The New York Islanders' search for a new general manager is still underway, but one candidate is Jarmo Kekäläinen, the former longtime general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The belief is that the Islanders will be sitting down with Kekäläinen this week.
The 58-year-old was relieved of his duties as Columbus' general manager in February of 2024. He last served as the assistant general manager for Team Finland at the NHL's 4 Nations Faceoff, serving as an advisor for Liiga's HIFK in 2024-25.
That's the team that Jakub Skarek just signed with.
I have heard that Kekäläinen has a job offer overseas if he doesn't get an NHL gig.
The Islanders need someone to come in and turn this team around, and that's exactly what Kekäläinen did when he took over in Columbus back in 2013.
Before Jarmo's arrival, the Blue Jackets had missed the playoffs in the last four seasons. He ended that streak, with Columbus making the playoffs in 2013-14 with a 43-32-7 record.
They missed the playoffs the next two seasons, but in 2016-17, Columbus set a new single-season franchise record for wins, going 50-24-8, kicking off a four-year playoff run.
This streak included the franchise’s first and only ever playoff series win when the Blue Jackets famously swept the 62-16-4 Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning.
While Kekäläinen never managed to lead the Blue Jackets to the upper echelon of Stanley Cup contenders, his tenure with the team brought many positives, notably through the draft.
His first few drafts landed the franchise future NHLers in the later rounds, such as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Elvis Merzlikins, Vladislav Gavrikov, Andrew Peeke, and others.
More recently, he drafted 30-goal scorer Kirill Marchenko in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft and top prospects Luca Del Bel Belluz, Jordan Dumais, and Sergei Ivanov in the middle rounds of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Kekäläinen was also known for his bold moves in both the trade market and free agency.
He made a significant splash with the 2017 trade that landed Artemi Panarin in exchange for Brandon Saad and later signed the late Johnny Gaudreau in the 2022 offseason.
Both players played key roles in reshaping the team’s culture during their time with the Blue Jackets.
Although Columbus parted ways with Kekäläinen in February 2024, he was largely responsible for building the roster that came close to securing a playoff berth in 2025.
The former executive also showed an ability to sell players when necessary, securing strong returns in packages involving Vladislav Gavrikov, Joonas Korpisalo, Nick Foligno, and Seth Jones.
Of course, Kekäläinen’s tenure was not without missteps. He made several questionable decisions in the draft and through trades like the Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel blockbusters and drew criticism for hiring Mike Babcock, who lasted just 78 days as head coach during the 2023 offseason.
Whether he is the right fit to replace Lou Lamoriello remains to be seen, but his track record in Columbus offers an upside that may be right for the Islanders.
The Islanders need someone who understands the importance of building through the draft and is not afraid to make big-time moves.
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Michael Ostrower contributed to this story.