Columbus Blue Jackets’ Jarmo Kekalainen Announced as Assistant GM for Team Finland

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Monday that GM Jarmo Kekalainen has accepted the position of Assistant GM for Team Finland in Sochi, Russia for the Olympic Games this February. Kekalainen will join Team Finland’s current GM and hockey Hall of Famer, Jari Kurri, along with Head Coach Erkka Westerlund.

Of his involvement with Team Finland, Kekalainen said, “Representing your country at the Olympics is a tremendous honor, so this is a very proud moment for my family and I.”

Kekalainen was only named GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets in February 2013 , but spent years prior as manager of Jokerit and IFK Helsinki in the Finnish Elite League. In the NHL,  Kekalainen played for the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators, where he later worked in the front office as Director of Player Personnel. He is the first European-born GM in NHL history.