With the removal of Scott Howson as the Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager (GM) and the hiring of drafting and development guru Jarmo Kekalainen to replace Howson, the philosophy of patience could have been replaced with one of a major upheaval, albeit one with Kekalainen’s stamp of youth and playing the game at a high rate of speed, both physically and mentally.
One seismic change which may also occur could directly correlate to April’s impending National Hockey League (NHL) trade deadline. Rather than often being hamstrung by risk aversion, the Blue Jackets may, as Kekalainen described his initial interactions with the other 29 NHL GMs, enter the deadline with a philosophy of level-setting, trading higher-priced veteran talent who have underachieved or appear stuck in a rut, concurrent with the organization for prospects, NHL-ready players or draft picks.
Follow paulmbanks