Blue Jackets Officially Introduce Pascal Vincent as Head Coach

The Columbus Blue Jackets turned a page in their history books on Monday by announcing Pascal Vincent as the tenth full-time head coach in franchise history. He will take over a team that enters the year with hopes of improving upon a 31st place finish last season.

Vincent replaces Mike Babcock, who resigned on Sunday having never even coached a single game for the Blue Jackets. The change behind the bench comes at what could be the worst possible time for the young hockey club; with training camp starting tomorrow. Vincent will have his work cut out for him as he’s had little time to prepare himself for the role.

He was slated to be an associate coach for the third straight season in Columbus, with the club somehow retaining his services despite passing him over for the vacant head coaching job for the second time. Once thought of as one of the premier young up-and-coming coaches in the league, Vincent finally gets his first crack as an NHL bench boss just days prior to his 52nd birthday.

While it certainly isn’t how he envisioned it happening, he should be excited for the role. But, it will not come without challenges. The locker room is likely fractured by the events of the past week and a half, with the veterans jumping to the aide of Babcock, while some of the younger players seemed to take issue with his processes. It will be up to Vincent and his only current assistant coach, Steve McCarthy, to galvanize the room and get everyone on the same page. They’ll have to do it relatively quickly too, because preseason hockey starts on Sunday.

It will be interesting to see how the team responds to Pascal, because he’s a very different coach than the one they thought they were entering the season with. In theory, it should work; because he’s more in tune with the younger generation of the players. Naturally, as we’re all accustomed to, the Blue Jackets enter the season with the youngest projected roster in the NHL. Relating to those young players could be the key to unlocking greater potential with this team.

He talked in his presser yesterday about being on the same page as Babcock in regards to team structure and systems; and if he picked up anything from the veteran coach, that would be a huge thing to take away. Babcock is regarded as one of the best systems coaches in recent NHL history, so if Vincent can bring any of that to the table, this team should be well on its way. Again, getting everyone on the same page to buy in is the key.

Vincent began his coaching career as an assistant with the QMJHL’s Saint-Jean Lynx, all the way back in 1994. After a four year stretch as head coach in the Quebec minor hockey system, Vincent took the head coaching job with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL in 1999. Two years later, he was given the GM position as well, and he acted in both roles for the next seven seasons before taking the same position(s) with Montreal.

In 2011, he earned an assistant coaching job with the Winnipeg Jets, where he worked for Paul Maurice for the next five seasons. In 2016, he became the head coach of the Jets’ AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose, where he stayed for five seasons – almost certainly being eyed as the heir apparent to Maurice in the NHL. He posted a record of 155-139-31 over 325 games coached in the AHL.

Vincent first applied for the CBJ head coaching vacancy before the 2021 season – but due to the COVID pandemic, he could not travel for a formal interview and was passed up in favor of Brad Larsen. Still, the team thought highly enough of him to bring him in as an associate coach, which is where he’s spent the last three seasons. He was also considered a front runner for the head coaching position this summer, before the club pivoted and signed Babcock.

We all owe Pascal a big debt of gratitude. He’s a great coach, and it would have been easy for him to move on to another team. I’m almost certain he took some phone calls this summer. But he stuck with the Jackets, maybe because of his love for the city, which he talked about yesterday afternoon. Had he not done so, this head coaching fiasco over the last week would have a much uglier fallout. Instead of scrambling to find someone to coach the team, GM Jarmo Kekalainen was able to pivot and hire the guy who was probably second or third on his list this summer. Talk about getting lucky – Pascal being the backup plan may very well have saved Jarmo’s job.