Kekalainen, Larsen think pieces are in place for Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets didn't achieve the ultimate goal this season, but they did complete the immediate steps they needed to take to compete for sport's best prize.
That's the opinion of general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who spoke to the media Monday in his season wrap-up press conference. A Columbus squad that was almost universally picked to finish last in the Metropolitan Division instead battled for a playoff spot until March and finished 37-38-7, not good enough to make the playoffs but something that gives the team a fair amount of hope going into the offseason.

But more than hope, there is evidence of tangible progress, as the Blue Jackets saw a bevy of young players step up and impress; watched as a new head coach and a remade leadership group built a team that responded to adversity all season; and created a locker room atmosphere that players and coaches universally said was one of the closest they've been apart of.

"I thought there were a lot of positives," Kekalainen said. "Obviously, you can't be happy not making the playoffs, but we felt that we were competitive and we were going to be close. And I think, in that sense, thinking that going into the season, we can be fairly satisfied that we took the right steps from a year ago to where we are now."
"And I think that we're going to take the next steps here fairly quickly, as well, because there's going to be a lot of internal growth with the guys that we have, the age structure that we have with our young, very talented players. They're going to get better or they're going to get pushed hard to get better, and we have the right people working with them to get better.
"So, I'm excited about where the team's at, because like we said, we want to build this the right way, so that we can compete to win the Stanley Cup."
What might be intriguing is what happens next. The Blue Jackets go into the offseason with close to $30 million in cap space to play with, but such players as Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic, Adam Boqvist, Nick Blankenburg and Daniil Tarasov are restricted free agents. Brendan Gaunce, Dean Kukan and Joonas Korpisalo are also unrestricted free agents, but by and large the Blue Jackets are built to last with many of the core pieces locked up for the future and the young talents still under team control for years.
That will happen when you have the youngest team in the league, as the Jackets did on opening night, but considering the progress made this year, there is the potential Columbus could accelerate its reset by either dipping into free agency or the trade market. The Blue Jackets also have two lottery picks in the upcoming draft, unless Chicago's pick moves up into the top two, and a burgeoning prospects pool also should help the team compete in the years to come.
So there's plenty to be excited about, but in order to be competitive, the Blue Jackets will have to shore up a defense that gave up 297 goals, most in franchise history and the fifth most in the NHL this season. Adding a bit of experience and ruggedness also might help, but the Jackets -- who also scored 258 goals, the most in franchise history -- like the track they are on.
"I have a very good idea of what we are, who we are," head coach Brad Larsen said at the press conference. "I have a lot of thoughts and where I'd like to grow, to where I'd like to add. But what you want and what you can get are two different things. This is going to be the ongoing conversation process here as we go into the summer."
In many ways, the Blue Jackets feel like they got what they needed out of this season, putting players and coaches into new situations and by and large being happy with how they responded to them.
There is no guarantee the road forward continues smoothly, and finishing short of the postseason always stings, but many of the pieces now appear to be in place for the team to keep growing.
"We all want to do better," Larsen said. "We all want to be playing today. This is the day I don't want to be doing this. I'd rather be telling you who's in my lineup, who's starting. But we're not. And that's where we want to grow to. That's what we need to get to. But I'm excited about the future. I am. We have some really good players in there, but we have some tremendous people, which I'm excited about."

Notes

• Laine is likely the biggest piece of the puzzle when it comes to the CBJ offseason, as the wing played this season on a one-year qualifying offer and is now a restricted free agent. Laine, who had 26 goals and 56 points in 56 games this year, said Saturday he'd like to return to Columbus. "They have expressed they want me here, I've said the same thing," he said. "So you know, the feeling is mutual. Just figure out the term and the money and all that and I think we should be fine." Kekalainen's message Monday was similar: "I think he's expressed he wants to stay here. We've said we want him to stay. Now, it's just finding the common ground."
• Kekalainen on Kirill Marchenko, the 2018 second-round pick of the Blue Jackets who signed a two-year entry-level contract today after posting a 27-21-48 line in 80 games the last two seasons with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL: "He's a big right winger, can play both sides, right-handed shot. He has a lot of skill, and I think he plays with the pace, too, that is required in the National Hockey League. I think players coming from Europe usually have to go through a little bit of an adjustment period. We've seen that here many times with some of the European prospects that we have, so most likely he will have to, too. But he's played pro and been successful over there, and now he's going to get a new opportunity here to play in the best league in the world."
• Larsen got emotional discussing the leaders of his team, in particular Boone Jenner, who had a 23-21-44 line in 59 games but didn't play after March 11 because of a back injury. Larsen choked up and couldn't speak for an extended period of time while describing the conversation he had with Jenner when the CBJ captain came to him about his injury. "You know, the poor guy, he's coming to me in tears and, 'I can't do it anymore,'" Larsen said before pausing to compose himself. "I didn't expect that. OK, sorry. So yes, but he cares a tremendous amount, and it was killing him he couldn't go play."
• The infrastructure at Nationwide Arena was already being prepped for phase two of a renovation that began last year with the Blue Jackets locker room and recovery pool/bathroom areas. This summer, upgrades to the training room, workout facility, player lounge and other spaces will be done, with work beginning imminently. "I think this facility is phenomenal," Kekalainen said. "I think it was time to get a little bit of a reset on the facilities as well. We're halfway there already. Phase one is done, and I think everybody is extremely pleased what we did with our locker room and the bathroom areas there with the recovery pools and all that. I think it's going to be unbelievable once we get done with everything in phase two. I can't wait."