The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired coach Dean Evason and changed him with Rick Bowness, the staff introduced on Monday. Evason was simply midway by his second season with the staff, which makes this transfer a shocking one. Assistant coach Steve McCarthy was additionally dismissed.
After Evason helped the Blue Jackets exceed expectations final season, the entrance workplace was anticipating much more within the present marketing campaign, however that hasn’t materialized. Columbus is 19-19-7 and sits within the basement of the Jap Convention. In a press release, Blue Jackets normal supervisor Don Waddell cited underachievement as the first motive for Evason’s firing.
“This season has been a irritating one for all of us and the underside line is we’re not acting at a degree that meets our expectations. All of us share in that duty, me included, and whereas this was not a call that was made calmly it’s one which wanted to be made at the moment,” mentioned Waddell. “Dean did an amazing job final 12 months beneath extraordinarily tough circumstances and I thank him for that. I additionally wish to thank Steve for his dedication to our membership over the previous 5 years.”
Previous to the 2024-25 season, Evason’s first with the Blue Jackets, star ahead Johnny Gaudreau died in an offseason accident. Within the face of a surprising tragedy, Evason led Columbus to a 40-33-9 because the staff completed simply two factors outdoors the playoffs.
Following that efficiency, the Blue Jackets needed to make that playoff leap in 2025-26, regardless that the staff did not make any main strikes within the offseason. Veteran middle Sean Monahan hasn’t been as efficient, and a few younger gamers have stalled of their improvement. Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson have been poised for giant seasons, however which have each regressed to at least one diploma or one other.
The Blue Jackets wasted no time in changing Evason, bringing within the veteran Bowness, who boasts greater than 40 years of teaching expertise. Bowness has spent 14 seasons as a coach within the NHL — both as an interim or in a full-time function. Over that span, Bowness has compiled a 310-408-48-37 file. In 2019-20, as an interim with the Dallas Stars, Bowness led the staff to the Stanley Cup Remaining earlier than getting promoted to a the full-time function.
Most just lately, Bowness spent two seasons behind the bench for the Winnipeg Jets from 2022-24. In his second season with Winnipeg, Bowness stepped away from the staff twice as he and his spouse battled well being points. Bowness led the Jets to a 98-57-9 file and two first-round playoff exits.
Aggressive East raised Blue Jackets’ urgency
The aggressive nature of the Jap Convention in all probability pushed the Blue Jackets into making this transfer. No staff is under .500, and regardless of being in final place, Columbus is simply seven factors out of a playoff spot. If the Blue Jackets get scorching for 2 weeks, their whole outlook might change.
For that motive, no staff within the East is really out of playoff rivalry, however what’s the finish objective for Columbus right here? Even when they reached the playoffs, is that this roster able to occurring a deep run? I do not assume so. Columbus has one of the crucial underwhelming collections of facilities within the league, and the ahead group as an entire lacks firepower. Zach Werenski leads the staff with 47 factors — 10 greater than anybody else — and he is a defenseman.
The goaltending has been serviceable, thanks solely to the efforts of Jet Greaves as a result of backup Elvis Merzlikins is having anotehr abysmal season with 9.35 targets allowed above common, per Pure Stat Trick. Stack Columbus up in opposition to groups just like the Tampa Bay Lightning or Carolina Hurricanes, its most definitely first-round opponents, and there’s no comparability.
Administration in Columbus clearly believes this staff must be profitable extra actually because it gave up second- and fourth-round picks to amass winger Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken final month. It did recoup that draft capital by sending Yegor Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins, however clearly Waddell desires to see extra out of this group. I am simply unsure that is practical.
Maybe the assumption inside the constructing was that Evason wasn’t growing younger gamers like Fantilli, Johnson or Cole Sillinger properly sufficient. That may be a good critique given the efficiency of that trio in 2025-26 (21 targets and 39 assists), however is hiring the 70-year-old Bowness the reply there? He’ll have to achieve these growing gamers for the Jackets to show their season round.
In the end, Evason was a sufferer of his personal success in 2024-25 and an unusually aggressive Jap Convention in 2025-26. Maybe Bowness can spark the Blue Jackets, however this looks like a wierd choice that solely creates extra instability in Columbus because the staff brings in its sixth coach since 2021.
