Blue Jackets finish emotional season with romp over Islanders
Blue Jackets finish just shy of the playoffs after routing Islanders in season finale, salute fans amid postgame chants of ‘Johnny Hockey!’
The Buffalo Sabres, facing the longest playoff drought in the NHL, hired former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen as a senior advisor.Kekalainen’s hiring raises questions about the future of current Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, though it appears Adams remains in charge of hockey operations.Kekalainen, known for his drafting and development skills, joins the Sabres after a 12-year tenure as the Blue Jackets’ GM.The article highlights the connections between the Sabres, Blue Jackets, and the upcoming Stanley Cup Final.
If you are a fan of the Blue Jackets, who have advanced past the first round of the playoffs once in 24 seasons, it’s difficult to feel sympathy for any other franchise. But if there is one, it is the Buffalo Sabres, who haven’t had a postseason berth since 2011. The Sabres have had four general managers and seven coaches – including Lindy Ruff, twice – during their 15 years in the desert. By comparison, even the Jackets look successful.
The current Sabres GM, Kevyn Adams, on May 30 hired Jarmo Kekalainen to be a senior advisor. (Adams also hired Eric Staal, a former teammate with the Carolina Hurricanes, as a special assistant.) It’s easy to crack wise about a team with the longest playoff drought in the NHL – and, with the New York Jets, the longest in major professional sports – looking for help from … Columbus? The Jackets are half an answer to a notorious trivia question as one of two teams in a 32-team league to have never made it to a conference final. The other is the expansion Seattle Kraken, who came online four years ago.
It seems like an underwhelming coupling. But in Buffalo, almost anything is worth a shot – and this might work.
The initial reaction to the hiring of Kekalainen was that he was being put into place to succeed Adams. I’m not so sure about that. I made some inquiries and what came back was that Adams did the hiring, a tacit indication that he’s still running Buffalo’s hockey operations. This is in line with a long-held belief that Sabres owner Terry Pegula holds Adams in high regard as an intelligent hockey person and quality human being.
It’s my understanding that Kekalainen took the job in part because he, too, likes and respects Adams. Kekalainen, soon to turn 59, has served in different capacities in NHL front offices since 1999. He was the Jackets’ GM for 12 years and made it to the playoffs five times. He has a reputation for drafting and developing talent. Adams, 50, has had five rocky years as Sabres GM. The Sabres aren’t nearly as bad on paper as they have been on the ice. Maybe, with Jarmo’s help, they can figure out the answer to that awful riddle.
Adams grew up outside Buffalo and played college hockey at Miami University. He belongs to the earliest part of Blue Jackets history. He was selected by the Jackets in the 2000 expansion draft (the 25th anniversary of which is June 23) and was a well-loved original. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the first victory in franchise history, a 3-2 decision at Calgary on Oct. 12, 2000.
Adams was shipped, with a fourth-round draft pick, to Florida at the trade deadline in 2001. This was one of the best deals ever struck by Jackets GM Doug MacLean because Ray Whitney came to Columbus in return. Whitney had 45 goals and 137 points in 151 games during his too-brief tenure in Columbus. Alas, “The Wizard” could not come to terms on a contract extension. Whitney wanted four years; MacLean would only go as far as three, and Whitney walked into free agency without any compensation in 2003. After he left, Whitney went on to record 572 points in 697 games over 10 seasons.
Whitney won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. Adams played on the same team. They both represent what this time of year means in Columbus, not to mention Buffalo. It’s when we ask, “Which former Jacket (or Sabre) is going to win a Cup this year?”
The Stanley Cup Final, between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, is a rematch of last year’s championship series. Game 1 is June 4. TNT comes on the air prior to puck drop at 8 p.m.
For the defending champion Panthers, former Jackets Seth Jones and Sergei Bobrovsky are playing massive roles, as is the architect, GM Bill Zito, a former assistant GM under Kekalainen. Former Sabres first-round pick Sam Reinhart plays for the Panthers and former Sabres Evander Kane and Jeff Skinner play for the Oilers. I might be missing somebody. After all these years playing this stupid game, it can be dizzying.
Kekalainen’s fingerprints are all over the 2024-25 Blue Jackets team that was supposed to finish last in the league but overcame tragedy, embraced Johnny Gaudreau’s spirit and fought for a playoff spot up until the eve of the final day of the regular season. I’ve thought that he’d learn from his mistakes (Babcock, cough, cough) and be a much better GM the next time around. I hoped he’d get another chance. And now he sits at the right hand of Adams, a less-experienced executive, and it seems like a good fit.
Hockey fans adopted the Jackets as their second-favorite team in 2024-25. Hockey fans have long rooted for forlorn Buffalo, where you’ll find a lot of Irish, including Murphys, who have a certain law. It’s easy to root for the downtrodden. The trick, now, is the trod.
Stanley Cup Final schedule
June 4: Florida at Edmonton, 8 p.m.June 6: Florida at Edmonton, 8 p.m.June 9: Edmonton at Florida, 8 p.m.June 12: Edmonton at Florida, 8 p.m.June 14: Florida at Edmonton, 8 p.m.June 17: Edmonton at Florida, 8 p.m.June 20: Florida at Edmonton, 8 p.m.
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