*Photo from TSN*
There's a shakeup afoot in Ohio. The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired head coach Brad Larsen and will not renew goalie coach Manny Legace's contract, according to an announcement by the team.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said of the change that "This season has been extremely disappointing and the responsibility for that lies with all of us. These decisions were difficult and not made lightly given our respect for both Brad and Manny as coaches and people. Brad has been part of our organization for more than a decade, and we are extremely thankful for his hard work and many contributions, both on and off the ice, during that time. We wish nothing but the best for Brad and his family in the future."
Larsen was an assistant in Columbus under head coach John Tortorella for 7 seasons and was then named head coach prior to the 2021-2022 season after Tortorella departed. Larsen led the Blue Jackets to a 62-86-16 record in his two seasons, his first as a head coach in the NHL.
Despite signing star Johnny Gaudreau and retaining Patrik Laine in the offseason, the Blue Jackets once again stumbled. They had 2.60 goals per game, ranking 30th in the league. They had 4.01 goals against, ranking 31st in the league.
Kekalainen said of how the season went that "It's obvious what we went through with the injuries and it's an unfortunate situation for all of us and we do our evaluation every day here. We watch every practice. We watch closely what's going on in the locker room and we're communicating with the coaches every day. We came to the conclusion that this was absolutely a necessary change that we needed to make. And that's why we're here today."
As a result of their season, the Blue Jackets have the second highest odds to land the first overall pick and coveted star Connor Bedard in this summer's NHL draft. They are also the 3rd team to make a coaching change after the season ended, joining the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals.
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