Since Don Waddell has come to town, he has been spicing things up with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pascal Vincent was let go as head coach and is now taking the head coaching job with the Laval Rockets. The Blue Jackets have been looking for a new head coach.
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There was a chance Todd McLellan was going to be named head coach last week, but things fell apart. The search continues as the Blue Jackets want to get someone in place as soon as possible.
Columbus Blue Jackets writer from The Athletic Aaron Portzline joined TSN Radio in Montreal to discuss the latest on the team’s coaching search and who he feels will be the next head coach.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Host: “What’s the latest with the coaching search?”
Aaron Portzline: “Yeah, well, the Columbus Convention and Visitor’s Bureau should be hard to work this week. Because there are two candidates coming into town. That the next step. Don Waddell and his staff have done phone or video interviews. I think Todd McLellan was the guy that was at the top of the list. And you know, one thing that’s important to know about Don Wadell’s process is before he brings candidates to town for this final stage, he gets an idea it’s not a negotiation by any means, but it’s an idea of what the framework of the deal would have to be to make sense.
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And it’s been an issue. The last week there were a few days spent on trying to make it work with McLellan. It appears as of now that he’s not one of the two coming to town. But I keep being told repeatedly that there’s a chance they circle back if these two interviews, and to be clear, the best info seemed to suggest that those two guys coming to Columbus are Dean Evanson, formerly of Minnesota Wild and Jay Woodcroft, formerly of Edmonton.
Both coaches who have one year remaining on their term with their previous clubs were let go early this season. Those are the two guys believed to be coming to town for the blue jackets interviews this week.”