Evason fired as Blue Jackets coach, replaced by Bowness

Dean Evason was fired as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday and replaced by Rick Bowness.

Evason, 61, was in his second season with the Blue Jackets (19-19-7), who are last in the Eastern Conference. He went 59-52-16 in 127 games after being hired by Columbus on July 22, 2024. Assistant Steve McCarthy was also fired.

“This season has been a frustrating one for all of us and the bottom line is we are not performing at a level that meets our expectations. We all share in that responsibility, me included, and while this was not a decision that was made lightly, it is one that needed to be made at this time,” Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said. “Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances, and I thank him for that. I also want to thank Steve for his commitment to our club over the past five years.”

A little more than one month after Evason was named coach of the Blue Jackets, star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, died on Aug. 29 while riding bicycles at home in Salem County, New Jersey. They were struck by a suspected drunk driver, who was indicted by a grand jury in December 2024 on two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, and second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

“There was no timeline for anything like this,” Evason said last January. “It was a time where we just allowed them to be together, to heal, and a lot of guys did it different ways.”

The Blue Jackets went 40-33-9 last season, finishing two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East. They have not qualified for the postseason since the 2019-20 season and entered Monday seven points back of the second wild card.

Columbus hosts the Calgary Flames on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, SNW).

“We didn't know it was coming, obviously, and it just kind of happened,” Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan said after the morning skate. “I think the team, we have the expectations that we kind of talked about and we didn't meet them. In a business where you're paid to win, usually there's going to be some change, and that's also on us here as the players.”

Bowness, 70, most recently served as coach of the Winnipeg Jets from 2022-24, leading them to a 98-57-9 record in 164 games and back-to-back playoff appearances. Prior to that, he spent two-plus seasons with the Dallas Stars, going 89-62-25 in 176 games from 2019-22. Dallas advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

“Rick Bowness is a tremendous coach with invaluable experience and knowledge, and he will bring a steadiness to our team at an important juncture in our season,” Waddell said. “He is a good communicator whose teams play with structure, are sound defensively and we believe he is the right person to bring out the best in our group.”

Monahan played 34 games under Bowness with Winnipeg during the 2023-24 season. He had 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) during that stretch.

“I really enjoyed playing for him,” Monahan said. “A lot of structure, heavy on details. I mean, he coached to win games. He did a great job with that team there in Winnipeg. A lot of fun to play for him.

“He can be hard on guys, he's vocal. He's fun to play for because he's motivated to be out there to coach to get the two points every night, and I think he's been through it all. He's done it a long time, and he's had a lot of success at it. So, you’ve got a lot of respect for a guy like that.”

Bowness is 310-408-37 with 48 ties in 803 games as an NHL head coach with the Jets, Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.

“I appreciate the opportunity to come to Columbus because it is a good organization with good people and this is a team that I think I can help improve,” Bowness said. “I’m thankful to Don and (Blue Jackets president) Mike Priest, and I’m really excited to work with our players and coaching staff to help get us where we want to go.”

Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said the coaching change was a signal that Waddell still has faith they have the ability to turn things around.

“I feel like this just tells the guys in here he still believes in us and believes in the season and getting something out of it,” Werenski said. “So, the message was clear to the players how he feels about it.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report