EVASON BACK WHERE HE BELONGS FOLLOWING BLUE JACKETS' HIRING
Dean Evason is the newest head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Monday afternoon, the Blue Jackets issued a press release announcing that the 59-year-old Flin Flon, MB. native with more than 25 years of coaching experience would become the 11th head coach in franchise history.
The hiring of Evason to a multi-year contract came just over a month after former Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent was fired after one year overseeing the team, which saw his squad finish last place in the Metropolitan division with a 27-43-12 record (66 points).
A press conference formally introducing Evason as Columbus’ next bench boss was held at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday morning.
“The one thing that Dean really brought to the table that I really believe after being here for a month and a half that we needed was the passion, the structure, and the process that he's going to put in place to make the players accountable,” said Don Waddell, recently-hired Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager. “We felt like we have some good young players to go with our veterans, but we needed a better structure, and that’s what Dean provides.”
Evason, who coached the Minnesota Wild for parts of the past five seasons, helped the ‘state of hockey’ gather an impressive 147-77-27 record (.639 points percentage) through 251 games behind the bench before being fired and replaced in November 2023 by former Nashville Predators head coach, John Hynes.
Although Evason’s coaching tenure with the Wild never translated to much postseason success, as his club never advanced past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he was responsible for giving the Wild a clear identity: well-structured and stingy defensively. This identity implemented by Evason helped Minnesota outwork teams by causing turnovers through relentless pressure on the puck and physicality.
“Our team will play with great detail and great structure, but we’ll also give them the opportunity to be creative in the offensive zone and through the neutral zone,” said Evason when asked about the system he will employ in Columbus. “The game is made of mistakes; you have to build your system to allow the players to make those mistakes and still give them a chance to have success.”
That style of play is what benefited highly-skilled and creative offensive players such as Kirill Kaprizov, whom Evason helped solidify as one of the top talents in the National Hockey League.
His ability to get the best out of his players in Minnesota did not go unnoticed. In 2021, Evason was recognized as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the NHL’s coach of the year. In 2022, he also finished fourth in voting for the same acknowledgment.
“It's my job and the coach's job to get the best out of the team to play hard every night, and I have no doubt that we will do that, and we will do that very quickly,” said Evason.
The Blue Jackets are certainly one of the teams in the NHL that most people define as being in the ‘rebuild’ stage, but Evason still expects successful results this upcoming season.
“We’re here to win hockey games,” said Evason. “I have huge expectations of myself and what I do, and I take great pride in that, and I look forward to bringing that passion, that desire, that drive, to the Columbus Blue Jackets.”
Prior to his coaching stints in the Western Hockey League (Kamloops Blazers, 1999-2002, Vancouver Giants, 2002-2004, and Calgary Hitmen, 2004-2005), American Hockey League (Milwaukee Admirals, 2012-2018), and NHL (Washington Capitals, 2005-2012, Wild, 2019-2023, and Blue Jackets, current), Evason was a player in the NHL.
Drafted in the fifth round, 89th overall, by the Capitals in the 1982 NHL Draft, Evason played in the NHL for 13 seasons, spending time with the Capitals, Hartford Whalers, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, and Calgary Flames. He played a total of 803 games and recorded 139 goals, 233 assists, and 372 points, along with an astonishing 1,002 penalty minutes. But Evason’s inability to lift the 131-year-old trophy during his 13 years as a player is what keeps him motivated as a head coach.
“There’s 32 jobs in the National Hockey League; as a head coach, it’s not lost how special this is and how appreciative I am for this opportunity,” said Evason. “I had a passion to lift the Stanley Cup with my skates on. That's not going to happen. But I have this opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup with a suit on. That's my desire. That's my drive. That's why I'm sitting here.”
Although the goal of climbing the Stanley Cup Playoff mountain might not be reached immediately for Evason and his Blue Jackets, the future ahead is indeed bright. Under Evason, players like Adam Fantili, Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson, Cole Silinger, David Jiricek, Manitoba product Denton Mateychuk, and the most recent 5th overall pick, Cayden Lindstrom, will all be given opportunities to succeed with the organization moving forward.
Evason has proven on many occasions that he is a great coach for emerging talents; he showed that most recently with the Wild and players like Kaprizov, Boldy, and Eriksson Ek. Combining all that youth with the established veteran group of players like Johnny Gaudreau, Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner, and their most significant add in free agency, Sean Monahan, the Blue Jackets could be a team to look out for years to come.
Evason said it best: “The foundation is set here; it just needs to be built upon.”
Columbus’ first taste of regular season action on October 10 against the Wild will also be their coach’s first chance at revenge, as Evason’s Blue Jackets will prepare to take on the team that fired him last year.
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