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Jackets GM feeling good about potential busy summer

IHOCKEY-FIN-NHL

Finnish retired professional ice hockey player Jarmo Kekalainen attends a news conference on February 13, 2013 in Helsinki, Finland. Jarmo Kekalainen is going to be the first European to manage a National Hockey League . AFP PHOTO/ LEHTIKUVA / Kimmo Mantyla ///FINLAND OUT (Photo credit should read KIMMO MANTYLA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Columbus’ season ended with disappointment at missing the playoffs by such a slim margin, but things are looking up for the offseason.

Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch hears from team GM Jarmo Kekalainen about how the amount of cap space and number of first-round picks they’ll have in this year’s draft has him excited to get to work. To say he’s got some options this summer is putting it politely.

“We were talking a lot about those three picks, how we would entertain turning one of those picks or even more than one of those picks into something that makes sense for us long-term,” Kekalainen said. “A very bright prospect or a player very young in his career is maybe something that would work, and I’m sure a few other teams are thinking the same.

“We’re in a great spot in that we have draft picks and we have (salary-cap) room, and we have a very keen interest in making our team more competitive.”

Like the Stars, who we talked about earlier today, the world is Columbus’ oyster this summer. How they handle having three first-round picks will be key though. They too might also be able to cash in on teams needing to get under next year’s lowered cap.