When an executive goes from one NHL team to another, players often come with him.
That might eventually become the case for former St. Louis Blues executive and current Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, but he’s starting with the front office first.
Kekalainen named Ville Siren the Blue Jackets’ head amateur scout and Josef Boumedienne as a European scout on Monday. Siren spent nine years with the Blues. In reaction to Siren’s departure, the Blues promoted Jan Vopat to Siren’s vacated position: Head of European Amateur Scouting.
One cannot help but wonder if the Blue Jackets will eventually start poaching players from St. Louis, although Columbus is actually surprising close to the cap ceiling with only about $2.7 million in breathing room, according to Cap Geek.
So, something more exciting like nabbing a former Blues player via free agency or making a landmark trade will need to wait.