The Ott File
- Born: August 19, 1982, Summerside, PE, Canada
- Currently: Serving as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues since the 2017-18 season
- 2002-03 to 2016-17: Played 14 NHL seasons with four teams and recorded 109-179--288 in 848 regular season games in addition to 3-5--8 in 61 playoff games
Welcome back to the seventh edition of our coaching profiles, where we look at potential candidates for the Blue Jackets' head-coaching vacancy.
Today's profile is on St. Louis Blues assistant coach Steve Ott. The 40-year-old Prince Edward Island native has been an assistant with the Blues since 2017-18, where he joined the coaching ranks immediately after a 14-year career in the NHL.
Since Ott arrived in St. Louis, they've produced the 11th-best power play (21.5%) over the last six seasons combined. That includes a 10th-place finish (21.1%) in 2018-19, a third-place finish (24.3%) in 2019-20, a sixth-place finish (23.2%) in 2020-21, and a second-place (27.0%) finish in 2021-22. In the previous six seasons before Ott's arrival, the Blues had the league's fourth-best power play, but it was 20.1%, 1.4% lower than the team's mark with Ott.
Ott still runs PP. He does a great job. Yeah, No. 1, no Perron and No. 2, units go through lulls and the Blues are in one.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 13, 2022
Ott's time in St. Louis is highlighted by the team's Stanley Cup win in 2019 and the incredible turnaround they had, going from tied for last on New Year's Day to hockey's mountain top.
Nothing to see here. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/KHy0CXRabs
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 3, 2022
The Blue Jackets' power-play struggles have been well-documented, so it would make sense if they gave Ott a look, given the success he had with that unit in St. Louis. But, will the Blue Jackets be comfortable hiring another first-time NHL head coach?
