Jarmo Kekalainen's best moves as general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets

Every NHL general manager makes mistakes. That will be the subject of our next survey of Jarmo Kekalainen’s 10-plus-year tenure with the Blue Jackets. The opera that was the hiring and forced resignation of coach Mike Babcock – that's on the next list.

Today, we offer up Jarmo’s Greatest hits.  The primary focus is on his trade history.

Those who make the case that the Mike Babcock gong show should’ve been the death knell of Kekalainen’s regime – and a good argument can be made – should at least pause to consider the vast body of the man’s work. Keep in mind: If and when another team gets to hire Kekalainen, they'd be getting a stand-up dude, a well-regarded talent evaluator and a bold dealmaker who hits for a high average in his transactions. He wins trades.

Seth Jones trade to Chicago Blackhawks

July 23, 2021: From the Chicago Blackhawks, acquired D Adam Boqvist, a 2021 first-round draft pick (Cole Sillinger), a 2022 first-round pick (David Jiricek), and a 2021 second-round pick (traded to Carolina for Jake Bean) for D Seth Jones, a 2021 first-round pick (Nolan Allan) and a 2022 sixth-round pick (Dominic James).

Kekalainen had a habit of taking former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman to the cleaners. This deal was the starchiest. Jones wanted out of Columbus; he saw a rebuild coming, was a year away from restricted free agency and was looking for a larger market. Kekalainen ultimately got a potential top-four defenseman, a potential second-line center and a potential top-pair defenseman out of the deal. Kekalainen's predecessor, Scott Howson, had a nice touch with salvage-job deals (Adam Foote, Jeff Carter), but this one by Kekalainen might ultimately raise the Titanic.

Artemi Parin acquired from Chicago Blackhawks

June 23, 2017: From the Chicago Blackhawks, acquired LW Artemi Parin, C Tyler Motte and a 2017 sixth-round pick (Jonathan Davidsson) for LW Brandon Saad, G Anton Forsberg and a 2018 fifth-round pick.

A neat piece of management here. In Columbus, Saad missed Chicago. In Chicago, Panarin was two years away from unrestricted free agency, and the Blackhawks knew they wouldn’t be able to afford him. So, they swapped. Kekalainen got the best player in the deal, by some margin, and got Motte in the bargain. Panarin played out his contract in Columbus and cast his gaze to New York. While he was here, though, he had 55 goals and 169 points in 160 games.

Columbus Blue Jackets trade for Seth Jones

January 6, 2016: From the Nashville Predators, acquired D Seth Jones for C Ryan Johansen.

This was an old-school, big-boy, one-for-one deal, the kind that doesn’t much happen anymore. Johansen was not a happy camper near the end of his time in Columbus, in part because he and his agent found negotiating with Kekalainen and then-assistant GM Bill Zito akin to dealing with North Korea. Jones was not happy with his minutes in Nashville. So, they swapped these former first-round picks. Johansen’s career went into regression (and here’s hoping Joey finds new life in Colorado). Jones turned into an All-Star and a borderline Norris Trophy candidate.

Brandon Saad acquired from Chicago Blackhawks

June 30, 2015: From the Blackhawks, acquired LW Brandon Saad, D Michael Paliotta and C Alex Broadhurst for C Artem Anisimov, LW/RW Marko Dano, LW Corey Tropp, LW Jeremy Morin and a 2016 fourth-round pick (Anatoly Golyshev).

Saad had just won a second Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks but talks about a contract extension hit a wall. Saad was ready to get paid, so Bowman moved him to Columbus for Anisimov and some change. Saad signed a six-year contract worth $6 million per. He put up 53 points in each of his two seasons in Columbus and had a hand in the Jackets’ greatest regular season ever, 2016-17, when the Jackets won a franchise-record 16 games in a row and racked up108 points.

Columbus Blue Jackets acquire Matt Duchene

Feb. 22, 2019: From the Ottawa Senators, acquired C Matt Duchene and D Julius Bergman for a 2019 first-round pick (Lassi Thomson), RW Vitaly Abramov and C Jonathan Davidsson.

Fans will always have mixed feelings about the Duchene acquisition, which was part of Kekalainen’s “all in” trade-deadline of 2019. Instead of selling the expiring contracts of Sergei Bobrovsky and Panarin, he hung onto those stars – and then went out and bought Duchene, the prize of the market. All three left town once the free-agent season opened, but before they went, they helped orchestrate a first-round sweep of the mighty Tampa Bay Lighting in what was one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. It was the first playoff series victory in franchise history.

William Karlsson to the Columbus Blue Jackets

March 2, 2015: From the Anaheim Ducks, acquired C William Karlsson, LW Rene Bourque and a 2015 second-round pick (Kevin Stenlund) for D James Wisniewski and a 2015 third-round pick (Brent Gates).

Robbery.

Columbus Blue Jackets trade for Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic

Jan. 23, 2021: From the Winnipeg Jets, acquired RW Patrik Laine and C Jack Roslovic for C Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round pick (Daniil Zhilkin).

Laine and Roslovic were disgruntled in Winnipeg and Dubois done with Columbus. After Dubois flat-out quit on the Jackets during a game, the disgruntlement flew hither and yon between central Ohio and Southern Manitoba. Two years later, Dubois was once again disgruntled. He was moved to Southern California and announced that, henceforth, he will be known as P.L. Dubois.

Columbus Blue Jackets send Nick Foligno to Toronto

April 11, 2021: From the Toronto Maple Leafs, acquired a 2021 first-round draft pick (Corson Ceulemans) and a 2022 fourth-round pick (traded for Mathieu Olivier) for RW Nick Foligno.

Blue Jackets trade David Savard

April 10, 2021: From the Tampa Bay Lightning, acquired a 2021 first-round draft pick (traded to Chicago in Seth Jones deal) and a 2022 third-round pick (Jordan Dumais) for D David Savard.

Foligno and Savard, two all-time Blue Jackets on expiring contracts, brought an excellent haul. At the next trade deadline, teams were much more reticent to swap first-round picks for rentals. The Foligno and Savard trades were often cited as the reason.

Johnny Gaudreau joins Columbus Blue Jackets

July 13, 2022: Signed unrestricted free agent Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year contract worth $9.75 million a year).

Kekalainen has long been known for rocking the draft floor in June – the Jones, Panarin and Saad trades are examples, as is the selection of Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi with the No. 3 overall pick in 2016. The Gaudreau signing, which fell out of the sky late on the first day of the summer signing season, rocked the market. Gaudreau was the undisputed star of the 2022 UFA class. He and his wife were looking to move from Calgary closer to the East Coast. His choice of Columbus (a year after Zach Werenski opted to re-up) marked the city as a desirable destination for NHL elite.

Time will tell how much this transaction moves up on the list of Jarmo’s Greatest Hits. It has the potential to shoot up in the rankings.

marace@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jarmo Kekalainen's best moves as general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets