The last remaining coaching vacancy in the NHL has been filled.
The Columbus Blue Jackets named Dean Evason as their new head coach on Monday, ending a month-long search for a new bench boss after firing Pascal Vincent in June.
Evason has spent his entire career as an NHL head coach with the Minnesota Wild before he was relieved of his duties 19 games into the 2023-24 season. In the four full seasons that Evason was behind the bench for the Wild, they made the post-season each year, though failed to win a round.
“Dean Evason brings to coaching what he brought as a player – passion, hard work and tenacity,” said Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell in a statement. “He has spent well over two decades in this league as a player, assistant coach and head coach and I believe that experience, combined with the outstanding person he is, will allow Dean to get the best out of our players and put us in a position to succeed as a team.”
The 59-year-old has a career .639 win percentage coaching at the NHL level. He previously spent time as a WHL and AHL head coach from 1999 to 2018.
“There is a great core and a lot of young talent on this team. I am really looking forward to working with this group and helping us become a team that plays extremely hard and competes at the highest level,” Evason added in the statement released by the team.
The Blue Jackets have been in relative coaching limbo since firing Brad Larsen at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. In the 2023 off-season, they tapped Mike Babcock to take over the role, but controversy off the ice forced him to resign and was replaced by Vincent before he had coached a game.
Under Vincent, the Blue Jackets had a 27-43-12 record and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
