Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell decided that he had finally seen enough. As the team continued to slog through their season, he fired his head coach and one of his assistants on Monday.
After guiding the club through unimaginable circumstances last season, Dean Evason lost all of his earned good will as Waddell continued to search for answers. But it seemed like no matter what the GM did, the team's on-ice product was not improving.
Things were really bad over the last week, when many in the fanbase-myself included-noticed that the team seemed to be going through the motions.
The tipping point may very well have been Evason's own comments, where he pointed out that the coaching staff was taking a hands-off approach and letting the team figure it out on their own.
This led me to wonder why he was still employed? Dean is known around the hockey world as a motivator, but has drawn criticism for his lack of a tactical approach. In fact, the only tool he seemed to use to spark the team was shuffling his lines on a regular basis.
If he isn't motivating, and the team isn't tactically improving, why would you keep him around?
When you look at it from that perspective, it's no surprise that they fired him. And, it also makes it clear that the guy they hired is being brought in to fix those issues.
Bones knows defense.
With a swift and heavy hammer, Waddell made it abundantly clear on Monday that this team's defense has not been good enough. Joining Evason on his way out is Steve McCarthy, who has been this team's defense coach since being hired in the summer of 2021.
In his time as part of the Blue Jackets defense, the team allowed 1,351 goals in 373 games. That's a 3.62 goals against average. Of course, it's not all his fault. The team was going through a rebuild and had a lot of pieces move in and out.
But, in all of that time, they hemorrhaged goals against, and part of that blame certainly falls onto his shoulders. He was in charge of the defense, after all.
The kindest way for me to put McCarthy's time in Columbus into words is to simply say: I cannot believe he lasted as long as he did. Somehow, Steve survived through four head coaches, and that is truly remarkable.
Meanwhile, Bowness has been a coach in the NHL, on and off, since 1984. You don't get to stick around this league for that long if you aren't bringing something to the table. He brings something Evason seemed to lack: a higher understanding for the tactics of the game.
WELCOME TO COLUMBUS BONES!
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 12, 2026
Get to know your new CBJ bench boss, Rick Bowness 💥 pic.twitter.com/9JRGyJUQDN
He will implement structure, especially in the defensive zone. He has been one of the game's premier defense coaches throughout his time in the NHL. He's going to help this team better understand how to play in their own end, which continues to be their biggest needed area of improvement.
If they can defend better, they will have the puck more. If they have the puck more, they will score more goals. Pretty simple, right?
He's not here to grind everyone into the ground.
My favorite thing about Rick is that he isn't known for grinding his players into the ground. This isn't another John Tortorella (or, ahem, Mike Babcock) kind of hire.
He's going to demand better from this team, without being too heavy handed. This is the approach that has kept him employed for multiple generations.
When you break it all down, this is honestly the perfect hire for this team right now. They have lacked structure, and the demand for accountability has seemingly only been in place with the younger players.
Even if he's only here for the remainder of this season, I like the decision to bring him aboard. Hopefully, Don's next move is to bring someone younger in to learn the ropes from one of the games most experienced coaching minds.