The hiring of Davidson almost a decade ago gave the wayward franchise a clean reset, and his words resonated, calming an angered, impatient fan base and buying Davidson and the rest of the front office a grace period to reposition the franchise. Kekalainen and staff will likely make a long-term sweetheart offer to Jones, hoping he not only signs on to anchor the back end for the next several seasons but also, with the stroke of a pen, stops the staggering exodus of top-end talent from the organization in recent years.
It would be devastating enough for the Jackets to lose Jones. As painful as trading Jones might be, the Blue Jackets would get a mammoth return. Next is Laine, who has been a major disappointment since he arrived in the early-season trade with Winnipeg. Laine is a restricted free agent this summer, so the Blue Jackets can protect his rights simply by extending a qualifying offer. And he has certainly made it easier in regards to being cheaper to sign him with his struggles this season.
In 39 games with Columbus, Laine has and a minus rating. Maybe he will thrive under a new coach next season — John Tortorella is in the final year of his contract and is likely moving on — but major changes are required here, within and around Laine.
Is he wired to do that? The Blue Jackets can help him get there by completely overhauling their group of forwards. A goal season is not out of the question. Is Kekalainen certain he can create this situation for Laine within the next two seasons while the Blue Jackets still have some measure of control over Laine as a restricted free agent?
Kekalainen has a huge decision to make in the coming months: Does he trade Korpisalo or Merzlikins? So whom does Kekalainen keep, and whom does he trade?
