Less than two years after being fired as General Manager by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jarmo Kekalainen has been hired by the Buffalo Sabres for the same job.
The Sabres opted to make the move despite passing the Blue Jackets in the standings with a victory last night. They are 14-14-4 (32 points) so far this season.
Jarmo replaces another person with CBJ ties: Kevyn Adams, who was on the team's roster during their inaugural season. Adams was hired in June of 2020 and spent 5 years at the helm of the Sabres.
Buffalo has not made the playoffs since the 2010-11 season-notably, before the Blue Jackets even hired Jarmo Kekalainen as their own GM. In between Sabres playoff appearances, he spent almost 11 years at the helm of the CBJ, and was one of the longest tenured GMs in the league.
If that isn't indication enough of how bad Sabres fans have had it, maybe this will be: Kekalainen will be their fourth GM since their last playoff appearance.
As bad as we have had it in Columbus, the fans in Buffalo have only had it worse over the last 15 years.
Could the Sabres be a trade partner for the Blue Jackets?
The natural progression here would be Jarmo looking to bring in some of his own guys. Whether that's front office personnel, scouting staff folks that he had in Columbus, or former players.
So, with both teams sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, is there a chance they could help each other out? It's definitely possible. Don Waddell has certainly dealt with Jarmo Kekalainen in the past.
And, it could happen soon. It's not like Jarmo is brand new to the Sabres organization; he's been there all season. He has been able to do plenty of evaluating, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him start putting his stamp on that team right away.
Time will tell if acquiring some of his former draft picks or acquisitions is in the cards. But, it's a story worth following until something either happens or does not happen.
In the meantime, I'm happy to see Jarmo get another chance as a GM in the NHL. I thought he did a very good job bringing relevancy to the Blue Jackets during his tenure here. The fans in Buffalo deserve a better fate, and I'm confident that he has the ability to bring it to them.