With Saturday’s announcement that head coach Brad Larsen will not return behind the bench next season, the offseason now has two captivating storylines:
Where will the May 8th lottery position the Blue Jackets in July’s NHL Draft, and who will be named the team’s ninth head coach in franchise history?
Plenty of names will be mentioned over the coming days and weeks, but here is a first look at ten potential head coaching candidates to lead Columbus beginning in 2023-24:
The Veteran Candidates:
Claude Julien
Head Coaching History:
2002-06: Montreal Canadiens (72-62-10-15 … 4-7 in one playoff appearance … no Stanley Cup Finals)
2006-07: New Jersey Devils (49-24-9 … no playoff appearances)
2007-16: Boston Bruins (419-246-94 … 57-40 in seven playoff appearances … 1-1 in Stanley Cup Finals)
2016-21: Montreal Canadiens (129-123-35 … 7-9 in two playoff appearances … no Stanley Cup Finals)
The head coach of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, the hiring of Julien would bring an immediate level of respect to Columbus' head coaching role. The 62-year-old most recently coached the Montreal Canadiens (for the second time) until his dismissal early in the 2021 season after a 9-5-4 start. Julien puts a particular emphasis on defensive structure and that alone may make him a leading candidate for the position, should he be interested.
What They Say: "He knows when to take a step back and let us handle it, but he knows when to step up and say when he sees something as well." -Tuuka Rask (2013)
Bruce Boudreau
Head Coaching History:
2007-11: Washington Capitals (201-88-40 … 17-20 in four playoff appearances … no Stanley Cup Finals)
2011-16: Anaheim Ducks (208-104-40 … 24-19 in four playoff appearances … no Stanley Cup Finals)
2016-20: Minnesota Wild (158-110-35 … 2-8 in two playoff appearances … no Stanley Cup Finals)
2021-23: Vancouver Canucks (50-40-13 … no playoff appearances)
What They Say: “It’s about the players. They’re the ones who are doing the work, they’re the ones who are committing themselves to doing things the right way.” -Boudreau, on himself (2022)
Opposite of Julien, Boudreau’s clubs tend to be offense first, defense second. The oldest candidate on the list, the 68-year-old has never coached in a Stanley Cup Final but has a track record of regular season success — 617 wins in 1,082 games. But it’s the 43-47 mark in playoff games that has always held Boudreau back from being among the elite. Most recently, Boudreau was hired midway through the 2021-22 season by the Vancouver Canucks and led the team to a 32-15-10 mark and nearly pulling a new bottom-of-the-league team into the postseason.
Peter Laviolette
Head Coaching History:
2001-03: New York Islanders (77-62-19-9 …. 4-8 in two playoff appearances … no Stanley Cup Finals)
2003-09: Carolina Hurricanes (167-122-6-28 … 16-9 in one playoff appearance … 1-0 in Stanley Cup Finals)
2009-14: Philadelphia Flyers (145-98-29 … 23-22 in three playoff appearances …. 0-1 in Stanley Cup Finals)
2014-20: Nashville Predators (248-143-60 … 32-29 in five playoff appearances … 0-1 in Stanley Cup Finals)
2020-23: Washington Capitals (115-78-27 … 3-8 in two playoff appearances … no Stanley Cup Finals)
A head coach in the league every year in the last two decades, the no-nonsense style of Laviolette has plenty of experience — and three appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals to show for it. Despite winning just one of those SCF's (and giving the Carolina Hurricanes their only hoisting of the Stanley Cup), there’s no doubt that Laviolette has the ability as a bench boss to elevate a team to the next level. Washington’s failure to make the playoffs this season was the 58-year-old Laviolette’s first season to not end in a playoff berth since the 2012-13 season.
What They Say: “Some coaches are too serious, keep their distance, whereas Lavi always wants to know who you are and your wife’s name, your kids’ names, and all that stuff goes a long way, in my mind.” -Scott Hartnell (2021)
Alain Vigneault
Head Coaching History:
1997-01: Montreal Canadiens (109-118-35-4 … 4-6 in one playoff appearance … no Stanley Cup Finals)
2006-13: Vancouver Canucks (313-170-57 … 33-35 in six playoff appearances … 0-1 in Stanley Cup Finals)
2013-18: New York Rangers (226-147-37 … 31-30 in four playoff appearances … 0-1 in Stanley Cup Finals)
2019-22: Philadelphia Flyers (74-54-19) … 10-6 in one playoff appearance … no Stanley Cup Finals)
A native of Quebec City and a defenseman in his brief NHL playing career (42 games with the St. Louis Blues in the 1980’s), Vigneault has been in the playoffs 12 times in his 19-year career as a head coach, though has never been behind the bench or on the ice for a Stanley Cup Champion. Vigneault’s practices have an intense feel to them, and the 61-year-old has a very direct style — similar in his message delivery to former Blue Jackets coach (and, ironically, current Flyers coach) John Tortorella.
What They Say: “He’s intense. He’s been around for such a long time, he knows what to do to prepare the team.” -Jake Voracek (2019)
Assistants To Watch:
Andrew Brunette
Currently behind the bench alongside head coach Lindy Ruff, the 49-year-old Brunette played over 1,000 NHL games and scored 268 goals. He also had a brief, yet successful, run as a head coach at the highest level: when Joel Quenneville resigned as the Florida Panthers coach in 2021, Brunette took over and went 51-18-6 in 75 games. They were humbly swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round, and Brunette was not retained. He was offered another role with the team, but declined it as to continue his coaching career. It's obvious he wants to be a head coach and with the Devils job not likely to be available anytime soon, Brunette will almost certainly be a name mentioned in the room by the powers that be in Columbus.
Chris Kelly
The 42-year-old Kelly is in his second season as an assistant with the Boston Bruins. Prior to that, he had spent three years as a development coach with the Ottawa Senators organization following his retirement from the NHL in 2018. If Columbus goes the route of hiring a first-time NHL coach, Kelly fits the bill.
Joe Sacco
Another current assistant with the Bruins — but the 54-year-old Sacco does have head coaching experience at the NHL level, leading the Colorado Avalanche to a 130-134-30 record between 2009 and 2013. Sacco did get a look at the top job last summer with the Bruins before they hired Jim Montgomery (that worked out well), and speaking with the San Jose Sharks before they went elsewhere, as well.
Jay Leach
The 43-year-old Leach is part of the Seattle Kraken's coaching staff, but prior to that was the head coach of the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of Boston. While there, the former defenseman helped groom current NHL blueliners Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Lauzon and Connor Clifton — three key members of Boston's elite defense. Leach is almost certainly going to be an NHL coach at some point in the near future.
Steve Ott
The youngest name on the list, the 40-year-old Ott has been an assistant with the St. Louis Blues since 2017 and was part of the coaching staff when the Blues won the 2019 Stanley Cup. He played with five teams during his 14-year NHL career, where he excelled at the faceoff dot. Ott would be a boost to helping the development of players up the middle and could potentially be a unique mentor to Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, or Leo Carlsson.
The In-House Option:
Pascal Vincent just completed his second season with the Blue Jackets and coached the power play to its fifth-best mark in club history, at 18.3%. Vincent did interview for the Winnipeg Jets head coaching gig last summer, and he spent more than a decade with the Jets organization before coming to Columbus. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Saturday morning that the Blue Jackets will consider all options when it comes to deciding their next coach, and that does include in-house candidates.
