Blue Jackets 'weren't ready' for player like Gaborik yet

The Columbus Dispatch describes how winger Marian Gaborik has rediscovered his game with the Los Angeles Kings since being traded from the Blue Jackets at the deadline.

“It’s the question you always ask yourself as a GM: If you had them around for longer, would it have turned around for them?” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen reflected. “It’s something you see all the time. I could give you 100 examples of guys who needed a change to get to the next level, or to get back to the level they once were at.

“How (Gaborik) is playing now for the Kings … that’s exactly what we hoped for when we traded for him (from the Rangers). But it didn’t work here.”

“When we talked (after the trade), I told Marian: Maybe our team wasn’t ready for a player like him yet,” Kekalainen said. “Maybe he could have been a better fit maybe a year or two from now.”

Source: Aaron Portzline, Columbus Dispatch