Kekalainen: Gaborik 'didn't fit' with Blue Jackets
/Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen phoned in to Hockey Central @ Noon Friday.
Among the topics on which the panel touched was mercurial sniper Marian Gaborik, who was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings on trade deadline day a few weeks ago.
Kekalainen called Rick Nash and Marian Gaborik 'great players.'
On Gaborik: "He's a good player. We had thought about it long and hard when we acquired him that we needed a little bit more skill. I think we still could use a a little bit more skill like Marian Gaborik has, but it just didn't fit and it was time to move on because he was going to go to the unrestricted free agency.
"Our team is hard working, blue collar, grinding, in-your-face type of team and that's our identity and we need 20 guys that are like that in our lineup."
Kekalainen believes Ryan Johansen has 'tremendous potential.' The GM also touched on the exciting race to the playoffs ("What better experience for our young team than this."), how clutch Sergei Bobrovsky has been for the Jackets, Nathan Horton's role, Rick Nash's return, the upside for the team's fan base and more.