Blue Jackets Fire Dean Evanson, Hire Veteran HC

The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially turned the page on the Dean Evason era.

After two seasons as the head man in Columbus, the franchise announced the afternoon of Jan. 12 that Evason, alongside assistant coach Steve McCarthy, had been relieved of their duties effective immediately. In their stead, the Blue Jackets have hired NHL veteran and former head coach of the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets, Rick Bowness, to be the new leader of the team.

🚨 Team Update 🚨

We’ve relieved head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy of their duties and hired veteran NHL coach Rick Bowness as the club’s head coach.

CBJ x @OHHeartofitAll pic.twitter.com/cXWr59Pd5w
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 12, 2026

“This season has been a frustrating one for all of us and the bottom line is we are not performing at the level that meets our expectations,” Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations and general manager Don Waddell said in a press release sent out by the team. “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. 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.”

The Blue Jackets are 19-19-7 through their first 45 games and are tied for last place in the Eastern Conference alongside the Ottawa Senators. Overall, Evason led Columbus to a 59-52-16 record in 127 games as head coach, including a 40-33-9 mark during the 2024-25 season that saw the club barely miss out on a playoff berth. His combined head coaching record between his time with both the Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild is 206-129-43.

Turning it over to Bowness

Apr 30, 2024; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness talks to media after their loss to the Colorado Avalanche in game five of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images | James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images

With the departure of Evason, the Blue Jackets have pivoted to Bowness to try and right the ship.

“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 a press release. “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.”

Over the course of 803 games behind the bench as an NHL head coach, Bowness has a 310-408-48-37 (W-L-T-OT) record. Narrow that to just his record between 2019-24, and it gets better: He was 187-119-0-34 over that stretch, which included leading the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020. Bowness has never won a Stanley Cup as a head coach.

“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. “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.”

After his time with the Jets ended after the 2023-24 season, Bowness had been working as an analyst for TNT. He now throws down the microphone and returns to the bench to try and lead the Blue Jackets to the promised land.

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