When Dean Evason was hired as head coach last season, he received a multi-year contract, but his assistants all entered the year on expiring deals. While this would have provided an opportunity to shake up his staff and bring in some of his former assistants, that won’t be the case. Instead, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that goalie coach Niklas Backstrom and assistant coaches Jared Boll and Steve McCarthy have all received contract extensions; terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Backstrom will return for his sixth season with Columbus but has held a variety of roles during that time, including being a European development coach, a scout, and a goalie coach which he has been the last two seasons. Backstrom played in parts of 10 NHL seasons over his playing career, compiling a 2.49 GAA with a .914 SV%; all but four of his 413 appearances at the top level came with Minnesota.
Boll, meanwhile, spent five years as a development coach in Columbus before moving behind the bench as an assistant for the 2023-24 campaign for his first taste of coaching at the NHL level. He spent the bulk of his playing days with the Blue Jackets as well, suiting up in 518 games for them over parts of nine seasons where he was most known for his physicality on their fourth line.
As for McCarthy, he has the most coaching experience outside of Evason behind the Columbus bench. He spent five seasons as an assistant with AHL Cleveland before being promoted to run the defense back in the 2021-22 season. As a player, he played in parts of eight NHL seasons, suiting up in a little over 300 games with Chicago, Atlanta, and Vancouver.