Blue Jackets Can’t Hire The Wrong Coach Again

from Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch, ...The hockey operations department is being re-evaluated, again. There is a pile of scouting reports to process on both the amateur and professional sides. There is a plan to formulate, and it better be a smart one.

The Jackets have the second, 31st and 45th overall picks in the June draft. As a condition of the Jeff Carter trade, they can also take Los Angeles’ first-round pick, which is the 17th overall as of today. This is a potential boon, provided they do not miss. What’s more, they have Rick Nash, an All-Star in the prime of his career, available for trade. It is the biggest trade they have ever attempted, and it will have an enormous impact on the team’s immediate direction.

Did we miss anything? Oh, yes, we did.

The Jackets have a coaching vacancy.

Strange how easy that is to forget. The man behind the bench will be as critical to the Jackets’ rebuilding job as anything else. A losing culture needs to be changed, and the coach is the most hands-on administrator.

“It is a crucial hire, again, for us,” general manager Scott Howson said yesterday. “We just have to get it right. We have to.”

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Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/blue_jackets_cant_hire_the_wrong_coach_again/

Martin Erat Marcel Goc Jamie Lundmark Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne Mathieu Carle