The Blue Jackets nailed down their new head coach on Monday, announcing that Dean Evason would be taking over the job next season. This hiring makes a lot of sense.
Evason will be coaching an NHL team for the second time in his career; having held the position with the Minnesota Wild from February of 2020, into November of 2023.
His teams in Minnesota were wildly successful in the regular season, holding a record of 147-77-27 through 251 games - a .585 win percentage. In the playoffs, however, things weren't as rosy. The Wild were just 8-15 (.348) in his time there.
Simply from a results perspective, this is exactly the kind of coach the Blue Jackets should have been after from the offset. Evason took the Wild to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons behind the bench, even giving them their best season to date with a 113 point campaign in 2021-22.
The Jackets are a team that should be transitioning from the bottom of the standings, to competing for a playoff spot soon. Evason is a player friendly coach who brings accountability to the room.
He helped Minnesota's young players become better NHLers, which has left them with a very serviceable core of talent.
After hiring two first time head coaches in recent years - sandwiched around the Mike Babcock fiasco from last summer - this is exactly the kind of hiring the team should have made. He may not be an exciting innovator; but he will demand respect in the room, and not in a confrontational way.
Time will tell if his (lack of) playoff success was a result of the situation in Minnesota, or his own doing. But, at this time, the Jackets should just be eyeing consistency and building towards making the playoffs in the first place.
If Dean Evason can bring the kind of consistency and accountability needed for the young players on this team, they should be well on their way. I'm not sure this is the coach they'll compete for a Cup with, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.
What I am sure of, is that he'll be a massive improvement over the last two full-time head coaches here. And that should have been the main goal the moment they let Vincent go.