Columbus fired head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy on Monday and hired veteran NHL coach Rick Bowness to head up the Blue Jackets.
“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. 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,” Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell said in a statement.
“Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances and I thank him for that. I also want to thank Steve for his commitment to our club over the past five years.”
Evason, 61, compiled a record of 59-52-16 in 127 games since joining Columbus as head coach in July 2024, including a 40-33-9 mark last season. However, with a 19-19-7 record this year, the Blue Jackets are tied for last in the Eastern Conference standings.
McCarthy, 44, who had an eight-year NHL career as a defenseman with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Atlanta Thrashers, has been an assistant coach in Columbus since September 2021.
Bowness retired from coaching when he stepped down from his position as the Winnipeg Jets head coach in May 2024 after nearly 50 years in the NHL as a player and coach.
Bowness, who will turn 71 on Jan. 25, was named a Jack Adams Award finalist that season for the first time in his 14 years as a head coach.
“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,” said Waddell. “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 is 310-408-37 (48 ties) in 803 career games with seven different teams, including Winnipeg twice. His first stint as head coach came in 1988-89 with the original Jets franchise after they fired Dan Maloney; Bowness went 8-17-3 as interim head coach.
Bowness led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 as interim head coach. The Stars lost to Tampa Bay in six games. He also coached the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and Phoenix Coyotes.
Most recently, he led the Jets to a second-place finish in the Central Division in the 2023-24 season, a 15-point improvement from the previous year. Bowness went 98-57-9 in two seasons back with Winnipeg, where he also finished his NHL playing career in 1981.
“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,” Bowness said in a statement. “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.”
He is one of three NHL coaches, with Scotty Bowman and Pat Quinn, to serve behind the bench in five different decades.
As a forward, Bowness recorded 55 points (18 goals, 37 assists) in 173 NHL games from 1975-81 with the Atlanta Flames, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Jets.
–Field Level Media
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