Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: Higher-priced coaching options for the Columbus Blue Jackets include Bruce Boudreau, Gerard Gallant, and Claude Julien.
Lower-priced coaching options include Jack Capuano, Kevin Dineen, Rikard Gronborg, Benoit Groulx, Jukka Jalonen, Lane Lambert, Brad Larsen, Manny Malhotra, Kirk Muller, Luke Richardson, Brad Shaw, Rick Tocchet, Mike Vellucci, Pascal Vincent and Geoff Ward.
Pending RFAs include Kole Sherwood, Kevin Stenlund, Calvin Thurkauf, and Cam Johnson.
Pending UFA include Zac Dalpe, Mikhail Grigorenko, Ryan MacInnis, Stefan Matteau, Adam Clendening, Michael Del Zotto, and Mikko Lehtonen.
Ed Francis of 1st Ohio Battery: The Blue Jackets hope to have a new coach in place before the free agency opens in July according to GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
“I don’t think hat we’ll be able to wait until free agency to get a new coach here. I think that decision will come sooner.”
It’s possible the Blue Jackets look outside the NHL for their next coach.
“Experience is valuable but there’s lots of different ways to gain experience,” said Kekalainen. “It doesn’t always need to be from being a head coach in the NHL.”
“The ability, the personality, the values … those are the biggest criteria, and not necessarily the (NHL) experience.”
Jacob Nitzberg of 1st Ohio Battery: The Blue Jackets have goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins who both have a year left on their deals and who both want to be a No. 1 goalie. They know that one is likely to be moved this offseason.
Merzlikin’s yesterday:
“It’s going to be an interesting summer, I think…nobody’s stupid here. We understand that there’s two number one goalies on one team…Korpi wants to play, I want to play. Sharing the net isn’t the best for our future. It’s going to be an interesting summer, but on the same side, it’s going to be a nervous summer. The way things work here, today you are here, tomorrow, you are away. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Korpisalo yesterday:
“Stuff like that is in the air, but it’s something I can’t control. “This summer is going to be the best summer of my career, trying to get back, better as ever. That’s the only thing I can control, trying to work my ass off to be better this summer and come in next season to be the best myself…I just think about the stuff I can focus on.”