When Will the Columbus Blue Jackets Announce a Head Coach?
Jamison Coyle and Mike Rupp on the NHL Network discussed the five burning questions remaining in the offseason. The second question concerns the Columbus Blue Jackets, why they have not hired a new head coach, and who and when the announcement will come.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions***
NHL Rumors: Who Will be the Next Head Coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets
Jamison Coyle: “The next question is, who will be the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets? Here we are in mid-July, and of all 32 teams, Columbus is the only one left without a bench boss.”
Mike Rupp: “I don’t know it’s gonna it’s very strange to see it like this right because you’re seeing moves be made. I mean, it would be basically be for me, it’s almost equivalent when you’re starting to fill out personnel. It’d be like going into the draft without a general manager and not having direction and noormally you don’t see that. We have seen that before.
Now, this is a situation here in Columbus where I think the biggest thing with them is who are we? What are we going to be? So the personnel decisions are already been made with, whether it’s through the draft and part of the system, and then free agency bringing some guys in, but who’s the one that’s going to take these players and bring them together and be like, this is how we’re going to play the game.
I mean, that’s TBD. I think Jay Woodcroft is one that, for me, that I would love to see get another opportunity here with somebody. And I feel like with a talent level in Columbus, he’d be a great fit, but Dean Evason, Todd McLellan, I mean, there’s a lot of you can go on and on with other coaches, a lot of great names out there. But the biggest thing is now you’re almost doing it backwards.
NHL Rumors: Buffalo Sabres, and the Columbus Blue Jackets
Here’s the players that we have: how do we complement these players with a coach that wants us to play the right way but also make sure that we have that identity? I think Jay Woodcroft would probably be the front-runner for me if I were there in Columbus making those decisions, but I’m not, and we’ll see where this plays out. Because I think they’ve gotten better. They’ve gotten better this offseason on paper but you need a coach to corral everything together.”
Coyle: “We talked to Aaron Portzline earlier this week, I think on Monday; he said it’s coming soon, so they’re just holding him hostage as far as getting a summer vacation right now. Stay tuned for that.”