The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially hired Sylvain Lefebvre as an assistant coach, signing him to a three-year contract that will add him to Brad Larsen’s staff through 2023-24. Lefebvre spent the last three seasons with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, but does have experience on an NHL bench in the past. Larsen, who was only named head coach earlier this month, released a statement on his newest assistant:
Sylvain was an honest, hard-working defenseman who was undrafted out of junior, but turned himself into a player with over 1,000 NHL regular season and playoff games and a leader on a Stanley Cup championship team. He brings that same dedication and work ethic to coaching and will be a great asset for our players and our coaching staff.
The championship team that Larsen is referring to is the 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche, with which Lefebvre served as an alternate captain. The former defenseman suited up more than 1,000 times in the NHL, and even won a Swiss title just before retiring in 2004. Now 53, he served as an assistant with the Avalanche in the past and was the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs, St. John’s IceCaps, and Laval Rocket in the AHL.
Now in Columbus, he joins a relatively inexperienced coaching staff with Larsen in the lead. The Blue Jackets bench boss has only two years of head coaching experience under his belt, coming several years ago with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. Columbus also recently hired Pascal Vincent as associate coach, who has only been part of one other professional organization, serving as an assistant with the Winnipeg Jets and head coach of their AHL affiliate. Still, these three are all well-respected assistants or minor league coaches and could very well form quite the impressive trio for the Blue Jackets. In a year that is looking more and more like a rebuilding season for Columbus, they’ll be tasked with developing the young talent still in the organization and setting it up for success down the line.