The Blue Jackets took a step this season. Now management is trying to figure out how to take the next step. General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen and President of Hockey Operations John Davidson discussed those topics during their season ending press conference Monday.
Kekalainen, on the Jackets willingness to make off-season trades: "Everyday we talk about it, we talk about our options, we talk about the phone calls and the opportunities that might arise around the league. That's basically starting right now. It 's pretty quiet around the playoff time but I know I already got one call from a disappointed colleague so it's starting."
Kekalainen, on valuing the youth on the Jackets roster: "Josh Anderson, I don't think many people thought he would score 17 goals this year. Maybe he gets 20 next year. I think Oliver Bjorkstrand has the potential to be a 30 goal scorer in this league one year. Maybe it's not next year, who knows when but...do we look for someone on the outside (to improve the team)?...Absolutely...but we're going to try to build it with the process in mind."
Davidson on attracting potential free agents this summer: "People believe in Columbus, the city of Columbus and the quality of life. I don't think that's an issue (in attracting free agents) whatsoever. A lot of times players, whether they get older or not, they want to have the opportunity to win and I think we're in a much better spot than we used to be."
Davidson, on whether he anticipates the Jackets making any "splashy" off-season moves: "Splashy is hard because a lot of people don't want to move really good players. We have an assumption of what we're looking for and either we continue with the plan or we find a way through the depth that we're building up to maybe do something with a team that's looking for what we have, so I think all options are on the table."
To check out all of what Kekalainen and Davidson had to say, check out the link below.