Whether you love it or hate it, Brad Larsen is the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. With this being one of the biggest offseasons for the team, they needed to get a plan of action together quickly.
In steps former AHL Manitoba Moose coach, Pascal Vincent who will join the staff as a power-play specialist, associate coach and someone that is coming into the organization with fresh eyes. The terms of his contract are for three years the same as Larsen.
Vincent was in the Jets organization for ten years spending time with the Jets and also with the Moose as well.
"Pascal is very highly thought of within the coaching community and a guy I identified right away as someone I thought would be a great addition to our club, so I'm excited to have him join our staff," said Larsen via a press release from the team. "He is very smart, experienced and passionate about the game and beyond that, is just a tremendous person, and I'm really looking forward to working with him every day."
Now that is all well and good but what do we know about Vincent and what he is going to offer for a Blue Jacket club that needs a jolt.
What we know
Vincent is absolutely loved by everyone that plays for him. He is the quintessential players coach. This is the same thing we heard after Larsen was hired. After playing for John Tortorella who was bristly (to put it lightly), it appears that the pendulum is swinging back the other way.
We also know that he has developed a couple of players along the way with an organization that rarely if ever does any trades or signings outside of their own infrastructure. Roslovic has obviously played for him and players for the Jets have had success under his tutelage.
We also know that he wants another shot in the NHL. He has interviewed for many jobs over the years and at times told others that he would not jump from the Moose unless it was for an NHL gig. Obviously, something has changed but it looks like it is now or never for the 49-year-old.
What we don't know
How exactly Vincent is going to improve this power play. The Blue Jackets have had an anemic man advantage for a while. It remains unclear whether it is a personnel issue or a coaching issue and considering we don't know the depth of the changes, it is going to be tough to decipher the two moving forward.
Just how good he is at developing talent. A lot of the talent he is credited with improving comes from first round picks that were seemingly destined for great play from the start.
We also don't know how the rest of the coaching staff is going to be filled out around him. While seemingly spearheading the offense here, how is he going to work in conjunction with everyone else. These are standard questions but is going to be telling for a coach in a new environment.
