The long wait for an announcement is over. The Columbus Blue Jackets have found their next head coach. On Monday, the team announced that they’ve hired Dean Evason to run the bench.
Evason was one of three reported finalists along with Todd McLellan and Jay Woodcroft. After the Blue Jackets could not come to an agreement with McLellan, they brought in both Evason and Woodcroft for interviews.
In the end, it was the experience of Evason that won out.
Reactions to Hiring
GM Don Waddell said all along that he was looking for a head coach that would have NHL experience. Evason spent parts of five seasons with the Wild amassing a record of 147-77-27 in 251 games. His .639 points percentage is fifth among all active coaches in the NHL. Here is what both Waddell and Evason had to say.
“Dean Evason brings to coaching what he brought as a player – passion, hard work and tenacity – and I couldn’t be happier that he will serve as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets,” Waddell said. “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.”
“I am incredibly proud and honored to be named the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and appreciate very much the opportunity that Don, the McConnell family and Mike Priest have extended to me,” Evason said. “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 Brings Experience
Evason brings a wealth of experience to the Blue Jackets and has had varying levels of success along the way. Before joining the Wild in 2018, he was the head coach of AHL Milwaukee from 2012-2018. He guided the Admirals to the Calder Cup Playoffs in four of his six seasons there.
Evason was also an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals from 2005-2012. The Capitals made five consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his last five seasons before leaving for Milwaukee.
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Not only does Evason bring experience to the table, he has a track record of development. The Blue Jackets needed a combination of experience and success in development. His time with the Admirals was respected for the work he did developing players. The 2017-18 Admirals had the likes of Juuse Saros, Yakov Trenin and Alexandre Carrier on it. Back in his most successful season of 2015-16, he coached a young Kevin Fiala.
Evason will be introduced as head coach at a press conference on Tuesday morning at Nationwide Arena. The availability will be held at 10:30 A.M. eastern and will be streamed on the Blue Jackets’ YouTube page.