Blue Jackets hire Dean Evason as new head coach
The Columbus Blue Jackets have found their new bench boss.
On Monday, team president and general manager Don Waddell announced it has hired Dean Evason as the Blue Jackets’ new head coach.
NEWS: #CBJ have named Dean Evason head coach. He amassed a 147-77-27 record in 251 games over parts of 5 seasons as head coach of the Minnesota WIld from 2020-2023.
The club will introduce Evason at a press conference at @NationwideArena on Tuesday at 10:30am.…
“Dean Evason brings to coaching what he brought as a player,” Waddel explained in a release. “Passion, hard work and tenacity – and I couldn’t be happier that he will serve as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has spent well over two decades in this league as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, and I believe that experience, combined with the outstanding person he is, will allow Dean to get the best out of our players and put us in a position to succeed as a team.”
According to the release, Evason signed a multi-year contract with Columbus.
“I am incredibly proud and honored to be named the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets,” Evason said. “…and appreciate very much the opportunity that Don, the McConnell family and Mike Priest have extended to me. There is a great core and a lot of young talent on this team. I am really looking forward to working with this group and helping us become a team that plays extremely hard and competes at the highest level.”
Evason had spent the last five-plus seasons with the Minnesota Wild. He was originally hired as an assistant coach in June 2018, but was given the interim coaching job after Mike Yeo was fired in February 2020. The Flin Flon, Manitoba native was the head man for over four years in Minnesota, was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the yet in 2020-21, and was fourth in voting in 2021-22. However, after a sluggish start to the 2023-24 campaign, Wild GM Bill Guerin elected to let Evason go in November.
In 251 games, Evason’s team posted a 147-77-27 record, advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his first four seasons.
Prior to joining the Wild, Evason was the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals for six seasons. He also spent seven years with the Washington Capitals as an assistant coach.