Blue Jackets want to extend Richards, coaching staff

The Columbus Dispatch reports Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen wants to extend Todd Richards and his coaching staff.

"I told the coaches today that we, as an organization, would like to make a long-term commitment to the whole group of them, because they've earned it," Kekalainen said. "It will bring stability to the organization.

"We'll start with Todd, because it's his staff. But we'll talk to him and go through the process and try to get him under a long-term deal, and then get his assistants (associate coach Craig Hartsburg, assistant coach Dan Hinote and goaltending coach Ian Clark) on board with contracts that are of the same length."

Kekalainen specified what it is he likes about Richards.

"He sets the bar high," Kekalainen said. "We get better every day. A big part of that is (Richards), with his insights and his planning, the day-to-day requirement for work ethic that he has established for players.

"Todd doesn’t let guys take days off, and the assistants are the same way. It’s a demanding group, but it’s a fair group. That shows in how the team plays -- we've been honest, hard-working, well-prepared and hard to play against. We see it from inside the building, and people all around the NHL see it, too."

Source: Aaron Portzline, Columbus Dispatch