The Blue Jackets will not be renewing the contract of assistant coach Josef Boumedienne, sources tell The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
It’s a little late in the offseason to make coaching changes, especially for a club still looking to lock down its head coach. Columbus has seen a lot of personnel turnover this offseason, naming Don Waddell as their general manager in late May before firing head coach Pascal Vincent after all previous head coaching vacancies created this offseason had been filled.
They’re reportedly nearing a resolution on that front. Portzline indicated last weekend that they’re down to former Wild bench boss Dean Evason and ex-Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft as finalists, with a decision expected by the end of the month. But after today’s news, they have another vacancy to deal with.
Boumedienne had served behind the Blue Jackets bench for just one season, his first in an NHL coaching capacity. Before stepping into the role, the former NHL defender had spent 10 years with Columbus in scouting roles. He began as a European scout in 2013-14 before being promoted to their director of European scouting in 2016-17 and again to their director of professional scouting in 2021-22.
The Swede was added as an assistant coach just before last season began, part of the domino effect that saw Vincent promoted from associate to head coach after Mike Babcock resigned from the helm at the beginning of training camp. He’s also been active in the Blue Jackets’ youth hockey programs, serving at the helm of their U-14 club as late as last season.
Whether the Blue Jackets will move to replace Boumedienne for next season remains to be seen, and any decision will undoubtedly wait until after their head coach hire is announced. Their new bench boss will still be walking into a staff of three assistants – Jared Boll, Steve McCarthy and Mark Recchi – plus goaltending coach Niklas Bäckström. That’s enough of a coaching roster to replace Boumedienne’s duties by committee if they so choose.