THN.com/podcast. From THN American Pipeline: NCAA, NTDP, USHL and More Leagues Shine at 2023 NHL Draft Jarmo Kekalainen [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk5ODI1NTAxNzM1MzY0MjI0/usatsi_20976282.jpg] Jarmo Kekalainen We’re in the thick of the NHL’s 2023 off-season, but everybody connected to a team always feels some sort of pressure – and pressure is what this THN.com hot seat series is all about. Analyzing teams in alphabetical order, we’re identifying individuals on some form of the hot seat. One player, coach or GM will be on the hot seat itself, categorizing them as someone under considerable pressure to post positive results this coming season or find themselves in the doghouse. A second person will be placed on the warm seat – putting them in a position where, although a trade or firing isn’t imminent, there remains a chance their time with their current team ends at some point next season. A third individual will go on the cold seat, indicating they’re an individual very likely to be staying with their current franchise for the foreseeable future. BLUE JACKETS’ HOT SEAT: JARMO KEKALAINEN, GM Kekalainen has been GM of the Blue Jackets for 10-1/2 years now, and Columbus has made the post-season only five years in that span. His teams have never made it out of the second round – in fact, they’ve won only three games in Round 2 over the years. Kekalainen has been given every chance to realize his vision for success, but it simply hasn’t happened, either because of bad luck on the injury front or bad judgment on players he chose to build the team around. He got full license again this off-season to spend money – and now, with 23 players under contract, the Jackets have $5.72 million in salary cap space. That remaining cap space will likely be used to address in-season issues. With Columbus’ forwards now a solid group, Kekalainen used this off-season to bolster his much-maligned defense corps, trading for former Flyers mainstay Ivan Provorov and landing former Devils veteran Damon Severson in a sign-and-trade deal with New Jersey. With cornerstone D-man Zach Werenski healed from the injury that limited him to only 13 games in 2022-23, the Blue Jackets should be considerably more competitive, especially with new coach Mike Babcock coming in and setting the bar as high as possible for this group. The problem is, what if Columbus misses the playoffs again? Even if 2023 No. 3 overall draft pick Adam Fantilli is on board, how much longer can the Jackets underachieve before Kekalainen has to pay for it with his job? Some NHL GMs get half the amount of time Kekalainen has had in Columbus before they get dismissed. The 57-year-old can’t deflect accountability much longer. And in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division, the Blue Jackets must be firing on all pistons to keep Kekalainen’s job secure. BLUE JACKETS’ WARM SEAT: JACK ROSLOVIC, F As a hometown athlete in Columbus, Roslovic had a lot of goodwill when he was traded to the Blue Jackets in January of 2021. When he posted a career-high 22 goals in 81 games in 2021-22, expectations for him increased, as did his salary, which rose to $4 million in this past season and for this coming year. However, in '22-23, Roslovic’s goal total fell by 50 percent to 11 goals in 77 games. The 26-year-old did register a career-best 33 assists last season, but all things considered, he doesn’t compare with elite second-line centers around the league. Compounding the problem for Roslovic is his pending UFA status next summer. With Fantilli likely to ascend to a top-six role sooner than later and Boone Jenner serving as one of the Jackets’ top-two centers, does it make financial sense to give Roslovic a raise and pay him $5 million or more to be Columbus’ third-best pivot? We don’t think so, especially when other teams are probably going to give Roslovic a lucrative offer in terms of dollar amounts and number of years. Kekalainen would love to have the “problem” of fitting Roslovic into a top-six role if he plays well this season, but Babcock is not known for being especially charitable with his two best forward lines. Whatever time he gets, Roslovic will have to earn it. For the aforementioned reasons, Roslovic is a clear candidate to be dealt at or before the trade deadline. Some other team will likely pay him more than $5 million per year, but it shouldn’t be Columbus that does so. BLUE JACKETS’ COLD SEAT: ZACH WERENSKI, D Before his injury ended his season in 2022-23, Werenski averaged 23:35 of ice time. Once again, he was the Blue Jackets’ best defenseman, generating five assists and eight points in 13 games. The 26-year-old hasn’t played a full 82-game season since 2018-19, but there’s no question he remains Columbus’ best all-around blueliner. With Severson as his projected D-man pairing, Werenski can be counted on for at least as good a season as he had when he put up a career-best 37 assists and 48 points in 68 games in 2021-22. Werenski’s annual cap hit of $9.58 million makes him the second-highest paid player on the team (behind only star winger Johnny Gaudreau, whose cap hit is $9.75 million), but there’s zero chance the Jackets give up on him and trade him away. Columbus acquired Severson and Provorov to take pressure off Werenski to carry the bulk of the load on the back end. And Werenski will be leaned on by Babcock to produce at both ends of the ice, but he’s about as safe as anyone (other than Gaudreau and Fantilli) in Columbus. If the Blue Jackets make the playoffs, it will be because Werenski helped lead the way – and if they don’t make the post-season, the blame won’t fall at Werenski’s feet. He’s in his prime, and he’s an elite contributor and a major component of Kekalainen’s blueprint for success.
