In a season where the team has fallen well behind expectations, the Blue Jackets fired head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy this afternoon.
It happened out of nowhere on Monday. The Jackets, losers of 5 of their last 7 games-and 26 out of 45 so far this season-decided that enough was enough. Hoping to get out of last place, GM Don Waddell had to do something.
The hammer falls hard on Evason, who did not even survive two full seasons behind the CBJ bench. Joining him is defense coach McCarthy, who earned the ire of this fanbase throughout his entire five year tenure in Columbus.
It was now or never.
The move came as a bit of a shocker. The Jackets played pretty good hockey last night in Salt Lake City, but clearly the decision had already been made.
But, for this team to salvage their season, Waddell had to make a decision one way or another. Either a vote of confidence in Evason, or the change needed to be made.
In recent weeks, we had called the team's coaching decisions into question on more than one occasion. Over the last week however, the Jackets were noticeably down on the ice.
Confidence seemed to hit a new low, and the team just was not working as hard as they were earlier this season and last year. After blowing a 4-1 lead to the Pittsburgh Penguins last Saturday, something broke within the dressing room.
You can lose hockey games. You can have off nights. But, you can't have both, especially not consistently. For these reasons, it was time for a change.
Bowness is the best coaching hire since Tortorella.
In their absence, veteran NHL bench boss Rick Bowness makes his return after a two year hiatus. Allow me to be the first in this fanbase to say: this is one of the most exciting hires in franchise history.
Rick is a terrific coach, who capably teaches teams how to defend and is a consistent winner. More notably, he is one of the game's absolute best, kindest people. I could not be more excited for this hire.
He helped turn the Winnipeg Jets into a defensive machine, leading them to the playoffs two straight years and holding a .625% win percentage. Their roster when he was hired shares a lot of similarities to the CBJ roster right now. Bringing him in makes a lot of sense.
"Bones" left the game in 2024 because of off-ice (personal) issues. I thought he had retired from the game permanently, so he wasn't even on my radar as a potential hire at any point.
I'm excited to see how this team adapts to his style, because he's going to teach them how to defend while being laid back enough to not drive them into the ground.
The Jackets are back in action at home tomorrow night against the Calgary Flames. They play 7 of their next 8 games at Nationwide, so let's hope the new coach boost gets them back into the playoff race.