For those keeping up, things are beginning to round into form for the Columbus Blue Jackets coaching staff.
On Tuesday, The Athletic's Aaron Portzline posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the Blue Jackets will not bring back assistant coach Mark Recchi after his only season behind the Columbus bench.
A replacement has not been named however according to Portzline, the Blue Jackets are expected to bring in a new assistant coach soon.
They are also promoting Mike Haviland from Cleveland to be one of the Blue Jackets assistants.
Haviland’s specialty includes the defense and the penalty kill. In addition to his coaching experience across the ECHL and AHL, Haviland has prior NHL assistant coaching experience with the Chicago Blackhawks (2008-12). He was the head coach of Colorado College (2014-21) before his stint with the Monsters.
Recchi, who had one year remaining on his contract, joined the team last September following Mike Babcock's dismissal.
A Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup Champion, Recchi will likely have his pick of jobs around the league if he so chooses to pursue another opportunity, perhaps away from coaching. Even the hockey Hall of Famer couldn't bring a jolt to the Blue Jackets' power play as they slumbered their way to a conversation rate of 15.1% (31st).
That, of course, has been the theme for Columbus since the time the club won a franchise record 16 straight games in 2016-17.
Steve McCarthy will return to the team. It was reported last week by Portzline that Jared Boll will also be back. Boll joined the team as an assistant development coach before the 2018-19 season.
Who else president and general manager Don Waddell and head coach Dean Evason decide to add to the coaching staff will be one of the few remaining storylines to watch before the team breaks for camp next month.
There has not been any news regarding Niklas Backstrom's status as the team's goaltending coach after his lone season in the role for the team but it sounds like he's going to be back.
It was also announced on Tuesday that former Blue Jackets player and player development coach Derek Dorsett resigned from his role with the club. No reason was given for the 37-year-old's departure.
Derek Dorsett, who played for #CBJ and two other NHL clubs, and who joined the Blue Jackets as a player development coach in 2021, has re-signed his position and is no longer w the organization.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) August 6, 2024
No reason given, but player-development is a tough gig for a coach w a young family. pic.twitter.com/vKl5cWCTzj
Josef Boumedienne’s contract was not renewed following last season.
When it comes to assistant coaches making up the team's coaching staff, it's not usually a huge storyline. But for a team like the Blue Jackets looking to turn the page towards a new direction, it's newsworthy with any moves they make.
Particularly for who they bring in to run the power play.
Before being hired in Columbus, Evason coached the Minnesota Wild for parts of five seasons.
Below are the power play statistics for his team in three full seasons as the head coach, omitting the short sample size of when he took over mid-season in 2019-20 and when he was fired during the 2023-24 season.
| Year | Team | PP |
| 2020-21 | MIN | 17.6% (24th) |
| 2021-22 | MIN | 20.5% (18th) |
| 2022-23 | MIN | 21.4% (15th) |
Middle of the pack but certainly an improvement over the Blue Jackets power play conversion rate. Since 2019-20, Columbus' power play is 29th in the league (16.9%).
For those wondering, one of the very last moves remaining for the Blue Jackets — aside from a possible Patrik Laine trade — is agreeing to a new contract with Cole Sillinger.
One would assume there should be news on that front soon.
