COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A series of front-office changes is continuing for the Blue Jackets.
Coach Dean Evason, who was hired Monday, has been charged by general manager Don Waddell to bring passion and structure to the Jackets’ young but talented roster.
“I don’t know exactly what we have in that room, but I know from the outside looking in, it’s fantastic on paper,” Evason said Tuesday in his first public comments. “It’s my job to get the best out of them to play hard every night. I have no doubt we’ll do that and do that very quickly.”
Evason comes from the Minnesota Wild, where he coached for five seasons before being fired 19 games into the 2023-24 season. His career record with the Wild was 147-77-27, including four playoff appearances.
Watch: Dean Evason introduced as coach
Not only is Evason new to the Blue Jackets, so is Waddell. He came from the Carolina Hurricanes, who made the playoffs six straight seasons under him. He then resigned in the final year of his contact in May once the Blue Jackets started to show interest.
The Jackets went 27-32-12 last season to finish last in the Eastern Conference under coach Pascal Vincent, who was fired by Waddell. Earlier, the team had fired general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and moved former team president John Davidson into an advisory role.
Evason becomes the Blue Jackets’ fourth coach since the end of the 2022-23 season, when Brad Larsen was fired. Mike Babcock was brought in before resigning before coaching a game over accusations of invading players’ privacy. Vincent, an assistant coach, took his place. The team hasn’t made the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2020.
Evason will have to build a staff of assistant coaches in the weeks ahead. The Blue Jackets play their first exhibition game on Sept. 23 and open the regular season on Oct. 10 against Evanson’s former team, the Wild.