Columbus Blue Jackets whittling coaching candidates to 'three or four' finalists
Don Waddell says he has a list of 12 names the Blue Jackets are researching as initial candidates to become the franchise's next head coach.
Three days after firing Pascal Vincent with a year left on his contract, the Jackets’ new president of hockey operations/general manager said the team's front office is working to whittle that starting group to three or four who'll be interviewed.
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“We’re the only team in the NHL looking for a head coach,” Waddell said Thursday. “The guys that are available today are going to be available (Friday), so a group of us are talking to general managers, players ... We’re going to do our due diligence very thoroughly, and once we get to a point that we’re all comfortable (with) interviewing, then we’ll start interviewing, whether that be three or four people at the end. But right now, we’ve got a little bit of a window here to make sure we get this right.”
Waddell is looking for a veteran with NHL head coaching experience, which Vincent didn’t have prior to being thrust into the role as Mike Babcock’s replacement last fall. There are plenty of options available who meet that criterion, which is why the initial list has more than 10 names.
Asked whether Joel Quenneville will be considered if cleared by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Waddell deftly sidestepped the question. He didn't say yes or no.
“It’s probably not in my best interest to talk about what might happen,” Waddell said. “Obviously, we all know that Joel is still held back by the league, so I’ll leave it to the league to maybe eventually answer that question.”
Quenneville, 65, last coached in 2021 for the Florida Panthers. The three-time winner of the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks was forced to resign that season amid cover-up allegations levied by prospect Kyle Beach regarding an alleged sexual assault in 2010 by former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich.
Quenneville’s coaching resume, however, matches up well with the Blue Jackets’ rebuild and roster filled with young talent.
Another name brought up Thursday was Bob Hartley, who hasn’t coached in the NHL since 2016 and was one of Waddell’s coaches with the Atlanta Thrashers. Hartley, 63, won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche and last coached in the NHL with the Calgary Flames. He last coached in any regard in 2021-22 with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinenal Hockey League in Russia.
In that role, Hartley won the KHL’s 2021 Gagarin Cup with Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov winning that league’s top rookie award that season. Hartley also coached Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins while leading Latvia's men’s national team from 2016-2021.
Waddell said Hartley has reached out, but the two haven’t discussed anything yet.
“Eventually, I’ve got to make a decision, but there’s going to be a lot of people in that process of making a decision,” Waddell said. “So, as well I know Bob, some of my other people who will be involved don’t know Bob. So, we’ll see. I’m not going to say who we’ll interview yet for sure. We’ll know that in the next little bit, but Bob’s name certainly has come up, and as everybody knows, he coached for me for (six) years in Atlanta.”
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Waddell expects the coaching search to gain steam next week at the NHL draft in Las Vegas. It’s possible the Blue Jackets may meet with coaching candidates during the week leading into the draft (June 28-29) at Sphere Las Vegas.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets have starting list of 12 coach candidates
