Dean Evason fired as Blue Jackets head coach, Rick Bowness hired

It has been a disappointing season thus far for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division and tied for last in the Eastern Conference. Despite a much-needed win over the Utah Mammoth, the Blue Jackets have lost 12 of their last 18 games. This has led to a change in head coach for the franchise.

Dean Evason has been fired by the Blue Jackets and replaced by Rick Bowness as the full-time head coach, according to a release from the team on X, formerly Twitter.

“This season has been a frustrating one for all of us and the bottom line is we are not performing at a level that meets our expectations. We all share in that responsibility, me included, and while this was not a decision that was made lightly it is one that needed to be made at this time. Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances and I thank him for that. I also want to thank Steve (McCarthy) for his commitment to our club over the past five years,” said Jackets GM Don Waddell in a statement posted to the team site.

Along with the termination of Evason, the team also moved on from assistant coach Steve McCarthy.

Evason was in his second year with the Blue Jackets after spending time as an AHL coach and then with the Minnesota Wild of the NHL. The coach was successful in his time in Minnesota. He took over in the middle for the 2019-2020 season and kept the job for the 2020-2021 campaign. The former NHL player led the Wild to three playoff appearances in his first three years. Still, he was let go in 2023-2024 after just 19 games, and a 5-10-4 start for Minnesota.

The Blue Jackets were hopeful he would bring past success to the franchise. In his first year in Columbus, the Jackets went 40-33-9, but missed the playoffs. With the likelihood of missing the playoffs again, the front office made the change.

This is a developing story with more to come. 

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