Penguins division rival unexpectedly fire head coach after disappointing stretch

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins made a trade as the Blue Jackets looked to turn around their season.

After continued losses and lack of development from key young players in Columbus the Blue Jackets have reportedly made the difficult decision to part ways with head coach Dean Evason.

According to an announcement made by the team, the Blue Jackets have relieved head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy of their duties.

Coming in to replace Evason will be former Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness.

Bowness, 70, was most recently the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets in 2023-24 before taking off all of last season.

Now, he will return behind an NHL bench looking to get the Blue Jackets back on track.

Columbus currently sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference but are only 7 points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot.

Despite their disappointing place in the standings the Blue Jackets had seemed to be turning things around having a positive record in their last 10 games making the timing of this move puzzling.

Now, all eyes will be on Bowness to see if he can turn things around for the Blue Jackets.

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