Now is not the time for a rookie head coach.
Waddell spoke to the media Thursday for the first time since Monday’s firing of now-former coach Pascal Vincent, saying the decision to move on was made by Waddell himself.
“I felt like we needed to go in a different direction,” Waddell said. “We’ve been through some younger coaches and we need to look for an experienced coach to come here.”
Those coaches include Vincent, who was hired last September at age 51, and Brad Larsen, who was hired in 2021 when he was just 43 years old. It was the first NHL head coaching position for both men.
Waddell doesn’t think that will happen this time.
“We need someone who has been in the (head coaching) chair before,” Waddell said, adding that they are looking for someone who has previously been an NHL head coach.
“We’ll have some good options there.”
The question now: who are those options and how would they fit into the organization? Here are seven potential candidates for the job, ranked from who should get a pass to who should get the job:
#7: Bob Hartley
Age: 63
NHL head coaching experience: Colorado Avalanche (1998-2003), Atlanta Thrashers (2003-2007), Calgary Flames (2012-2016)
NHL Head Coach Record: 463-361-61-59 (944 games)
Why is it seventh: Hartley is the only coach mentioned by name by Waddell on Thursday, saying his name came up but declining to confirm or deny that he would get an interview. He’s probably a good indicator that he’s not the least likely of these seven candidates to be offered the job, but he should be, despite the relationship he has with Waddell and despite the fact that he won a Stanley Cup. That was literally a quarter of a century ago; Today’s players are not like those at the beginning of the century and neither is the game. Hartley’s record as a head coach has gotten worse in all three stops, and he hasn’t coached in the NHL since 2016. That makes him the coach on this list with the longest stretch of time without a head coaching job in the NHL. Given the changes in the league in recent years, it would be fair to wonder if Hartley could catch up with the game quickly enough for the Blue Jackets’ liking, if at all.
#6: Claude Julien
Age: 64
NHL head coaching experience: Montreal Canadiens (2002-2006; 2017-2021), New Jersey Devils (2006-2007), Boston Bruins (2007-2017)
NHL Head Coach Record: 667-455-10-152 (1,275 games)
Why is it sixth: Julien is both the oldest candidate on this list and the candidate with the most matches behind the bench. He is also, along with Hartley, one of two on this list to win a Stanley Cup, that was with the Bruins in the 2010-11 season. Julien most recently coached for 18 games in the 2020-21 season before being fired by the Canadiens despite a 9-5-4 start to the season. Still, the potential problem here could be the same as Hartley’s: Has he missed the game? He’s an “old school” coach, and while Waddell is looking for a coach with NHL experience, that doesn’t mean he wants an old-fashioned style.
#5: Gerard Galan
Age: 60
NHL head coaching experience: Columbus Blue Jackets (2003-2006), Florida Panthers (2014-2016), Vegas Golden Knights (2017-2020), New York Rangers (2021-2023)
NHL Head Coach Record: 369-262-4-70 (705 games)
Why is it fifth: Gallant is the coach on this list who most recently led a team to the Stanley Cup Final, doing so with the Golden Knights in their inaugural season in 2017-18. You can’t discount the recency of this, but neither can this: Gallant has never held a coaching position for more than three seasons, and three of his four firings came when his team had a winning record or completed the season with a winning record. . That’s a warning sign. There is a green flag, however: Gallant is already familiar with the Blue Jackets organization and Columbus, as he coached the team for all or part of three seasons from 2003-2006.
#4: Jeff Blashill
Age: fifty
NHL head coaching experience: Detroit Red Wings (2015-2022)
NHL Head Coach Record: 204-261-72 (537 games)
Why it is fourth: Blashill has one postseason victory in seven years as a head coach, all with the Red Wings. But those teams were terrible overall, and when he was let go after the 2021-22 season, it felt like a raw deal. They were improving (slowly) each year and were finally starting to develop young talent (Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Hronek, among others). Blashill, currently an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning, will get another chance to be an NHL head coach. If that possibility is with the Blue Jackets, there are certainly worse options.
#3: Dean Evason
Age: 59
NHL Head Coaching Experience: Minnesota Wild (2019-2023)
NHL head coach record: 147-77-27 (251 games)
Why is it third: In his three full seasons as head coach in Minnesota, Dean Evason’s club made the playoffs three times. They didn’t win a series, but you could still argue that the Wild exceeded expectations when considering the roster they had. But when considering Evason for the Blue Jackets job, consider these two things:
(1) When the Wild gave him a contract extension, he made sure his entire coaching staff was taken care of first. General manager Bill Guerin had this to say: “There’s a team-first mentality here, and a lot of that comes from what Dean has brought to the table. He has a lot of respect for his staff and wanted to get it all done (his staff extensions) on same day because he didn’t want to get in front of anyone.
For a club looking for a cultural change, that should be music to the Blue Jackets’ ears.
(2) He also helped young Russian winger Kirill Kaprizov flourish. Hey, any of those in Columbus?
#2: Jay Woodcroft
Age: 47
NHL Head Coaching Experience: Edmonton Oilers (2021-23)
NHL head coach record: 79-41-13 (133 games)
Why is it second: It’s almost the first, and let’s start with the elephant in the room: “he couldn’t win with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, so he can’t win anywhere.” Not so fast. In his two full seasons in Edmonton, the Oilers not only made the playoffs but also made it past the first round.
Yes, the Oilers got off to a terrible start to the 2023-24 season, leading to Woodcroft’s firing. But advanced metrics tell a hard-luck story more than anything else: When Woodcroft was fired, Edmonton was first in expected goals per 60 minutes at even strength (3.31), but averaged just 2.15 (25th) during that time. They were seventh in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (2.42), but 23rd in goals against per 60 minutes. Jack Campbell couldn’t save if he had a coupon and was eventually sent to the minors.
There’s also this: Woodcroft had made a change in defensive structure during the offseason, from a man-to-man system to a “zone defense” that has been successful for some teams. The Oilers were struggling to adapt to the new scheme and the Edmonton front office probably had to take steps to change things, but that doesn’t mean that (a) the blame can fall squarely on the coach’s shoulders or (b) that it’s not yet a really good coach who deserves another job in the NHL.
#1: Todd McLellan
Age: 56
NHL head coaching experience: San Jose Sharks (2008-2015), Edmonton Oilers (2015-2018), Los Angeles Kings (2019-2024)
NHL Head Coach Record: 598-412-134 (1,144 games)
Why he is the choice: McLellan, just above Evason and Woodcroft, is the pick here for a reason: He’s the best communicator of the group, and that makes him the best option for this team at the moment they’re in right now.
Take this quote from Kings alternate captain Drew Doughty to The Athletic in 2019: “It’s very clear, he’s not playing any game, he’s not trying to bother you. He wants your practice habits to be good. He wants you to be a good leader off the ice, but his message is always very direct and in the past we didn’t have a direct message. “It was like a mental game.”
After the Blue Jackets’ recent missteps in training, this is a bells-and-whistles type statement. A coach with a clear message? That was never Pascal Vincent. A coach who isn’t here to play mind games? The polar opposite of Mike Babcock. A coach who promotes good practice habits? That wasn’t part of Brad Larsen’s style.
McLellan doesn’t have the most on-ice success of the potential candidates, but in an era where the medium is the message, he should be the one Waddell turns to to lead this team forward.
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