Pascal Vincent Steps Down as Head Coach of Columbus Blue Jackets; Team Searches for New Leader

Monday, June 17th, 2024

Pascal Vincent is no longer serving as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team announced this change on Monday after Vincent led for less than one season.

Under Vincent's leadership, the Blue Jackets recorded a 27-43-12 record, placing them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in terms of points and fourth from the last in the NHL. The team also failed to make the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

Recent times have seen significant changes within the Blue Jackets organization. In February, they dismissed general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. Following this, Don Waddell was appointed as the new GM and president of hockey operations.

Waddell mentioned that he thinks a change in leadership is necessary for the team’s improvement. He expressed gratitude to Vincent for his efforts and contributions over his three-year tenure with the Blue Jackets.

Vincent initially joined the team as an assistant coach prior to the 2021-22 season. He was elevated to head coach just under a month before the season commenced after Mike Babcock resigned amid allegations of violating player privacy.

Vincent faced a challenging season as head coach. The Blue Jackets endured a nine-game losing streak in November and experienced eight separate three-game losing streaks during the season.

The team's defensive performance was also lacking, conceding the second-most goals per game and maintaining the second-worst power-play. Their penalty kill ranked within the bottom 10, and they scored the 24th fewest goals per game.

Vincent's departure has left the Blue Jackets with the only head coaching vacancy in the NHL. Eight teams have either appointed a new coach or promoted an interim coach to the head coaching role.

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