Who should be the next head coach?

[Fred Glover]

After all the Hedger bashing on this site and now we are supposed to believe that he has reliable information?
I know all about blind squirrels finding acorns but I don’t know if what he is reporting is really accurate
I’m just wondering what actually is the truth

 

[KJ Dangler]

Evason playoff record as a head coach


If we tally Evason’s entire playoff record – all leagues and levels combined – he is 19-51. That doesn’t fit anyone’s definition of a decent playoff record. A lot can happen in the postseason. Key players can suffer injuries, bad matchups, and bad luck, to cite but a few.

 

[stevo61]

Evason playoff record as a head coach


If we tally Evason’s entire playoff record – all leagues and levels combined – he is 19-51. That doesn’t fit anyone’s definition of a decent playoff record. A lot can happen in the postseason. Key players can suffer injuries, bad matchups, and bad luck, to cite but a few.

Are we allowed to look at the quality of his players or... Does it have to be the most simple answer if appears to be the worst looking

 

[TaketheCannoli]

Dear Hedger,

Which is it? Was he excited to join? Did he not like how far away the CBJ were from competing? Was ownership not willing to match money/term he wanted?

We would like to know.

Sign,
All of us CBJ fans

So would Hedger.
These tweets make it look like he's just throwing shit on the wall to see what sticks.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Did we think he had been?

I wasn't sure. There was, reportedly, an initial list of 10-12 but other than the finalists I hadn't seen any reporting on who else had been interviewed.

 

[CBJx614]

Yeah, he seems really promising. I'll admit, I prefer McLellan as the "safe" pick and am kind of disappointed that's not working out, but Evason also looks really really good.

Basically exactly how I feel. I want McLellan, more than okay with Evason.....

Anyone else ( of the rumored names) feels like a let down

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811190918067740710

So I was basically dead on. That means CBJ would be on the line for somewhere in the ballpark of 7-9M next season. If he's asking for more than 3 years I can see why the Jackets said no. The average coaching gig is what 3 years?


But the constant reiterating of them circling back around makes me think they really like him and they might just need to talk someone down (CBJ/LA ownership/McLs agent)

Why do NHL teams make so many in-season coaching changes?

Lindy Ruff was recently fired by the Devils, becoming the seventh NHL coach to lose their job during the 2023-24 season. How does that compare to other sports and what are some of the reasons for all the turnover?

www.espn.com

Maybe it's just one side playing hardball?

 

[majormajor]

So I was basically dead on. That means CBJ would be on the line for somewhere in the ballpark of 7-9M next season. If he's asking for more than 3 years I can see why the Jackets said no. The average coaching gig is what 3 years?

Edit: @Longtime Local has it correct.

 

[CBJx614]

I might be misunderstanding something but my impression was that the portion of his contract the Kings will pay is subtracted from the amount on his new deal that we would pay.

So if they're covering $2m for this year, and our offer to him is $3.5m, then we'd only owe him $1.5m for this year.

That sounds a lot more realistic, I truly don't know how it actually works.

 

[Longtime Local]

I might be misunderstanding something but my impression was that the portion of his contract the Kings will pay is subtracted from the amount on his new deal that we would pay.

So if they're covering $2m for this year, and our offer to him is $3.5m, then we'd only owe him $1.5m for this year.

From what I can tell the Kings have to cover the remaining of the $5.5m we don't cover since they guaranteed it. If the offer is $3.5m, we would pay it and the Kings would pay the remaining $2.0m that he is due for this year. It could be that the Kings may want us to pay the full $5.5m so they won't have to pay him anything.

 

[majormajor]

From what I can tell the Kings have to cover the remaining of the $5.5m we don't cover since they guaranteed it. If the offer is $3.5m, we would pay it and the Kings would pay the remaining $2.0m that he is due for this year. It could be that the Kings may want us to pay the full $5.5m so they won't have to pay him anything.

You're right, that's how I initially imagined it worked, before I confused the matter.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811218706585747905

While the development doesn’t mean the Blue Jackets won’t take another swing at meeting McLellan's contract requirements, which a source told the Dispatch was roughly $4 million per season over four years, he’s currently out of the running. The Dispatch has learned that former Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, one of McLellan’s former assistants, and former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason are the remaining finalists for the position ― which now might stretch into late July before it gets filled.

 

[CBJx614]

Just a few worthwhile snippets, sorry if it's already been posted

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5630036/2024/07/10/blue-jackets-coaching-search?source=user-shared-article

McLellan’s contract with Los Angeles paid him $5.5 million per season — tops among NHL bench bosses — and extends through the 2024-25 season. That, essentially, made it a three-way negotiation, with the Blue Jackets needing to negotiate with the Kings to decide how much of McLellan’s salary they would pay for the coming season. The Kings fired McLellan in February.

It’s unclear why the contract talks broke off, but one source within the Blue Jackets said it wasn’t out of the question that the club could circle back to McLellan.

Dean Evason, who coached the Minnesota Wild for parts of five seasons before he was fired early in 2023-24, has interviewed multiple times with Waddell and others in the Blue Jackets’ front office. So has Jay Woodcroft, who coached the Edmonton Oilers for parts of three seasons before he, too, was fired early last season.

Interestingly, Evason and Woodcroft were assistant coaches together on Team Canada’s entry at the IIHF World Championships this spring in Czechia. Blue Jackets development coach Rick Nash, who has taken on a larger role under Waddell, was the general manager of that club.

That, of course, makes life tough on the current Blue Jackets assistant coaches, Mark Recchi, Steve McCarthy, Jared Boll and Josef Boumedienne, who are twisting in the wind while the search goes on for their new boss. Waddell has kept all of them on staff pending the new hire, but it’s expected that the new coach will want to bring one or two assistants with him as part of his new staff.

 

[Sdrawkcab321]

So if the story that he is hesitant to coach here because we are years away from being good is true then he should be eliminated from the coaching list completely. You never want a coach who isn’t in it 100%.

 

[FlameChampion]

Woodcroft doesn’t seem like a Waddell hire to me.

Not sure Evason is best fit for a young Jackets team either.

 

[majormajor]

So if the story that he is hesitant to coach here because we are years away from being good is true then he should be eliminated from the coaching list completely. You never want a coach who isn’t in it 100%.

My interpretation was that he was 100% in for joining a club that was going to need another year or two before it was seen as a legitimate playoff aspirant. So basically he is in it for the way we actually are.

He doesn't want to accept a two year deal where he gets replaced because the team is still out of the playoffs in a year or two.

 

[CBJx614]

So if the story that he is hesitant to coach here because we are years away from being good is true then he should be eliminated from the coaching list completely. You never want a coach who isn’t in it 100%.

It's not that he's hesitant, he just wants to be able to see the build all the way through. Asking for 4 years seems like the opposite of hesitant.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I'll actually support management for playing hardball with the Kings.

There are no more head coaching vacancies in the NHL. McLellan will be the entire responsibility of the LA Kings until (if) he gets hired again. The CBJ have other very similar options for a new head coach. LA committed to McLellan long term just prior to dismissing him. They don't want to eat that contract in its entirety for even the coming year, but there's no guarantee that anyone else will sign McLellan for what they may be demanding right now.

Let the Kings sweat it out for a bit. If the HC job remains vacant for a few more weeks it's not a make or break proposition for the CBJ.

I might add that Blake and Co. in LA are probably really feeling their oats after getting rid of PLD without any retention. As I understood it, because the SC finals went to 7 games, the window to buy PLD out at the under 26 1/3rd rate had (or was going to) close prior to when they could have actually pulled the trigger on a buyout. They probably feel like a guy on the craps table who has a mountain of chips in front of him and thinks that he just can't lose.

If the CBJ are dead set on McLellan then they'll probably give in-at least most of the way. If they're not, they'll go to option 1A.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Evason playoff record as a head coach


If we tally Evason’s entire playoff record – all leagues and levels combined – he is 19-51. That doesn’t fit anyone’s definition of a decent playoff record. A lot can happen in the postseason. Key players can suffer injuries, bad matchups, and bad luck, to cite but a few.

If the CBJ were a perennial playoff team this would be an automatic disqualifier. But-as most may have observed-they are not

All three of his full season Wild teams had very good records and were bounced in round 1. Two of his six AHL Milwaukee teams had very nice regular season records (101 and 93 points) and lost in round 1. Only 1 of his teams where he was lone head coach has ever made it past round 1 and that was 20 years ago in the WHL. If your 19-51 post season record is accurate (and I'm not doubting you), then his aggregate post season performance can reasonably be described as abysmal.

He still might have the skillset/personality to be effective in turning this franchise around. If he could come anywhere close to replicating the Wild's records under him, I'd think that he'd be considered a major league success. I guess you jump off the playoff record bridge when you get there if you're Waddell and you really think that they guy is the right fit for the CBJ.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

My interpretation was that he was 100% in for joining a club that was going to need another year or two before it was seen as a legitimate playoff aspirant. So basically he is in it for the way we actually are.

He doesn't want to accept a two year deal where he gets replaced because the team is still out of the playoffs in a year or two.

I'm not sure its a smart decision for anyone to take a short term contract and expect short term results with this team. You are setting yourself up to fail. The metro is insanely tough right now and he's probably right the think its going to need more than 2 years to make the playoffs in this division.

If he takes a 3 year deal and this team needs 3 or more year to truly contend, He's on the hot seat by year 3 for "not showing results" and then he gets fired. Its makes him look bad and the team is impatient and starting over again.

Also, if he thinks it is going to take a few years to make the playoffs and DW thinks we can make it next year, it is probably a relationship set up for disaster.

 

[majormajor]

Evason playoff record as a head coach

And how many playoff series has McLellan won in the last decade? One?

Like Evason, McLellan is coming off a stop where he had opening round battles versus stronger clubs, where the teams made a real battle of it. I expected the Kings to put up a strong fight vs the Oilers and at least in those two years, they did. Evason similarly at least had the Wild in the fight into games 6 and 7 in the series. Those Wild teams were weaker rosters than L.A. though, in my opinion. Both coaches did fine with what they had.

 

[EspenK]

This coaching search is beginning to look like a typical CBJ clusterflop.

 

[DankoCBJ]

This coaching search is beginning to look like a typical CBJ clusterflop.

But I thought Jarmo was the problem?

 

[EDM]

Yeah, I agree with Espen. This coaching search is taking the luster off of Waddell.

 

[Cujorulesdtown9]

"Why does our ownership have a bad rap?"
*gesturing wildly*
Why can we just not have one thing go smoothly?
One offseason not involving a dramatic goalie, questionable moves, people wanting out, just one, thats all I want. Thats all.


....well, I feel better.

 

[Monk]

This coaching search is beginning to look like a typical CBJ clusterflop.

Would you feel this way if there wasn't a bunch of shitty twitter reporting about it?