And Forty-Three Rejoiced, For Gladness Was Here

[IndyAndy]

Geez; what stern looking guy.

"Next week you score goal, or strait to Siberian Gulag for you!"

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Geez; what stern looking guy.

"Next week you score goal, or strait to Siberian Gulag for you!"

Nah, he's just Finnish. They all look like that.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I'm not surprised one bit by Davidson hiring Kekalainen. He knows him well from St. Louis. This is the guy who drafted guys like Berglund, Tarasenko & Schwartz amongst others. He's going to have a lot of fun on draft day with three 1st round picks.

 

[forty_three]

Additionally, I think Doug MacLean's head just exploded scanners-style...

BONUS!

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline
Words I've heard used to describe Kekalainen, who is visually arresting: 1. arrogant; 2. intense; 3. demanding; 4. relentless. #thatllwork

I must be giddy, I share a sentiment with the TwatWaffle.

And I get the sense that a little streamer of pee just rolled down Umberger's leg.

"Don't make me smack you"

"You sent Ryan Johansen where?"

CBJ are now automatically Don Cherry's least favo(u)rite team.

DOUBLE BONUS!



Okay, now that Howson is gone, I can end my icon protest. And I will change my title too.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Kekalainen is an interesting hire, and in my opinion a good one.

He made some nice contributions to Ottawa's talent pool around the turn of the century as Dir. Player Personnel. Havlat, Kelly, Volchenkov, Vermette, Gleason, Laich I believe all had his fingerprints on them.

Does he have what it takes as regards professional development and making trades at the NHL level? Time will tell. He has a strong track record in scouting and drafting, IMO the most important aspects of running an NHL franchise.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Kekalainen is an interesting hire, and in my opinion a good one.

He made some nice contributions to Ottawa's talent pool around the turn of the century as Dir. Player Personnel. Havlat, Kelly, Volchenkov, Vermette, Gleason, Laich I believe all had his fingerprints on them.

Does he have what it takes as regards professional development and making trades at the NHL level? Time will tell. He has a strong track record in scouting and drafting, IMO the most important aspects of running an NHL franchise.

Especially one that doesn't have a ton of cash to spend.

 

[forty_three]

Kekalainen is an interesting hire, and in my opinion a good one.

He made some nice contributions to Ottawa's talent pool around the turn of the century as Dir. Player Personnel. Havlat, Kelly, Volchenkov, Vermette, Gleason, Laich I believe all had his fingerprints on them.

Does he have what it takes as regards professional development and making trades at the NHL level? Time will tell. He has a strong track record in scouting and drafting, IMO the most important aspects of running an NHL franchise.

John Davidson and Craig Patrick do. JD has shown throughout his career that he does not silo people. If you're good at something, you help with that. This guy is GM, but that's not to say JD and CP will not be involved in trade negotiations.

Besides, trades are not how the team will be made. There are likely some pending buyouts of ugly contracts by other teams, plus some decent UFAs. And three first round picks in this draft.

If there are any trades this year, it will be trading guys who don't buy in for futures. Umberger and Mason being the two most obvious choices. Picks brought in for both.

I fully expect Davidson to land a big Free Agent this summer. Someone is going to want to be the face of the turnaround.

 

[IndyAndy]

... Someone is going to want to be the face of the turnaround.

Is Rick Nash kicking himself right now?

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

John Davidson and Craig Patrick do. JD has shown throughout his career that he does not silo people. If you're good at something, you help with that. This guy is GM, but that's not to say JD and CP will not be involved in trade negotiations.

Besides, trades are not how the team will be made. There are likely some pending buyouts of ugly contracts by other teams, plus some decent UFAs. And three first round picks in this draft.

If there are any trades this year, it will be trading guys who don't buy in for futures. Umberger and Mason being the two most obvious choices. Picks brought in for both.

I fully expect Davidson to land a big Free Agent this summer. Someone is going to want to be the face of the turnaround.

This is a great move for your team 43. I'm happy for you. The Blue Jackets have a solid team in the front office now. Good things will happen, just be patient.

Oh SHIT, I just realized something, Garth is definately the worst GM in the NHL now.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

This is a great move for your team 43. I'm happy for you. The Blue Jackets have a solid team in the front office now. Good things will happen, just be patient.

Oh SHIT, I just realized something, Garth is definately the worst GM in the NHL now.

Do you think he's really that bad, or is it his crazy owner holding him back?

 

[awaz]

This is a great move for your team 43. I'm happy for you. The Blue Jackets have a solid team in the front office now. Good things will happen, just be patient.

Oh SHIT, I just realized something, Garth is definately the worst GM in the NHL now.

Do you think he's really that bad, or is it his crazy owner holding him back?

i was actually kinda thinking, given his owner, Snow does a pretty good job.. the thomas trade is real smart when you consider the goals of the isles.. acquiring all these guys that have a higher cap hit then salary..

 

[puckhead]

15 fun facts about Jarmo Kelalainen
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2013...n_gm_jarmo_kekalainen_fun_facts_blue_jackets/

 

[forty_three]

Is Rick Nash kicking himself right now?

No, because Nash never really wanted to go in the first place. What happened was they went to him and said they wanted to rebuild again. He said that was the case, if they felt it would help the team to trade him then he'd accept a trade to 5 teams.

Then Howson went out into the press and said Nash came in and asked for a trade. Howson went to him. And it deteriorated from there. Some say that Nash did eventually demand the trade with "him or me".

It was Nash a few months too early. He still lives here in Columbus, his fiance still lives here and he moved his parents here. He'll be back. And he'll be welcomed back a hero.

If I thought he'd answer, I'd love someone to ask him about it. But he kept his mouth shut while he was being trashed in the media here. I doubt he'd say anything now.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

This is a great move for your team 43. I'm happy for you. The Blue Jackets have a solid team in the front office now. Good things will happen, just be patient.

Oh SHIT, I just realized something, Garth is definately the worst GM in the NHL now.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Do you think he's really that bad, or is it his crazy owner holding him back?

I don't know what to really think of Snow as a GM. He hasn't made many trades of consequence. They're usually salary dumps or cap hit friendly deals for the owner. It looks like he finally learned from rushing Bailey. Guys like Strome, Nelson & Reinhart will be given the tme they need to develop.

Snow does what the owner wants. I don't fault him for that. He's very good at getting away with cap circumvention.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

I don't know what to really think of Snow as a GM. He hasn't made many trades of consequence. They're usually salary dumps or cap hit friendly deals for the owner. It looks like he finally learned from rushing Bailey. Guys like Strome, Nelson & Reinhart will be given the tme they need to develop.

Snow does what the owner wants. I don't fault him for that. He's very good at getting away with cap circumvention.

Fair enough. I ask because the Sabres had a similar situation for a long time. A lot of people thought Regier sucked as GM, but a lot of people thought his hands were just tied by an owner that wasn't willing to let him spend money (not as cheap as Wang mind you).

But now that he's got free rein to spend as much as he wants, it's pretty much confirmed that he sucks as GM.

 

[mattola]

 

[dash]

He needs to re-energize his music career...

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Hes in the new Kokanee movie (... i dont mean garth lol)

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Fair enough. I ask because the Sabres had a similar situation for a long time. A lot of people thought Regier sucked as GM, but a lot of people thought his hands were just tied by an owner that wasn't willing to let him spend money (not as cheap as Wang mind you).

But now that he's got free rein to spend as much as he wants, it's pretty much confirmed that he sucks as GM.

Milbury was given free reign & it was a disaster. I think when/if Snow is given the chance to spend he will do a much better job. He did fleece the Oilers for Ryan Smyth.