By Matt McCoy

Ultimately, John Davidson went with his gut. The Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations fired Scott Howson and immediately replaced him with Jarmo Kekalainen.

"Scott Howson is a good man," Davidson said. "But we're in a phase where we want to make sure the message is very loud and very clear that we're in a position of change, we're in a position of getting a culture that's going to be in the right place. This is not a shot at Scott, this is a shot about change and changing a culture and getting it to where I need it to get to."

Davidson believes Kekalainen is the guy to change that culture. The two have worked together before. When Davidson was in St. Louis, rebuilding the Blues, Kekalainen was the assistant general manager and the director of amateur scouting.

Scouting for the Blue Jackets is of enormous importance considering the three first round picks they'll have in this June's draft.

Kekalainen will come to Columbus from Jokerit in the Finnish Elite League where he has been GM since 2010. Jokerit is currently the best team in that league.

"He's had success everywhere he's been and in everything he's done in the world of hockey," Davidson said of Kekalainen. "We expect him to do the same."

If you want to listen to Davidson's announcment on both the termination of Scott Howson and the hiring of Kekalainen click HERE: