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Blue Jackets Coach Gets Real About Playing Former Team

Dean Evason will kick off his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets against the team that fired him under a year ago.

Nick Horwat

Nov 23, 2022; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason looks on during the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2022; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason looks on during the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports / Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
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After just over a month of searching, the Columbus Blue Jackets have found their replacement for Pascal Vincent as head coach. The Blue Jackets hired Dean Evason as their newest bench boss, and he is more than ready to start the 2024-25 season.

During his introductory press conference in Columbus, Evason was asked about the Blue Jackets’ first game of the season, which comes against his former team, the Minnesota Wild.

“You know what I dislike?” Evason said. “When ex-coaches go in and say, ‘Oh, this game means nothing to me.’ That’s such bull.”

Evason is more than excited and determined to get the upper hand on his former team.

“Of course it means something to you,” Evason said. “They just fired me last year. Of course it means something.”

Evason was hired by the Wild in 2018 as an assistant coach and was promoted to interim head coach during the 2019-20 season after they fired Bruce Boudreau. That offseason, the Wild removed the interim tag from Evason, making him the full-time head coach.

Over the next three seasons, Evason would help lead the Wild to a 134-63-23 record and a playoff berth each year. Despite reaching the postseason every year, the Wild failed to make it out of the first round under Evason.

The Wild started the 2023-24 season with a 5-10-4 record. A seven-game losing streak helped end Evason’s tenure in Minnesota. The Wild fired Evason in late November and replaced him with John Hynes. The Wild will retain Hynes as head coach into the 2024-25 season.

Evason will have a tall task in helping rebuild the Blue Jackets, but going up against his former team right away should give him and the team some early juice.

Just over a week after their season-opening game against the Wild, the Blue Jackets will host Evason’s old squad. The Wild and Blue Jackets will meet for their two meetings of the 2024-25 season within each of their first five games.

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Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

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