New GM for the Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets dumped Scott Howson and brought in a guy they hope can turn this struggling team around.

John Davidson, the new CEO of the Blue Jackets, hired Jarmo Kekalainen as the new GM. His strength as a talented evaluator mixes well with Davidson's vision on how the team should be rebuilt.

Davidson is concentrated on building a team of quality prospects or using them as bargaining chips in trades with other teams. He believes Kekalainen can build a team around that fashion.

This strategy did help in rebuilding the St. Louis Blues. He helped the Blues rise up from the 30th team in the league to become a Stanley Cup contender. Didn't win it all, though, but still. Kekalainen also helped with the Blues as the team's draft guru. Look how far up that stock went for them.

Under Kekalainen's watch, Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshie, David Perron, and Alex Pietrangelo have become star players for the Blues squad. Kekalainen also did stints as director of player personnel with the Ottawa Senators, where he drafted Marian Hossa and Jason Spezza and others. Now he is the first European-born general manager in the NHL.

I've never heard of this guy until now and based on information that I know about Kekalainen I believe he could be the right choice for this Jackets squad. But something's clear about the Jackets: This is a troubled team that can't seem to get out of the ditch no matter how well they played. They don't put the puck in the net often and their goaltenders have trouble just trying to keep the puck out. What the St. Louis Blues had was good players that worked well in the system. And they had a coach that helped with that. Todd Richards will have to adapt to this system. If he can't, he won't be there that long. I understand the move and I understand you're trying to do what you can to rebuild a team, but Columbus and St. Louis are two different things. It worked in St. Louis but who knows what'll happen in Columbus. I just hope they know what they are doing. I root for this team and hopefully Kekalainen can hopefully make them a contender, because this team is so horrible in recent memory that it's hard to root for them anymore.