Kekalainen a good GM?

[Asiantuntija]

You realize PLD isn't eligible to play in the AHL right? He has played on a garbage team in a garbage league and he is in the process of learning a new position still. He's not even played a total of a season at C yet. Mean while Puljujarvi is playing with the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl and isn't really that impressive. This draft will not be able to be judged for 5 years still. When PLD is 22 we can see if it was a mistake

I don't really care about that. It makes it even more risky choice if player need to learn new position. If that league is carbage, i'm sure Puljujärvi would dominate easily over PPG even in that team. In my opinion he has been pretty impressive when they have put him on ice with McDavid he is young guy and it's good that he can practice and learn with the guys because he will play in 1st line with McDavid at future. Guys in Edmonton said Kekäläinen gets always free beers when he comes to the city because the gift he made. He is just a total idiot if he didn't notice how bad Puljujärvi dominate at SM-Liiga playoffs and at junior world championships.

I expect him drop 60pts and it will become a habit. But it will maybe take 2-4 years for him to raise to that level

 

[Channelcat]

All he needs to do is drop a few analytics references and the boards would love him.

 

[mikeyp24]

Threads like these make me laugh. 2 months ago people were bashing on him calling him one of the worst GMs in the league.

Because 2 moves which I have defended in personal life and on the cbj forum since I've joined. I would argue he is top 10 based on his work in OTT and STL then the amount of growth the organization has made since he joined.


Non CBJ fans will say he's the worst because he passed on Puljujarvi and took PLD which right now is still to be determined. People thought he was nhl ready but in my viewings which is 2 and I'm being honest about that he hasn't looked like anything spectacular especially with the talent he has around him. If we drafted him we might not have went out and signed Gagnar and he has been so big for the team this year I'd much rather have him shirt term. PLD is to young for the AHL so he is stuck in the worst developmental league and has been on one.of the worst teams in that league still learning C. We can all wait a little to determine if it was bad or not. Jarmo said multiple times on video he thought Werenski was going to be at least as good as Hannifan and did not want to move up and people thought he was crazy. If there is one thing to trust him with its scouting young talent and drafting look at his history with STL and OTT then who he has drafted as a GM here. Let it work out.

The next issue is the Horton non insurance and followed trade for Clarkson. The insurance was almost 100% likely owners decision to not spend money in that season and wait. The followed trade was also a deal the owners wanted because they would rather over pay a guy to sit in the press box then pay a guy to sit at home AND pay a guy to fill his position. It has worked out great for us. Clarkson sadly for him has likely ended his career with back injuries and I don't like the player but being partially disabled because back issues since I was 21 and being 28 now I wish this life on no one. But that being said he is on LTIR he won't effect us in the draft and he isn't taking up important roster spots and he is insured. It has been for us the perfect trade to get out of the Horton contract but fans outside of Columbus either do the understand or don't care to understand he is 0 issue for us. Look on the trade board how often people want to take our best players and disguise it by adding Clarkson and pretend to do us a favor. Any logical human being can realize that.

His trades include:
Saad for AA and Dano
Hartnell for Umberger
Jones for RyJo
Karlson for Wiz

Draft includes:
Wennberg
Dano
Bjorkstrand
Milano
Werenski
Carlsson
Gavrikov (I love this guy so I'll add him)
Nutivaara
PLD
Abramov

Signings to great contracts:
Jones
Murray
Gagnar
Atkinson
Saad

Some people also like to say Foligno and Dubi get over paid. I'd definitely fight that they are not. Dubi might have been signed to a year or 2 long but his cap is fine for a great 2C. Not many people can play someone like Crosby the way he does.

If anyone has a LEGIT reason he's a bad GM I welcome discussion but his positives outweigh the negative by to much to even put a number on it.

 

[Kshahdoo]

No, he sucks. If HFs had been Columbus GM, the team would have already won 6 titles.

 

[mikeyp24]

I don't really care about that. It makes it even more risky choice if player need to learn new position. If that league is carbage, i'm sure Puljujärvi would dominate easily over PPG even in that team. In my opinion he has been pretty impressive when they have put him on ice with McDavid he is young guy and it's good that he can practice and learn with the guys because he will play in 1st line with McDavid at future. Guys in Edmonton said Kekäläinen gets always free beers when he comes to the city because the gift he made. He is just a total idiot if he didn't notice how bad Puljujärvi dominate at SM-Liiga playoffs and at junior world championships.

I expect him drop 60pts and it will become a habit. But it will maybe take 2-4 years for him to raise to that level

Ahhhh it makes sense now your a Finnish fan. Any time people talk about SM-LIIGA you can tell the bias for these guys. If any GM in the league knew whether or not Puljujarvi was a fit for their team it was GMJK. The thing is the jackets are incredibly deep in winger depth and weak on C. So Jarmo knew that not only did he not need Puljujarvi right now but long term he might not fit with the way the team plays. Chemistry and play style have a lot to do with this. Even if PLD ends up at wing he is still the physical style player we need and use.

I also like how it's ok Puljujarvi will take a few years to develop but PLD who was like the 2nd youngest drafted should be dominating now with ZERO help. You can put anyone on a line with McDavid and produce. You can't score a PPG if you have to play 5 on 1 every night with no help. If anything it shows the weakness for the guy lacking playing with a guy who is supposed to be top 5 in the world as opposed to a guy playing with people who will likely never play NA professional hockey when their JR career is over. If we have to wait 4 years for Puljujärvi to prove he is a stud then we have to wait that long for PLD.

 

[hirawl]

Because 2 moves which I have defended in personal life and on the cbj forum since I've joined. I would argue he is top 10 based on his work in OTT and STL then the amount of growth the organization has made since he joined.


Non CBJ fans will say he's the worst because he passed on Puljujarvi and took PLD which right now is still to be determined. People thought he was nhl ready but in my viewings which is 2 and I'm being honest about that he hasn't looked like anything spectacular especially with the talent he has around him. If we drafted him we might not have went out and signed Gagnar and he has been so big for the team this year I'd much rather have him shirt term. PLD is to young for the AHL so he is stuck in the worst developmental league and has been on one.of the worst teams in that league still learning C. We can all wait a little to determine if it was bad or not. Jarmo said multiple times on video he thought Werenski was going to be at least as good as Hannifan and did not want to move up and people thought he was crazy. If there is one thing to trust him with its scouting young talent and drafting look at his history with STL and OTT then who he has drafted as a GM here. Let it work out.

The next issue is the Horton non insurance and followed trade for Clarkson. The insurance was almost 100% likely owners decision to not spend money in that season and wait. The followed trade was also a deal the owners wanted because they would rather over pay a guy to sit in the press box then pay a guy to sit at home AND pay a guy to fill his position. It has worked out great for us. Clarkson sadly for him has likely ended his career with back injuries and I don't like the player but being partially disabled because back issues since I was 21 and being 28 now I wish this life on no one. But that being said he is on LTIR he won't effect us in the draft and he isn't taking up important roster spots and he is insured. It has been for us the perfect trade to get out of the Horton contract but fans outside of Columbus either do the understand or don't care to understand he is 0 issue for us. Look on the trade board how often people want to take our best players and disguise it by adding Clarkson and pretend to do us a favor. Any logical human being can realize that.

His trades include:
Saad for AA and Dano
Hartnell for Umberger
Jones for RyJo
Karlson for Wiz

Draft includes:
Wennberg
Dano
Bjorkstrand
Milano
Werenski
Carlsson
Gavrikov (I love this guy so I'll add him)
Nutivaara
PLD
Abramov

Signings to great contracts:
Jones
Murray
Gagnar
Atkinson
Saad

Some people also like to say Foligno and Dubi get over paid. I'd definitely fight that they are not. Dubi might have been signed to a year or 2 long but his cap is fine for a great 2C. Not many people can play someone like Crosby the way he does.

If anyone has a LEGIT reason he's a bad GM I welcome discussion but his positives outweigh the negative by to much to even put a number on it.

That is simply put as impressive as it gets. He's done a fantastic job in Columbus.

 

[Asiantuntija]

Ahhhh it makes sense now your a Finnish fan. Any time people talk about SM-LIIGA you can tell the bias for these guys. If any GM in the league knew whether or not Puljujarvi was a fit for their team it was GMJK. The thing is the jackets are incredibly deep in winger depth and weak on C. So Jarmo knew that not only did he not need Puljujarvi right now but long term he might not fit with the way the team plays. Chemistry and play style have a lot to do with this. Even if PLD ends up at wing he is still the physical style player we need and use.

I also like how it's ok Puljujarvi will take a few years to develop but PLD who was like the 2nd youngest drafted should be dominating now with ZERO help. You can put anyone on a line with McDavid and produce. You can't score a PPG if you have to play 5 on 1 every night with no help. If anything it shows the weakness for the guy lacking playing with a guy who is supposed to be top 5 in the world as opposed to a guy playing with people who will likely never play NA professional hockey when their JR career is over. If we have to wait 4 years for Puljujärvi to prove he is a stud then we have to wait that long for PLD.

But still i don't see PLD crowing to that 60pts man. I think his sailing is something like 20-30 pts. If team is really that trash it ca cost harms in his improve

Before that development Pulju will probably drop these 20-40 pts season what i think is best what PLD can do at his prime.

 

[jonlin]

But still i don't see PLD crowing to that 60pts man. I think his sailing is something like 20-30 pts. If team is really that trash it ca cost harms in his improve

Before that development Pulju will probably drop these 20-40 pts season what i think is best what PLD can do at his prime.

So, the main reason for you to diss Jarmo is the 2017 draft alone? You simply disregard all the great signings and trades and because you think Pulju had been a better pich you call him a bad GM?
Maybe Jarmo knows a thing or two more about the players regarded? Or then actually thinks PLD was a better fit? Anyhow - Columbus is leading the NHL atm, so I would assume the owners and fans are pretty happy with him today...

 

[Hello Johnny]

But still i don't see PLD crowing to that 60pts man. I think his sailing is something like 20-30 pts. If team is really that trash it ca cost harms in his improve

Before that development Pulju will probably drop these 20-40 pts season what i think is best what PLD can do at his prime.

Alright now, this is getting out of hand.

 

[major major]

If you take out the drafting (Wennberg, Werenski, Dubois, etc) because it's a bit of a grey area when it comes to evaluating the GM (who had the final say, him or the chief scout?):

The Saad trade was good. Anisimov's numbers are obviously inflated by Kane and Panarin. Dano will be a long time NHL winger in a 2nd or 3rd line role but not a star.

Jones for Johansen looks good and has helped turn their D into a major strength.

Karlsson + 3rd for Wisniewski + 2nd was a theft considering how quickly Wiz crashed.

Hartnell for Umberger's corpse is a solid trade, even though Hartnell's contract remains a bit of an issue.

Gagner was an unreal FA bargain bin signing.

So that's 5 pickups.

I still don't understand how they didn't get a pick for helping the Leafs out of the Clarkson headache.

The rest of the team is essentially Howson's bunch.

He hasn't really made a key mistake, which in nearly 4 years of GMing can't be understated.

Hartnell is easily worth his contract.

And Jarmo has made some mistakes. The depth was dreadful until this year, partly through his letting DMac and Letestu go and replacing them with Campbell. Gaborik was a mistake, so was Horton.

I've been backing Jarmo for awhile, but I'd also argue that Scott Howson deserves some credit, not for overall roster building, but for talent acquisition. Guys he drafted like Anderson and Sedlak are just joining the team now. His first draft picks are just starting to peak (Atkinson). The club is crazy deep because both GMs have drafted well.

 

[mikeyp24]

But still i don't see PLD crowing to that 60pts man. I think his sailing is something like 20-30 pts. If team is really that trash it ca cost harms in his improve

Before that development Pulju will probably drop these 20-40 pts season what i think is best what PLD can do at his prime.

He is more of a 50pt 2way 2C and that's what we want!! We have wennberg for the 1C of the future being young and in his 3 NHL season stepping up huge. On the right side we have Bjorkstrand and Abramov as prospects who look amazing right now and on the current roster Foligno who is our captain and produces 50 to 60. We have the top PP guy in the league and a top 10 scorer in cam Atkinson right now. Josh Anderson who is a rookie with 8 goals already and has won championships at every level of hockey he has ever played. And Gagnar who is on pace for like 70pts on the 4th line. We don't need a right winger. What we do need is a 2way physical C who can put up 40-50 while playing great defense and that's exactly what he projects to be. Not every team needs a malkin and Crosby. Some teams work great with players who fill there roles. You don't need an Allstar team to win as we are proving. You need guys to buy into a system and play their role. Look at JMFJ this year. People have trashed his D since he was on LA. This year he has changed his game 180 and went from a gifted Offensive minded D to a pure shut down guy and both him and Savard are at the top of the defensive end of dmen this year. It's not about points to all the time.

 

[izzy]

He has an eye for talent thats for sure

big reason the blues have been good the last 5+ years

 

[FVM]

He was on everyone's bottom 5 GMs list before the season started. Evaluating general managers is difficult.

 

[WhiteWings*]

Pretty good. But skipping Puljujärvi was dumbest think ever.

The Jackets really miss his 1 goal in 24 games.

 

[ClydeLee]

At least this years hottest team has only people questioning if the GM is good and not several people trying to anoint him one of the best like Nill last year after accomplishing nothing at the time.

 

[Crede777]

He was on everyone's bottom 5 GMs list before the season started. Evaluating general managers is difficult.

Not everyone's.

He is a top-5 GM in terms of scouting, drafting, and developing. I was critical of the PLD pick, but everyone needs to acknowledge that Jarmo knows more than almost anyone else. It changes that decision from dumb to intriguing. What does Jarmo know about PLD and Puljujarvi that we don't?

He is average at trades.

He is below average at free agent signings. Although the Gagner signing may make him better.

 

[WhiteWings*]

If you take out the drafting (Wennberg, Werenski, Dubois, etc) because it's a bit of a grey area when it comes to evaluating the GM (who had the final say, him or the chief scout?):

The Saad trade was good. Anisimov's numbers are obviously inflated by Kane and Panarin. Dano will be a long time NHL winger in a 2nd or 3rd line role but not a star.

Jones for Johansen looks good and has helped turn their D into a major strength.

Karlsson + 3rd for Wisniewski + 2nd was a theft considering how quickly Wiz crashed.

Hartnell for Umberger's corpse is a solid trade, even though Hartnell's contract remains a bit of an issue.

Gagner was an unreal FA bargain bin signing.

So that's 5 pickups.

I still don't understand how they didn't get a pick for helping the Leafs out of the Clarkson headache.

The rest of the team is essentially Howson's bunch.

He hasn't really made a key mistake, which in nearly 4 years of GMing can't be understated.

Actually the trade was Karlsson + 2nd for Wisniewski + 3rd.Which is even better for the Jackets.
That's a strange timing to call Hartnell's contract "an issue".
His biggest mistake was the whole Gaborik saga. The Jackets eventually gave away Brassard, Moore and Dorsette for nothing.

 

[22Brad Park]

Who cares what most think.He is their GM and that team is flying and at end of the day all that matters.WINNING.

 

[22Brad Park]

The Jackets really miss his 1 goal in 24 games.

Edm GM should of sent that kid to WJHC again.He is not helping them yet.But he should eventually.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Do you read every thread on here?



also.. 'Kekalainen's skill as the team's draft guru played a major role in the Blues' rise.

Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshie, David Perron, Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko among others were all added to the team during Kekalainen's watch.

Kekalainen's resume includes a stint as director of player personnel with the Ottawa Senators, where he drafted Marian Hossa and Jason Spezza, among others.' http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ts-gm-jarmo-kekalainen-hiring-column/1915915/

Lets not pretend that Pietrangelo and Spezza were hard picks to make.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

As a Finn i'm a bit surprised to see CBJ dominating in NHL right now.
If we look back Kekalainen's career last time when he's build championship caliber team that happen in HIFK Helsinki 1997-1998 when he was HIFK's GM in FEL.

After that Kekalainen hasn't succeed so well.
His years 2010-2013 in Helsingin Jokerit FEL team were bad.

Those years Jokerit had expensive team and their player budget in FEL was 3,5-4 million euros.
The team didn't perform well and only medal what they won was FEL bronze medal spring 2012.

So it's great to see Jarmo's team winning right now but is CBJ real Stanley Cup contender this season is another story.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

jarmo and Rutherford both flipped the script on anyone who thought they knew

 

[TaketheCannoli]

Well look at the jackets and how it has been turned arround. Stacked up young talent in just a few years.

Their blue line is the youngest in nhl.

He's terrible. They're lucky, wait till their inevitable regression. Columbus has another lottery team this year.

Am I doing it right?

 

[Bouboumaster]

He's pretty good

 

[Tulipunaruusu*]

His years 2010-2013 in Helsingin Jokerit FEL team were bad.

Those years Jokerit had expensive team and their player budget in FEL was 3,5-4 million euros.
The team didn't perform well and only medal what they won was FEL bronze medal spring 2012.

Kekäläinen departed to Blue Jackets during a semi-lockout season when Jokerit was (what nine points off?) in SM-liiga regular season lead?

Kekäläinen didn't inherit the circus that was Jokerit from an exactly a position of strength to begin with so there is bit more context behind those results given that Jokerit for example is not even the only Helsinki-based team or contender in the SM-liiga in which teams operate from a position of strength rather than following structures of communism, in pyramid-like fashion.