The Sharks promoted Ryan Warsofsky, leaving no head coach vacancies for a few days this summer.
Columbus, without a full-time GM for months until Don Waddell’s hiring in late May, fired Pascal Vincent on June 17 after just one season. Vincent quickly found a new job with the Laval Rocket as their head coach.
Evason, 59, is getting another shot at NHL coaching after being let go by the Wild last season. He was one of two finalists for the Columbus job along with Jay Woodcroft. The Blue Jackets also considered Todd McLellan but backed off due to his contract with L.A.
Evason’s Journey:
Evason’s dismissal from Minnesota wasn’t shocking. The Wild struggled early on with injuries and poor goaltending, resulting in a 5-10-4 record through 19 games before he was replaced by John Hynes. Despite this setback, Evason had an impressive run with the Wild, achieving a 147-77-27 regular-season record over nearly five seasons.
However, playoff success eluded him and the team. After setting a franchise record of 53 wins and 113 points in the 2021-22 season, they were eliminated by the Blues in six games during the first round. Evason’s teams made it to the playoffs four times but never advanced past the first round, going 8-15 overall .
Fans might think it’s interesting that despite his playoff woes, Evason gets another chance to prove himself in Columbus.
Now joining Minnesota’s expansion partner as their third head coach in three seasons (or fourth if you count Mike Babcock), Evason aims to guide Columbus’ young talents like Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson towards success next season. His primary task will be showing progress as they work towards ending their rebuild phase.
Evason has held various coaching roles throughout his career: assistant with the Wild (2018-20), head coach of AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals (2012-18), and assistant with Capitals (2005-12). As a player drafted by Washington in 1982, he played 803 NHL games from ’83 to ’96 scoring 139 goals and earning 372 points across several teams including Hartford and San Jose.
What do you think about Evason’s new role?
