Botterill, Karmanos potential candidates to replace Kekalainen as Blue Jackets GM

A pair of NHL executives with connections to the Buffalo Sabres could be in the mix to be the next general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets after the firing of Jarmo Kekalainen on Thursday. Kekalainen was dismissed after 11 years as GM and was replaced on an interim basis by Team President John Davidson three weeks before the NHL Trade Deadline.

There is some speculation that the Blue Jackets were proactive in making the move to get the first choice for a wide field of candidates. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned names like Montreal Canadiens Executive VP Jeff Gorton (who served as GM under Davidson with the NY Rangers), London Knights GM Mark Hunter, and former Blue Jackets Mathieu Darche and Ray Whitney, but two other names mentioned by Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek on Thursday were former Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill and current Sabres Associate GM Jason Karmanos.

Botterill served as Sabres GM from May 2017 to June 2020 before being replaced by Kevyn Adams and is currently serving as an assistant to Ron Francis with the Seattle Kraken. Karmanos served as Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant GM of the Carolina Hurricanes (1998 - 2013) and Pittsburgh Penguins (2014 - 2020) before joining Adams’ staff in April 2021.

Both Botterill and Karmanos were candidates for the vacant Pittsburgh GM job after the firing of Ron Hextall before Kyle Dubas was hired after he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Hunter served as an assistant GM in Toronto until 2018, and Darche is currently an assistant in Tampa Bay, while Whitney is part of the NHL's Department of Player Safety. 

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