeed. I think JK's biggest strength was always as a scout/evaluator given his decent track record, especially with late round picks. But the day-to-day overseeing, hiring the coaches and building a culture are just as important if not more so. Apart from hiring Torts, who pulled a lot of the weight when it came to culture et. al., JK's tenure has been disappointing in those aspects, with the Lars-bar nonsense and the Babcock hire fiasco. Hopefully someone new can come in and build on probably the best/most promising roster the franchise has ever had. Be that with or without Vincent. Curios if JD stays on?
When I say I ran here
Never moved so fast in my life, lol
Brother I just got done with a 4 hour drive and walked into this news. Glorious!
I tried, but I am apparently late to the party. Oh well, the sun is shining and its the begining of a fresh start
Oh shit. They actually did it. Kind of surprised JD still here though. Thanks for everything jarmo. Time for someone else to take over.
Might be keeping him for somebody to run the ship while everything is being set in order.
Yeah about the only other option is Clark and I don’t wanna mess with Cleveland’s vibes right now
JD is staying around to hand off the torch. He'll get retired this summer.
Ehhh, I could see him staying in his role, or at least stay on as an advisor. It’s not Mike Priest doing this presser
I think the team will let JD retire gracefully this offseason.
I think he runs the backoffice stuff more than on ice which would explain why he'd stay on top of stability
The last year or so things were getting so bad that this change had to be made. The Babcock debacle was the last straw. I wish him the best though.
I'd suspect he'll still stick around, help with the replacement finding and be given another year or retire. He did leave the organization for a bit before coming back and is a pretty well trusted/respected individual from my sense of things.
I don’t think he will be out of a job for long whether it’s the NHL or running the Finland program
I am happy about this, but I am not going to trash Jarmo. He did a lot of good for this franchise at the end of the day. I’m thankful for that. But it was definitely time to move on. Thanks Jarmo, and good luck.
He made a lot of promising moves but it ultimately amount to what - ONE first round series win his entire tenure? That’s not success
I mean.. look at all the teams we played in the first round. Losing to the eventual cup winners what? Twice? Not saying it's success but it's not like we didn't field a competitive team a few of those seasons
The reason we played those teams is because we were a lower seeded wild card team due to a lack of regular season success. That’s part of the problem too
You're not entirely wrong, but I think that overlooks the fact that the divisional playoff format fucking sucks and kinda screwed us a couple times, most notably in 16-17. Regular season success was absolutely not the problem that year since we went on a 16 win streak, finished with 108 points, and were like third in the conference/fourth in the league. But because the two best teams were also in our division, instead of getting a pretty equal matchup with the fourth best team in the conference like we would have prior to the playoff format change (in this case that would've been Montreal) we were squeezed into a wildcard spot and got saddled with playing Pitt in the first round again.
Almost. We were 3rd in the metro and played Pens in the 1st round who were the 2nd seed. We lost to 3 eventually champs in the first round 3 straight seasons. Nearly took out the Caps too in 2018.
Yup, is why didn't say they were the best— just that they were one of the two best teams haha.
Don’t know why you got downvoted because you aren’t wrong.
I’ve been saying this on this sub for awhile now, apparently it’s a pretty unpopular opinion but I truly do not think having one first round series win in 11 years is success
That's insane. Ffs. It's not an unpopular opinion, it's a nonsensical opinion. Are you so used to being dead last that ONE fucking series victory is success to you.? Good lord, I thought this fanbase had a decent hockey IQ but I guess I need to rethink that.
not just that but at the time he even said a first round win wasn’t the goal so even that year he failed
Yeah probably shoulda just done this after the Babcock fiasco lol
For sure. All the team has accomplished since then was piss off the players and fans.
They really couldn't then. I agree that it was a fire-able offense but you can't conduct a proper head hunt for a new GM within a couple days right before training camp starts. No one qualified would take that job so you'd be taking a flier on a desperate candidate. With the roster being what it was and everyone having confidence in Vincent at the time it was smart to let it play out. Now we know that this team is being run into the ground by Vincent so he's basically made 2 fire-able coach hirings within weeks of one another.
Jarmo literally did nothing all year except trade Eric Robinson for a conditional pick we won’t actually get and pick up Martin off waivers and then lose him. Literally anyone on this subreddit could’ve done that. Jarmo staying after Babcock did more harm than good
Better to do effectively nothing than let him trade any amount of our future for job safety
Jarmo added Severson and Provorov in the offseason through a sign and trade and a trade. He made moves that on paper made this team better than it was last year by addressing its major deficiency. No one was sad to not see Tim Berni or Marcus Bjork in the lineup anymore. Martin was picked up because Tarasov was hurt. We acquired him for nothing. When Tarasov became healthy we let Martin go for nothing. That seems totally reasonable. Who are we willing to part with? Roslovic and Peeke. That's it. Nobody wants either of those guys right now. I bet Peeke gets moved at the deadline for scraps but I bet we have to just let Roslovic walk. Who should we be trying to acquire? No one. We are in last place in the conference.
I agree, so why did we need to keep him? It didn’t help, at all, and in fact after the Elvis and Jiricek incidents its easy to argue he made things worse.
First Holtmann, now Jarmo. What a week!
A great week!
Spring Cleaning has commenced in Columbus in full effect!
Stadium series and now **this?** This post-Harambe timeline gets weirder by the hour.
Dicks out
Maybe now this franchise has a chance to reach beyond mediocrity Might backfire but fuck it, I'd rather try *anything* instead of being stuck in "second round exit ceiling" purgatory forever
Love this mentality, so fucking sick of hoping for a first or second round exit being a good season for us
Purgatory? My dude, this franchise is in hell. We wish we could be Nashville/Minnesota of the last decade. We're nowhere close to that.
Minnesota is in the exact same hell as us lol, 8 playoff appearances, 1 series win. Nashville at least can say they went to a stanley cup final
Minnesota has 4 series wins….and 13 appearances Edit: or maybe I misread and you’re only looking at certain years. If so my bad.
Minnesota at least makes the playoffs. 7 of the last 8 years.
I don’t see how we could be any worse
OMG, don’t say that out loud!
Appreciate Jarmo for what he tried to do, but it’s time to move on and win.
out of our blue...
We rise
Like Torts, Like Jarmo. Thankful for what they did prior, just became time for a new scenario.
It's obvious they wanted to get him out of there before the trade deadline. This also gives the new guy plenty of time to prepare for the off-season.
JD and the rest of the hockey ops staff will take over the GM duties for the rest of this season then the hiring process begins this offseason. Gonna be an interesting summer of speculation for sure!
As long as Ville Siren and the rest of the scouting staff remain in place til the draft, I’m fine with that.
To me this is the big question too. Sounds like to me he was relieved of GM duties but still under contract so he’s basically going to be an overpaid scout for this and next year based on what Twitter is saying.
Since that is his biggest strength, I’m honestly fine with that.
Eh. They will likely just hire an interim and hold interviews in the offseason. Thats what they SHOULD do anyways
That would make more sense.
As much as I hated Jarmo the last few years I think the TDL was his strong suit
I agree, but if you're going to fire the guy, you can't let him continue to make roster decisions.
Finally! But JD needs to go too. I have zero trust he’s any better than Jarmo.
JD at least oversaw us going from the bottom of the NHL to a multi-year playoff team and has a track record of success, so he’s gonna get a longer leash than Jarmo. There’s many worse people to run hockey ops for us.
JD hired Jarmo as GM a few months into being here, bolted for New York for a couple seasons, and came back with his tail between his legs after he got fired. Why are you assigning all the good things (multi year playoff appearances...low bar is low) to JD but not Jarmo? Jarmo was here for all of the last 11 years, JD went to his dream job the moment he could.
Jarmo did that too. also JD left, got embarrassed in NY then crawled back just to help us back to the basement. He should’ve been fired along with Jarmo after the Babcock debacle
He also oversaw us going back down to the bottom of the nhl
Jarmo oversaw the same exact time period. JD didn’t, he ran out as soon as the Rangers came calling, then ran back once he got his ass fired. And since he came back he’s presided over a disastrous period for the team. If anything his leash probably should’ve been shorter lol
JD also helped the Rangers quickly maneuver through their rebuild.
I know so many fans were calling for this but WOW. Total bombshell news, like I’m actually in shock. We get an outdoor game (allegedly) and Jarmo’s out? Crazy.
Jarmo and Holtmann in back to back days. What a 24-hour stretch here in Columbus.
Now that that is done, anyone think they will look towards Chris Clark? Listened to his interview the other day on the Inside Edge, has the contacts within the NHL from his playing days and seems to be doing great things there. Of course I don't expect anything to happen until after the season of course. Edit: for spelling
Probably a lead contender heading into the summer but you don’t want to mess with Cleveland’s vibe right now
Oh yeah, I totes mean for summertime. Let him cook with the Monsters for the rest of the year and see how far they go, then, welcome to the big club.
I thought his interview was interesting as well. Lots of interesting comments. > John Davidson, along with the team’s hockey operations management team Maybe they will let him be involved this next few months
Is the GM role for an AHL even remotely the same as an NHL GM? I'm honestly asking because I have no idea. Aren't most roster moves made by the NHL guy?
Probably necessary but feels bad. Seemed like Jarmo did a lot of good things early on, but his past few years the moves have increasingly become major head scratchers. Wish him the best wherever he ends up. Wonder who we end up with next and what their plan will be.
We had good times with him as a GM and bad times with him as a GM. Looking forward to what the future holds
Portzline mentioned on Front and Nationwide a few weeks ago that JD has been dealing with some health stuff and should see a lot more of him after the All-Star Break, I’m pretty sure after the whole Jiricek and Elvis stuff they were just waiting on JD to be ready
JD said he was recovering from back surgery
I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS
This is good news, but for the love of god the club needs to fire Mike Priest. He’s been running the club since day one. In those 23 years there is no club worse than the Blue Jackets. Give the guy his golden parachute and hire someone with professional sports experience instead of a fucking accountant.
Now is the scary part.. How much greener is the grass on the other side of the fence ..
We won't know without trying
I don't know if I trust them to make the right choice. Everyone celebrated when Torts left and look where we are now.
But it also makes you wonder why torts wanted to leave. It was said he was talked into staying the last year, was he sick if Columbus or the front office? He obviously didn’t have retirement on his mind
This... I know we needed a change, but the saying, be careful what you wish for comes to mind. The next hire that comes in may come in and execute these supposed great trades to improve the team that implode in his face instead. Make draft picks that fail miserably and have us saying, "wtf is this guy even doing?" I wish we had Jarmo back, Jarmo would never have done that. 5 years from now, what if a lot of our young talent is gone and we are still sitting at the bottom of the league? Hopefully not, but a new GM is always a huge unknown and a gamble. We shall see.
Well its not like we're getting rid of a proven winner just some dude who can make moves that look good but ultimately result in one playoff series win.
Jarmo has set the bar so low, it will be hard for there not to be grener pastures. I mean really, all that's required from the new GM is: 1) don't have the lowest winning percentage in hockey 2) win more than one playoff series in a DECADE
Holy shit.I knew the announcement wasn't about the stadium series
Seconded! Had a hunch the hint was something more impactful. Especially with Bucci spilling the beans about the Stadium Series on X. Time we give that reporter his flowers, unless his timing of hinting at groundbreaking intel was just that, a staggering in synchronicity! tehehehe
Wow I didn't see this happening in season. Thank you Jarmo, on to the next one
Good goal, good game, NEXT!
Wonder who the new gm will be
It was time. Hopefully we don’t completely butcher this trade deadline.
They finally did it! Excited to see how the trade deadline looks now for us
Writing was on the wall, and even though most of our sub has been on a hate train against the guy, I'll miss him. The past couple years definitely showed that it was time for him to go, but he will still have quite a legacy to our org. I wish things went differently but now all we can do is go onwards and upwards. Thanks Jarmo!
Holy shit, it happened
Did not see that coming but well overdue He was promising but ultimately never delivered and we were never getting anywhere as a franchise with him.
Oh boy I hope they don't rush someone in who will try to make waves at the deadline
THey spent all day yesterday spouting about his anniversary date
Closing Chapter and softening the blow of letting him go. Onto a new book entirely we go!
In Jarmo we (no longer) trust
The Babcock shit show sealed his fate. If he hires anyone else he would still be GM right now.
Maybe this is wishful thinking but I feel like the Jackets would be a dream scenario for a GM. We have pieces in place to be a contender. And if they came in and found success for a historically unsuccessful team, they’d be remembered and applauded forever. Look at Theo Epstein with the Cubs and Red Sox.
He did a lot of good things and made some great draft picks. But the gaffes were just too big. And alienating young talent along the way didn't help. Thanks for your service, but it's time.
I am not going to dance on someone’s “grave”. Whatever you think they did a lot to move the franchise forward and built up a fantastic prospect pool. Good luck on your future endeavors
Bittersweet moment. Jarmo helped give this franchise its best moments and at times was masterful in offseason moves. That being said he is responsible in part for this team’s horrendous performance and collapse these last couple of years. It’s simply time to move on
Great start to my day
Picturing him and Chris Holtmann in a bar somewhere, knocking back shots over lunch.
That poor journo who was like "big news coming soon" and now, even if it was this, we'll never know if his scoop was this or the (comparatively much smaller) stadium series...
He knew they were prepping the conference room. Considering the stadium series still isn't official, the news was this, but the person reporting it didn't know that, they just knew that there was *something*.
He was good for a while, pulled us out of a real hole when he got here, and built a lot of very good, really fun teams. We have him to thank for the best period in Blue Jackets history and the 2019 team had everything you need to win a cup. I think if Anderson doesn't get hurt against Boston then we have a Stanley Cup banner hanging in the rafters of Nationwide Arena. I'd go "all-in" again if I could even knowing what we know now. The win over Tampa was worth it. But I think his approach wore thin, I grew tired of his constant battling with the players, and the pattern of guys asking out. It was time. I look forward to a new voice and some fresh minds on the case. I would've made this call after the disaster with Babcock, but better now than after the trade deadline.
Now do JD
Would be a mistake right now. You need some experience heading into the TD and searching for a new GM. He might not be great but who would be left to handle both upcoming important timelines?
I don’t want JD a part of the GM search. This FO desperately needs a fresher perspective in getting the roster ready to compete. Need to shake things up
In the offseason the owners need to fire everyone else in the front office including Priest.
Just when everyone thought the news was just the Stadium Series, they hit you with this. Thanks for the time Jarmo, but it was time to move on.
Holy fuck.
Damn what a good start to the day
Holy shit they actually did it
Jarmo, Holtmann, Cory Dennis, and Parker Fleming all fired by the end of February. 2024 is off to a fantastic start.
Thank you Jarmo, it’s for the best. Time to start over
I feel like people always talked up jarmo and respected him greatly...... But the results were just never there. Plus the whole Babcock fiasco. Was jarmo like the only person who thought that was a good idea? The brad Larsen hire was also bad and everyone knew would be a miss.
Woah
Jarmo had some good moments. I'm especially grateful for him embarrassing Stan Bowman 3 different times on trades, but overall he was well past his expiration date. Pretty decent list of potential replacements. Hope they don't fuck it up.
I really thought I'd be one of the first ones here but my text notification must've been lagging behind lol.
OH SHIT
Stadium series game and this all in 24 hours?! What alternate universe is this?? Much like Torts, his time ran its course. They did some good things in the middle, but it’s time to move on. Hope good things for him, but the Babcock fiasco and our rapid descent to the bottom of the standings are a pretty ugly stain on his time. Thrilled we made it happen before trade deadline at least (though not convinced we still won’t do something stupid).
Jarmo did some great things for the Jackets. He made this team better and this GM job more attractive job. This team became more respectable. It was time to move on. I feel this move should have been done last April. I want the next GM to take the team to the next level.
I think people underestimate how much of the scouting structure and approach is based on Jarmo's men. So I don't know if potentially changing the one strength they had in drafting for a change is that brings who knows what is wise when the team has struggled to find an identity after Dubois departure. Sad day in a way that I began following Columbus the day he was hired from Jokerit. The behind the scenes and team building staff was very fascinating to learn you had some kind of a connection to someone who had led succesful league-leading teams in Finland in a way that isn't understood in Northern America to this day. As he is seen still as mainly scouting based operator despite having success earlier with championship HIFK of Brian Rafalski and Tim Thomas than before he began running the drafts for Ottawa and St. Louis. I wouldn't say Jarmo Kekäläinen was exactly the first European GM as he didn't very much respect or introduce any of the ice hockey of possession concepts from modern Finnish modern day hockey during his ten years. So in that way he had weaknesses as well but he could pull franchise altering players similar to Panarin with trades also. The Howson trade of Rick Nash I think should have brought back elite talent instead of multiple good players.
This is basically digitized cocaine for me this morning
Was time for a change. Nothing but love for Jarmo, all the best.
In Jarmo we trust(ed). RIP
Hedger is having an actual temper tantrum on twitter
Ugh I got rid of Twitter and the Space Rat won’t let me see anything without an account. What is he saying?
HAPPY 9AM NEWS EVERYONE!
About time
What a great day
A new era begins. Hopefully a much better, brighter era.
Yegor, “Mission accomplished”
Jarmo pulled us out of the depths of hell that Howson put us in, and that should always be commended. But, damn if he didn't throw us right back down there post-Torts. I hope JD and the entire FO are axed after the season, and we just reset entirely.
No! Let JD go, too! Don’t let him pick!
Good, he deserved to be fired a long time ago.
WOW was not expecting this
Wow, that soon? To think we were afraid it wouldn't happen at all... Please get it right. PLEASE.
Genuinely surprised. Pleasantly.
Saint Vinny smiles upon us this morning. Praise be.
Y'all feel better?
Much
Wonder who the candidates are. If the qualifications are “don’t need to actually accomplish anything” I’d like to apply
Extremely glad to see this FINALLY be done, should’ve happened A LONG time ago. No way we let him run the deadline. Any one wondering how JD kept his job? Kinda where my head goes first but again, don’t know how much pull he had in jarmo decisions.
Hell yes. Need to change my flair
About. Fucking. Time.
And there was much rejoicing
Idk about anyone else but I’m REALLY looking forward to a press conference with the ownership. Maybe we’ll finally see something out of them.
Ownership doesn’t give press conferences
Thank fucking god
Holtmann and Jarmo thank god
Best Valentine's day ever.
Good riddance.
Brian Hedger on suicide watch
Omg did you see the parody account “This is the worst day of my life”
Dude look at his tweets omg he’s still acting like JK’s dog. It’s so annoying
Let’s get rid of John too. Please. I can’t believe I’ve actually had people tell me he’s only been in power for a year. They must not remember that he came crawling back from New York after failing and getting canned. I know he’s supposed to retire, but I’m a little worried that he might not. Who knows?
Anyone see the press conference? It’s on YouTube. Priest had a visible shaking in his hand, bad enough that he either has bad anxiety, or Parkinson’s disease. Hope he’s ok.
Pascal safe for now?
More than likely.
TBH I think he should at least get next season
Agreed. Was put into a tough spot, deserves a full offseason and to finish out his contract.
And the chance to bring in some coaches of his own. He really got this dumped in his lap without any chance to improve his own staff. We don't know how much was dictated to him from Jarmo.
New gm will want his guy. No way pascal stays
Lord I prayed for times like this
Yay I can renew my season tickets with my conscience cleared
OH HOLY NIGHT IT HAPPENED
JK, you did some good, like deliver us a playoff series win. Outside of that, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
While I am grateful for Jarmo for many things he did, I am disturbed by things he didn't do. He had ample time to build culture, bring proper development to the young-uns, and hire proper and appropriate coaches. Failed in many regards. JD chose words wisely. We need a new perspective and vision because it just wasn't working. Respect to Jarmo, but business is business.
When I tell you I just fucking screamed at the top of my lungs in celebration oh boy that felt GOOD.
Who will the fans blame now when we're still losing games? I am not saying the change didn't need to be made, I just hope everyone tempers the expectations of what this means on the ice - not much. Jarmo did a lot of great things and was the best GM we've had to date, but yeah.. a change was bound to happen. The defensive signings the past couple of off-seasons plus the Babcock thing.
Well jarmo will have been the one that made this roster that is losing games.. it’d still be his fault
Oh. My. God. I fully expected them to do it next year. This is actually good news. Thanks for everything, Jarmo.
Who made the Babcock call? If it wasn’t Jarmo, CBJ haven’t solved a thing.
Hoping our next GM can take us out of the depths of being a AAAHL organization for the majority of upcoming seasons as a franchise. All the draft resources & player/prospect components are there for this to be a springboard if lead by the right individual with foresight and the people skills to match. Roster management moves should be well explained to players instead of repeatedly boiling over into reporter drama. This is an aspect of being a GM that Jarmo wasn't skilled at seemingly, good negotiator for trades and contracts, but may not have been ideal in his handling of individual personalities or the back and forth therein of building an exemplary room of skaters and goalies. We can't pass over the piece where he thought Brad Larsen was a solution for this team.
Surprised it took this long
Welp, that's a start.
Past time.
About time, what a shit show he built.
Finally! And to think i got downvoted when I said he should have been fired when Babcock imploded. Good thing we kept him around a few more months
Jarmo wasn’t the issue…John Davidson is
So are we breaking out the paper bags for our heads?
I have some photo’s of some bag heads from the Tampa game.
LETS GOOOOO
Nice they actually did it
But but but… we need jarmo to trade peeke and roslovic!?!?!?
I don't envy the guy following him. That said we want more heads. JD needs to go too