🆕 Dean Evason named Columbus head coach

In today’s edition:

• 🆕 Dean Evason named Columbus Head Coach

• 📆 Oilers name Stan Bowman as General Manager

• 📰 NHL analyst fired for disclosing draft picks

• ⏰ Laine cleared from assistance program

• And more!

Dean Evason named Columbus head coach

Columbus Blue Jackets President and General Manager Don Waddell announced that Dean Evason has agreed to a multi-year contract to serve as head coach of the team.

Evason originally joined the Wild as an assistant coach on June 6, 2018. He spent the previous six seasons as the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals from 2012-18.

He guided the club to a record of 242-161-53 (.589) in 456 contests, including a 48-23-5 mark (101 pts./.664) and a Central Division title in 2015-16. During his tenure, the Admirals made four appearances in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

“I am incredibly proud and honored to be named the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and appreciate very much the opportunity that Don, the McConnell family and Mike Priest have extended to me,” said Evason.

Stan Bowman named Oilers General Manager

Stan Bowman was hired as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. He replaces Ken Holland, whose five-year contract expired July 1.

The former Chicago Blackhawks GM was reinstated by the NHL on July 1 after what the League said was “as a result of their inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Chicago Blackhawks player Kyle Beach had been assaulted by the team’s video coach.” 

Bowman was Blackhawks GM in 2010 and resigned as Chicago’s president of hockey operations and GM on Oct. 27, 2021. Al MacIsaac, who was assistant GM in 2010, was fired the same day.

“My response was inadequate back in 2010; I didn’t handle things properly, I should have done more, and that’s something I regret and it’s something that I’ve had a chance to reflect on and try to learn from,” Bowman said. 

Laine cleared by assistance program

Patrick Laine was released from the NHL/NHL Players' Association's player assistance program, clearing him to personally speak with coaches, executives and players from around the league for the first time since entering the program Jan. 28 for undisclosed reasons.

Laine's agent, Andy Scott, informed Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell in June that his client wanted a new start somewhere else.

Laine has two years left on a contract carrying an $8.7 million annual charge against the NHL salary cap.

NHL analyst fired over disclosing draft picks

The news of Sportsnet quietly firing NHL insider Jeff Marek came as a shock to some fans, especially because they were never granted a proper explanation.

Now, newly surfaced information suggests that the network may have had a good reason to part ways with the well-known hockey analyst, who had been a staple of Canadian sports media for over a decade.

According to a new investigative report by Katie Strang and Dan Robson of The Athletic, Marek was fired from Sportsnet due to allegations of sharing information about draft picks during the 2024 NHL Draft.

“Marek had come under scrutiny from the NHL during the first round of the draft for allegedly revealing to a friend which players teams were drafting moments before those picks were publicly announced,” wrote Robson and Strang, citing league and media industry sources. “The NHL shared concerns about the situation with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which probed further, according to multiple sources briefed on that investigation.”

In his farewell message to fans last week, Marek did not go into detail about why he was leaving the network.