Three Traits the Next General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets Must Have
Since firing Jarmo Kekalainen as their General Manager, the Columbus Blue Jackets have cast a wide net to find a suitable replacement. Opening the door for as many candidates as possible is a smart move; and the right fit should have these three important traits.
The Blue Jackets want to make sure that whoever they hire as their new GM can build this team quickly into a contender. It's critical that they get on the winning track soon.
It's not an easy task, but there are plenty of pieces to work with here. They've talked about wanting to have someone with hockey management experience - though not necessarily as a GM.
That experience is important, because whoever they hire, has to be ready to step up and manage this smaller market franchise. Aside from experience, here are three things I think they should focus on.
1. Scouting/player evaluation and development...
This was Jarmo Kekalainen's bread and butter. He's a very good evaluator of talent, by all accounts. The next GM has to be strong in this regard as well.
While I don't want to see the Blue Jackets become a "feeder system" to the rest of the NHL, they're not traditionally a big attraction for high end talent from elsewhere (Johnny Gaudreau being the exception).
For that reason, it's absolutely imperative that they have a consistent flow of quality prospects into the organization. This is especially important if they do build this roster into contention. The next GM will have to be able to find and develop talent later on in the draft.
I will always stand by Jarmo's ability to draft players. That's part of the reason he leaves this franchise in a pretty good situation. But in the realm of development, things were far from perfect. And, when it came to retention, well, that leads us to our next key trait...
2. The ability to retain talent beyond the ELC years...
I don't know that we can fully blame Jarmo Kekalainen for all of the talent that left here over his years as GM. But, I do know that we had our share of ugly contract negotiations, and at least in part, that pushed guys away.
Josh Anderson is one name that stands out in this regard. We know those negotiations were ugly, and he was definitely a fan favorite in his time here.
Jarmo's saving grace in a lot of these scenarios, was his ability to flip assets into other pieces and/or futures. But the next GM has to be able to find their core players, and keep them around long-term.
The inability to keep developed talent in Columbus, is a big part of the reason this team has never fully built an identity. When you're constantly churning through players that come and go in the short term, it's really hard to have any kind of consistency.
Now, I do have to point out that Jarmo being heavy-handed and stingy with his contract extensions, is a big part of the reason this team is in a great cap situation.
But, when it comes to extending an Adam Fantilli, or Kent Johnson, or Yegor Chinakhov, or Kirill Marchenko, or David Jiricek, etc ... we don't necessarily want heavy-handed. These guys should be the core of this rebuild. Locking them up long-term, and keeping them happy, should be priority #1 for the next GM.
They shouldn't act too wildly right out of the gate, though. That brings us to trait #3...
3. Patience...
We've heard the Blue Jackets talk all season about how close they are to contention. You know what: that may be true.
If they are close, the reason they are is because they have a lot of talent on this roster. It's just mostly young, with loads of potential and promise.
The incoming GM is certainly going to want to make his (or her) mark on this roster, right out of the gate. I think that's a great idea, as long as they are pulling the right strings.
What I don't want to see, is someone throwing band-aid fixes for the short term, at the expense of this team's massive future upside.
It's important for this GM to understand that their job is not on the line right out of the gate. Nationwide Arena fills up regularly, even when this team is bad. Yes, we want to see a winner. Preferably soon. But we want to see this team win for the long-haul. Not just for three or four years.
So, they would be wise to trim the fat. Work around the edges of the roster; trade away the irrelevant pieces (such as JD did with Emil Bemstrom last week). But, keep those core pieces together.
Build around Fantilli, Johnson, Marchenko, Voronkov, Chinakhov, Jiricek, etc. Those guys are the reason everyone looks at this roster and talks about how close they are. The new GM will have to be patient, and give these young guys the proper support.
I will be fascinated to see who they decide on for this role. By all accounts, it's a highly sought after position. The city of Columbus and the 5th Line deserve a proper NHL team.
Jarmo Kekalainen left this person with a great start. I would love to have someone run with it and see where it takes us.
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