Columbus Blue Jackets Fire Pascal Vincent; Coaching Search Begins Again
first a new GM and now a new head coach the Blue Jackets busy off seon continues we’re talking about Vincent firing on today’s lock on Blue Jackets your locked on Blue Jacket your daily podcast on the Columbus Blue Jackets part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello and welcome to lock on Blue Jackets part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day I am as always your host Jay Foster here to give you the good Bad and the Ugly about your favorite team and mine the Columbus Blue Jacket before we get started I want to thank everyone for making this your first listen of the day every single day L blue jacket is free and available on our podcast platforms and over on YouTube I also have to have to let you know that today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply so Blue Jackets did the thing uh my streak of being asleep or on a plane when news breaks continues took a nap yesterday woke up three minutes previously they had fired Patrick Vincent Patrick Pascal Vincent excuse me um I am not unsurprised by this uh the timing surprises me uh I thought that we wouldn’t get a decision about this until after the draft or free agency but I guess Don woodell has uh has a vision and uh the vision does not include Pascal Vincent um so this is I think well I don’t think this is this is a good thing for the Blue Jackets uh I think Vincent did a lot of damage last year that some of it was his fa some of it was was self-inflicted and some of it was just kind of poor circumstances for him like he never really got a chance to to find his feet and then in in in trying to find his feet he did just kind of make things worse you know um so we’ll talk about that in in a little bit but I am like I said I’m surprised that it was now I am not surprised that he’s gone um I put it at you know like 50/50 that he was going to be in Columbus in October or not we’ll uh we’ll see what happens next I think the uh the assist might uh might switch up Mark Rey might get to stay um Steve McCarthy I think is probably gone but I could be I could be wrong about that um this is just kind of it needed to happen and like it kind of sucks because you know by all accounts Pascal Vincent great guy um has a lot of smart things to say about coaching but at the end of the day did not practice what he preached you know um and that’s kind of that’s kind of it you know he talks a big game about accountability and about respecting players and about um you know not being the tough guy and unfortunately he he kind of missed on on all three counts and I think again partially this is his but partially it’s his fault partially it’s Management’s fault um you know like I said he got the job four days before training camp started because the Blue Jackets decided to hire Mike Babcock and then uh literally like what two months later three months later um he ended up resigning because he was up to his old tricks again um Vincent gets the job uh weirdly the blue drets kind of made a unfor error with Vincent because they gave him I believe a two-year contract um on basically on the back of of nothing you know he was um he was he was hired as kind of a last resort and then they decided to give him like two a two or maybe even three-year contract um which surpris me in in many ways you know um lots of lots of question marks about that summer like as a whole but specifically in terms of the the coaching decisions um and now they’re going to be playing two head coaches this season after doing that last season uh I think actually they played three head coaches last season so I guess that like the Brad Brad lon’s contract has uh has ceased but what a mess and it could have been it could have been very easily avoided for a bunch of different reasons you know um they could have not hired Mike Babcock in the first place they could have done you know they could have made Vincent the interim head coach be and you know made sure that he was ready for the role before handing him a multi-year contract or you know hiring him as the full-time head coach full stop because I think part of the reason was yeah he wasn’t ready um didn’t really ever have time to get ready but also that was I don’t know like I guess after the Brad lard experiment handing a multi-year contract to another firsttime NHL head coach was again just an unforced error you know it’s it is what it is it kind of sucks but here we are I have some questions again about the timing I have some questions about what comes next um but Pascal Vincent’s tenure in Columbus I think is very little of it has been his fault but it sucks that it’s ending on kind of a kind of this note you know the new boss comes in and immediately or not immediately decides that hey you’re a great guy but you’re not the coach that we need right now Vincent will be back in the NHL I am sure um I don’t know where he’ll where he’ll land I assume he’ll go to assistant coach somewhere first and then potentially make the step up again um but as of right now Blue Jackets are on the hunt again for for more Personnel uh and I want to talk about that in in just a little bit here on lock on blue jacket as we kind of look at some potential uh some potential options for for the Blue Jackets for the new head coach let’s going up next here unlock on Blue Jackets first I’ve got to tell you about game time uh the Stanley Cup final final game might be tonight which is exciting and uh if you don’t have tickets for that yet but you want them you can get them on game time and here’s the cool thing prices on the game time app go down the closer it gets to puck drop so hey shoot your shot try your best they’ve got kill last minute deals all in prices view from your seat a lowest price guarantee which means if you find tickets in the same section and row for less somewhere else game time will credit you 110% of the difference and they’re taking the guesswork out of buying tickets uh like I said the low price guarantee is one of my favorite things they’ve got Allin pricing which means that you can uh toggle a little switch and there’s no surprise fees at checkout unlike uh certain other ticketing Services which will remain nameless and they’ve got the most flexible customer service policy in the ticketing industry take the guest work out of buying tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on nhhr for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code L CK e d o n NH HL for $20 off your first purchase download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed welcome back to Lo on Blue Jackets we’re talking about Pascal Vincent being out and question mark being in uh so the HUD begins um I can’t imagine that they’re going for an internal hire here neither of the head coaches neither of the assistant coaches are are suitable for stepping up in my opinion um we’ll talk about TR Vu as a potential option in in a minute here but it’s going to be an external hire uh and I think it’s going to be an external hire for a bunch of reasons um number one they’ve done the internal promotion twice now didn’t work out either time Vincent not great uh Vincent sorry lson not great Vincent not his fault but still not great um I’m curious to see who Don woodell likes for the job he’s been around for a while he knows a bunch of people um the trouble now is and this is kind of why the timing surprised me is the coaching Carousel has kind of stopped for now a lot of the coaches that were fired last season now have new jobs somewhere else um and if you’re going for you know a coach with NHL experience there’s not there’s not a turn out there in terms of like guys that have not been hired somewhere else already and like you could get an assistant from somewhere and and bring him up but that seem I don’t know we’ll we’ll see how how that goes um one option that has kind of been has kind of been talked about basically since he got fired is uh Todd mlen who coached the Kings for a few years and uh did a really good job developing the young players on that team I think um his his his fatal flaw so to speak was he couldn’t get it done in the playoffs he couldn’t adjust he got out coached by the Oilers um two years in a row which is very funny um and yeah like he couldn’t he couldn’t adj the Oilers changed things up and he didn’t and he just kind of kept doing what he was doing and it didn’t work uh and you know that happened two years in a row he got canned um I do still like I don’t hate this I wouldn’t hate this as a potential hiring for the Blue Jackets I think he like I said I think he did a really great job developing the youth in uh in La which is uh which is always a good thing and uh he got experience and I think the Blue Jackets are going to go after someone with experience um and I don’t necessarily think they’re going with a they I don’t think they need to go with a coach that does know how to win in the playoffs um you know it it would be a nice option obviously but baby steps you know and I guess the question kind of comes down to are they looking for a a long-term coach are they looking for a stop Gap to until the guy that they actually want is available or until someone like Trent Vogal Huber is uh ready to step up um you know Todd mcclan I think is a short-term coach um which is not a bad thing but I is that what is that what Columbus wants we we’ll find out I guess you know in in the next kind of few weeks although since kakalin got fired the leaks out of Columbus have been zero so like I guess we know who was leaking everything to uh to the media but um Tom well was kind of my my first like my immediate first thought was oh he doesn’t have a he doesn’t have another job yet um the other guy that I believe is is still uh a free agent let’s say uh is is Jay Woodcraft of the Oilers um he is I believe he has oh he has a new job but he is not uh he’s not coaching in uh in the HL uh he is coaching Canada for the uh the World Championships oh he was coaching Canada I guess that’s that’s already happened [Music] um we uh we’ll see he like I said he he’s currently unemployed slash free agent slash looking for work um I would prefer if if if the choices come down to the two of these guys so wood Woodcraft and and mlen like I think I’d take mlen over wood craft but I think Woodcraft deserved a lot of the credit for kind of picking the Oilers up out of the mess that they were in a couple of seasons ago um obviously they struggled out of the gate this season and yeah ended up getting fired Chris noblock stupped in and has done pretty good things for them um but Jay woodc are a really interesting a really interesting option again I know it’s you know it’s easy to say that it’s there’s a good coach there when you’re coaching two of the best players in the world you know but I uh again I wouldn’t I wouldn’t hate it um there’s none of the options that I’m like super super enthusiastic like yes please hire this this guy immediately um but there’s some options there where I’m like okay don’t hate this don’t hate that uh would be would be okay with it you know and maybe I’ll get more enthusiastic about some of these guys kind of as as time goes on um but those are kind of the two main guys that are that have NHL like a significant amount NHL experience um and that’s kind of where I think they’re going to land there are options for if they want someone like if if Don woodell has a guy that he likes that isn’t necessarily an NHL head coach already or hasn’t been an NHL head coach already like there are some options there um the AHL has has a handful of options and one would be Seth appert who uh is unfortunately out of the running actually um he was a guy that I immediately thought of and then realized that he’s got to Buffalo he’s an assistant coach there so like there is still the option that he could get poached away from that organization um but I am I am not looking at him as as someone who is uh who is available right now um Todd Nelson of the Hershey Bears immediately gets uh gets put in the conversation you know he’s he’s done incredible things with the Bears these past uh few seasons um LED them to the second best point percentage in AHL history this season Blue Jacket fans if you watched the Monsters play in the playoffs you saw Todd Nelson at work there as with the Hershey Bears um has briefly been in in the NHL was I think 2014 2015 uh he was he was with the Oilers when they didn’t have literally anyone on the roster so I’m not and and that was you know almost 10 years ago now so I don’t know how relevant that that experience is on the old resume but he’s a guy that I think is definitely you know he’s he’s probably going to get at least a phone call um another guy I like is uh is Marco Sturm he’s been coaching the Ontario Reign for a couple of Seasons again really solid at developing the young players on that team um having interviewed him a couple of times says all the right things is uh is again a kind of an off the Beaten Track option I think he was in conversations for the sharks um head coach role and obviously didn’t didn’t get the the job but he’s definitely he’s again another guy that I could see them giving a courtesy phone call to just to say hey are you interested do you want to interview um and then take it from there um but so those are kind of the guys from the the AHL um one option that I literally just thought of right now as I was recording this uh Brad Shaw is still with torella in Philadelphia could he be an option for head coach in Columbus um he has basically wherever he’s gone I think has been kind of an unsung hero the Blue Jackets desperately need help with the defense in terms of coaching and on the penalty kill Bradshaw was responsible for that and their best defensive efforts came when he was behind the bench their best penalty kill came when he was behind the bench like I think again you’d be you wouldn’t be doing your job if you did not at least give him a courtesy call but I don’t know if he wants an head coach role um or whether he’s happy kind of working underneath trodella in in Philadelphia but again that’s a guy that that I look at and I’m like okay he should definitely be in the conversation um doesn’t have NHL head coach experience I believe but and maybe this is you know kind of revisionist History a little bit but I do think that they let the wrong Brad leave back in what was it 2021 um so it’ be good it’d be cool to see Brad Brad Shaw back um because I always I always liked him I thought he was a good a good coach and uh he’s he’s definitely he’s definitely an option again these these are all just kind of guys that like after hearing the news uh yesterday kind of was like right okay who the heck is even available now because you know keth is hired Brew is hired um basically everyone in the coaching Carousel from last season is uh is uh is employed so we’ll see um lots of options I’m sure that more options or fewer options will be added as time goes by and it either gets narrowed down or more guys interview for the position it’s literally you know not even 24 hours since since Vincent was fired so we’ll uh we’ll keep you all updated on uh on all of that um we’re going to take a quick break and then uh I want to finish off by just kind of looking a little bit more at Vincent’s season with the Blue Jackets where he went wrong where he went right um how much of it was his fault and how much of it was just wrong guy wrong time so to speak so we’re going to talk about that in just a second here lock on Blue Jackets welcome back to lock on Blue Jackets we’re talking a about Pascal Vincent he is out someone else is in or will be in when they hire them um but I wanted to just kind of and I I did Vinson’s kind of season review kind of immediately after the season finished and we looked at you know the good of his season the bad of his season the ugly of his season um but just to kind of condense all of all of that down um people I think are not going to look fondly on this season of coaching from pascar bin and I think like I talked about at the beginning there was a lot of unforced Errors there was a lot of talk about you know um accountability and treating players the right way and it didn’t feel like there was accountability quite frankly I think there was there was some players that got a really long leash I think there was some players that got a really short leash um I think consistency in terms of both ice time and linemates for basically every player um was egregiously bad um you know it was we and you know I’ve talked about this consistently as I’ve been doing kind of the the season reviews for all of the players like none of them had consistent ice time none of them had consistant linemates and that’s a problem for many reasons um more so with the young players than the veterans quite frankly you know the veterans they have been used to it they can adjust I think if you’ve got if you’ve got someone you know in their first or second year and Kent Johnson is a really great example of this had a good rookie season um last season this season struggled couldn’t ever really get it going got healthy scratched or taken out of the lineup I think nine times um got sent down to the AHL and then finally as he came back and was like really starting to pick things up got injured out for the season um and and that’s not Vincent’s fault the injury is not Vincent’s fault but sending him down to the AHL uh you know I don’t think was was the right option uh giving him you know random line mates every game and giving him you know sometimes giving him eight minutes of ice time sometimes giving him 14 minutes of ice time like that you need consistency when you when you a young player in the NHL and Vincent wasn’t giving that to to basically anyone you know there was the decision to put fanelli on the wing and Linea at Center that just kind of kept happening um and I guess you know with with line uh wanting wanting to leave Columbus or wanting to go somewhere else not wanting to leave Columbus which again is an important distinction that I think people need to make um fanell I’m assuming is going to be back at Center the next head coach uh needs to needs to prioritize the youth and needs to prioritize development as opposed to winning in this season specifically this is going to be a building season I think winning is important I think the team has to take steps from last season but if you bring in a head coach right now for winning right now which that’s what they did with Mike Babcock uh they brought in a coach with the expectation to win now and it fell apart and I think if they do that again that’s going to be a mistake so if they could find someone kind of in the same places Vincent but not Vincent and again like I want to reiterate he got the job four days before you know before the training camp started he didn’t ever really have an option to put his own mark on this season it was kind of he was playing catch up all the time he didn’t get a chance to bring in his own assistance um he didn’t really get a chance to prep for the season and I think he was under a lot of pressure from upper management to be kind of a tougher head coach who was harder on the players like they like they knew Babcock was going to be um you know I think they brought in someone that they could influence into being kind of a hardass um and I don’t think that’s naturally Vincent’s uh temperament and I think that kind of met in all of the wrong ways in that he didn’t really get to use the good parts of his game and he wasn’t equipped to take the good parts out of being you know the tough love kind of kind of coach and it really kind of met in the middle of getting kind of the worst of both um worlds which is unfortunate and frustrating and and everything and I think that’s what makes this next higher really important you know this is going to be the fourth head coach if you count Mike Babcock which I don’t necessarily think that we should this is going to be the fourth head coach that Johnny cadro will have in Columbus and he’s been here for two seasons so you need to get this one right because if we’re doing this whole song and dance again next season or in a season and a half or two seasons like what a mess you know you need to get this higher right and so I I’m not expecting a quick higher um and something that does kind of reassure me is um and I was talking to this about to someone um yesterday Don wadell is really really good at hiring the right people and um hiring making smart choices you know he brought in brend MO he brought in um tulsky uh and and his whole thing is you know he wants to be a supervisor he wants to manage he doesn’t want to do all of the work himself he wants to kind of control everyone and kind of have that bird’s eye view and be able to you know offer advice and supervise Etc um which is a really interesting way of running a team you know I feel like a general manager does the the role of the general manager right now I feel like he’s to kind of do everything assisted by his assistant but it seems like woodell kind of has a different philosophy which is fun but I have faith in him to kind of make the right higher more so than I had faith in kealan to make the right higher you know um so we’ll see kind of what again we’ll see what names kind of come out in the media we’ll see what kind of conversations happen um but I am both tempering my expectations and quietly optimistic for this higher um this is Dell’s first uh first big test as GM of the blue ja ET so we’ll see uh we’ll see what his grade is when uh when all is when all is said and done about the coaching higher that’s all I’ve got for today uh tomorrow I’ve got de Weinheimer here uh to talk all about the Monsters uh their future with the team we talk a little bit about Trent Vogal Huber um as a uh as a potential coaching option and uh yeah um uh it’s I uh it’s a good conversation I I enjoyed it hopefully you guys come and stick around for that that’s going to be tomorrow’s episode thank you for listening to this episode for making us your first listen of the day every single day lock Blue Jackets is free and available on all podcast platforms we’re over on YouTube and on SiriusXM uh we are free and available on our podcast platforms I’ve literally just said that uh L Blue Jackets uh is on Twitter at Lor Bluejacket I’m on Twitter atore jaob Foster j a k o b f r s t e r um if you want to email me you can email me at Loop bluejackets gmail.com comments questions criticisms anything like that send them in and uh thank you once again for listening and until tomorrow make sure you stay locked on
After just one season, Pascal Vincent is out as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. How did we get here? Who replaces him? Ws it all his fault? All this and more!
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