The Columbus Blue Jackets have given general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, president John Davidson and associate GM multi-year contract extensions, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Kekalainen, the first European general manager in the history of the NHL, took the reigns early in the 2012-13 season. The Blue Jackets have since enjoyed their greatest run of success, having made the playoffs in three of the past five seasons.

Kekalainen has made a series of bold moves that have paid off big for the Blue Jackets, including hiring the polarizing John Tortorella as head coach early in the 2015-16 season, replacing Todd Richards.

'Torts' led Columbus to a 107-point season in 2016-17, the greatest in franchise history. He guided them to the playoffs for the second consecutive campaign in 2018, the first time Columbus ever reached the postseason in successive years.

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via NHL.com

Some of Kekalainen's best moves thus far include the draft selections of Zach Werenski (eighth overall in 2015), and Pierre-Luc Dubois (third overall in 2016). Last offseason, Kekalainen dealt fan favorite Brandon Saad in a package deal that brought sniper Artemi Panarin over to Columbus. 'Bread Man' scored 27 goals and 82 points in his first season with the Jackets.

With a strong draft track record and a series of good trades, re-signing Kekalainen was a no-brainer for Columbus. But he has a difficult task now in working out contract extensions for both Panarin and former Vezina Trophy winning goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. Both are set to enter free agency next year, and Kekalainen must find a way to extend his two franchise stars.

The Blue Jackets are still looking to win their first playoff series in franchise history. They blew a 2-0 lead to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the first round. Now that they have Kekalainen under contract for the long-term, it's up to him to put the right pieces in place to get this team over the hump and into championship contention once and for all.

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