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Columbus Blue Jackets fire coach Dean Evason, hire Rick Bowness
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- Columbus Blue Jackets fire coach Dean Evason, hire Rick Bowness
Prodded by urgency to keep their fading playoff hopes alive , the Blue Jackets are now grasping at a new straw to stir the drink.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets midseason Q&A with president/GM Don Waddell
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Following a miserable 1-3-0 road trip that kept them mired in last place of the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference, head coach Dean Evason and assistant Steve McCarthy were fired and Rick Bowness was hired as head coach Jan. 12. No other changes were made, so McCarthy's replacement may be promoted from within or picked by Bowness.
"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," Blue Jackets president/general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. "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."
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason watches during the second period of the NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 18, 2025.
Bowness, 70, was picked from a coaching pool that includes Peter DeBoer, who has extensive NHL experience and most recently had success coaching the Stars and Vegas Golden Knights. The Dispatch has learned that Bowness was the only coach contacted by the Blue Jackets, who've now hired five head coaches since the team and former coach John Tortorella parted ways in 2021.
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The Dispatch was unable to reach Evason for comment.
Evason, 61, went 59-52-16 in 127 games for the Blue Jackets, including 40-33-9 last season in his debut campaign. He was fired midway through his second season, leaving with a 19-19-7 record and the team lingering far out playoff position. Evason previously coached the Minnesota Wild (2020-2024) and was hired July 22, 2024 to replace Pascal Vincent , who coached one season as Mike Babcock's replacement following a phone privacy scandal that cut Babcock's tenure to just 78 days in the 2023 offseason.
Waddell initially showed interest in hiring coaching free agent Todd McLellan , but couldn't reach agreement on a contract. McLellan eventually landed with the Detroit Red Wings , who are now first in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference.
Evason's first season in Columbus was successful despite the Blue Jackets finishing two points shy of the playoffs. A little more than a month into the job, star left wing Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a motorist while biking together in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
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Their shocking deaths left the Blue Jackets emotionally devastated just a couple weeks before training camp, but Evason and his mostly inherited staff did a remarkable job allowing players to grieve while preparing for a new season. Gaudreau and his family were a big part of it, including his No. 13 jersey hanging inside the locker room for every game.
"Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances, and I thank him for that," Waddell said in his statement. "I also want to thank Steve for his commitment to our club over the past five years."
Gaudreau's presence remains in the Jackets' locker room, but this season has brought more frustration and turbulence, including a significant number of wins and points eluding the Blue Jackets after leads vanished late in games.
Mar 26, 2024; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness talks over a call with referee Jon McIsaac (2) in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
They also stumbled into a winless skid that reached a season-high five games Dec. 6-13 plus two more winless streaks of four games, including one that ended Jan. 11 with a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth to conclude a miserable 1-3-0 road trip.
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Bowness, 70, is a longtime NHL assistant and head coach who last ran the Winnipeg Jets' bench from 2022-24 and held the top coaching spot for the Dallas Stars from 2019-22. Bowness went 98-57-9 with the Jets and 89-62-25 with the Stars, coaching Dallas to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"Rick Bowness is a tremendous coach with invaluable experience and knowledge, and he will bring a steadiness to our team at an important juncture in our season," Waddell said in his statement. "He is a good communicator whose teams play with structure, are sound defensively and we believe he is the right person to bring out the best in our group."
Bowness has additional experience as a head coach or interim head coach with the former Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. His all-time record is 310-408-48-37 (W-L-T-OTL), including a combined 187-119-34 in 340 games for the Jets and Stars between 2019-24.
"I appreciate the opportunity to come to Columbus because it is a good organization with good people and this is a team that I think I can help improve," said Bowness. "I'm thankful to Don and (Blue Jackets President) Mike Priest and I'm really excited to work with our players and coaching staff to help get us where we want to go."
As an NHL head coach, Rick Bowness owns a record of 310-408, with 37 overtime losses and 48 ties in 803 games.
McCarthy, a former NHL defenseman, spent 10 seasons with the Blue Jackets that included five as an AHL assistant with the Cleveland Monsters prior to the past five seasons in the NHL running defensive pairings and coordinating the penalty kill.
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McCarthy was promoted Sept. 13, 2021 because former assistant Sylvain Lefebvre was fired before he'd even coached in Columbus for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination prior to the 2021-22 season, something the NHL required. Lefebvre was then hired by the Florida Panthers and helped them make it to the Stanley Cup Final the past three years, finishing the past two seasons as champions.
Under McCarthy's guidance, the Blue Jackets' combined success rate on penalty kills in five seasons is 76.7%, which ranks 26th in the league. This season, they rank 29th at 76.4% after starting out last in the league at 55.6% through the first five games (11-for-18).
The Blue Jackets host the Calgary Flames on Jan. 13 at Nationwide Arena, where Bowness and Waddell will meet with reporters after the morning skate.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets fire head coach Dean Evason, tap Rick Bowness
