As of this writing on July 21, 2024, the Columbus Blue Jackets remain without a head coach. It is over a month since Pascal Vincent was let go on June 17. It took the president of the United States less time to decide to drop out of the campaign than it has for new general manager Don Waddell to select Vincent’s replacement.
As a minor defense of Waddell, the NHL schedule did him no favors. Within two weeks of Vincent’s firing, he had to oversee the NHL draft and the start of free agency. He was certainly active in this time, with many moves to overhaul the roster. On the other hand, much of that work was done nearly three weeks ago at this point. The best candidates were obvious at that time; I correctly identified the three finalists back then. So what’s the hold-up?
First, there was the reporting that Todd McLellan was the front-runner, but then the negotiations fell apart. Per Aaron Portzline,
It was at this stage of the process that the talks with McLellan, believed to be the Blue Jackets’ first choice, fell apart last week. It’s unclear if the talks stalled between the Jackets and the Kings, who still owe McLellan $5.5 million for this coming season, or if they stalled between the Blue Jackets and McLellan.
A source involved in the process told The Athletic the snag with McLellan was “not just about money.”
The failure to secure the top choice is extremely embarrassing. No other team is searching for a coach at the moment, so it’s not a matter of being outbid. McLellan had a genuine interest in the job. If money was part of the problem, then pay what it takes to get your guy. Don’t worry about the dead money already given to Brad Larsen, Mike Babcock, and Vincent. That’s sunk cost. If the issue is term, what’s the harm in giving out a long-term contract? This team doesn’t need a quick fix. They need stability at the head coaching position (which they’ve had arguably just once, with John Tortorella).
Curtis Deem over at Union and Blue wrote a great piece about this reflects the continued dysfunction of the Blue Jackets organization. That was over a week ago, and there has been little news since!
I understand that Don Waddell is being patient, and has no interest in rushing things. He wants do things carefully, and do them the right way. Does it have to take this long, however? It isn’t like there are new developments to wait for. He took three weeks after being hired to fire Vincent. Anyone who had followed this season knew that making a coaching change was necessary. Had Waddell made up his mind in the first week, he would have had more time to start the search while also still preparing for the draft and free agency.
Even after Vincent was fired, the coaching market was set and the top choices were obvious. If I knew who the three best choices with experience were, Waddell should have as well. Even if McLellan was the clear top choice, why wait to bring Jay Woodcroft and Dean Evason to town this past week?
This all pushes things back to nearly August, leaving the new coach less time to prepare for the season, and less time to get familiar with the roster (not to mention the stressful process of moving to a new city). It also creates difficulties with the rest of the staff. Will their desired assistants be available to bring in, or will they be forced to retain the incumbent assistants, like Mike Babcock was last summer? Can this team afford a fourth year with Steve McCarthy overseeing the defense? Even if the new coach makes a change, is that fair to McCarthy, Mark Recchi, and others? There aren’t many open positions on NHL or AHL staffs at this point (though Vincent himself was able to get the head coach job of the AHL’s Laval Rockets last week; congrats to him).
Last summer, Babcock didn’t officially take over until July 1. Vincent took over just days before training camp. The coaches who have taken this franchise to the postseason all initially took over the job mid-season, and took at least a year to get things turned around. Have we ever had a proven coach that we hired on a normal schedule in the off-season? I can’t think of one. The last two coaches hired then were Brad Larsen, who was an unproven NHL head coach and a pick of convenience (and low cost), and Scott Arniel, who was a backup choice behind Guy Boucher, and who proved to be a disastrous hire here.
Is Don Waddell making the mistakes that his predecessors did, or is this all a result of the mess that they left for him?
While I’m bothered by the timing and the process here, the silver lining is that both Woodcroft and Evason are solid options. They have NHL experience and have achieved regular season success. Given enough time and resources, either could get this franchise back on the right track. It is unfortunate that either one will begin year one at a disadvantage due to such a late start.