*Photo from the Hockey Writers*
After not renewing John Tortorella's contract at the end of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets began a search for their next head coach. Now, they have their guy. Brad Larsen has been named head coach of the Blue Jackets, according to GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
Kekalainen said "We underwent an exhaustive process in which we looked very closely at a number of outstanding candidates to be the next coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the one individual we kept coming back to throughout was Brad Larsen. Brad was one of the top young coaches in the American Hockey League when he joined our club as an assistant coach and over the past seven years has earned the respect of our players, staff and organization with his work ethic, hockey acumen and the way he treats people, and we couldn't be more pleased to introduce him as our next head coach."
Larsen was an assistant under Tortorella for the last 7 seasons, and, before that, served as head coach of the AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets, the Springfield Falcons, for two seasons, and was an assistant with them for two seasons, right after his playing career ended in 2010. Larsen's contract is for 3 years and expires at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Columbus president of Hockey operations John Davidson said "Brad understands the standard that has been set here in recent years for how we expect to play on the ice and how we represent our city and fans off the ice. He shares our values and our vision for what it means to be a Blue Jacket and where we want to go as a franchise and is the right person to lead our team moving forward."
Larsen himself said "I've been extremely proud to be a Columbus Blue Jacket and be part of this wonderful community for the past seven years, and I am humbled and honored to be the head coach of this hockey club. I'd like to thank Mr. McConnell, J.D., Jarmo and Mike Priest for the opportunity and look forward to helping this team get better every day as we work towards our goal of winning a Stanley Cup for The Fifth Line."
Besides Larsen, Columbus also interviewed recently fired Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, as well as Gerard Gallant, who each interviewed twice for the job.
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