Among the names that have surfaced as likely candidates:
- Todd McLellan, who has coached in San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles
- Dean Evason, who has coached in Minnesota
- Jeff Blashill, who has coached in Detroit
- Gerard Gallant, who has coached in Columbus, Florida, Vegas and the New York Rangers
One of the coaches believed to be a candidate for the Blue Jackets job was told in a text exchange with
The Athletic that the club’s veteran players are wanting “accountability and structure and coaching.” His response: “I can provide all of those things.”
Waddell acknowledged that Bob Hartley, who coached Atlanta and
Colorado in the NHL before spending almost a decade coaching in Russia and coaching Latvia in international tournaments, has expressed an interest in the job.
It remains unknown whether the NHL will clear former
St. Louis, Colorado,
Chicago and Florida coach Joel Quenneville, who was suspended indefinitely by the league for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual-abuse cover-up.
The Blue Jackets were willing to interview Quenneville last summer if he’d been cleared by the NHL, but commissioner Gary Bettman did not lift his ban. Asked about his willingness to consider Quenneville this time, Waddell side-stepped the question.
“It’s probably not in my best interest to talk about what might happen,” Waddell said. “We all know that Joel is still held back by the league. We’ll leave it up to the league to eventually answer that question.”