Jackets cut power-play coach
The quest to solve the Blue Jackets’ ongoing power-play struggle will likely head back in a familiar direction.
Assistant coach Paul Maclean’s one-year contract will not be renewed for the 2020-21 season, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen confirmed Thursday, so the responsibility of coordinating the Jackets’ power play will presumably return to assistant coach Brad Larsen’s purview.
Kekalainen did not offer a reason, but the cost of paying for three bench assistants instead of the usual two could have played a role — the COVID-19 pandemic has cost NHL teams a lot of money and also threatens to hold future revenue down.
The Jackets also didn’t show improvement on the man-advantage under Maclean’s direction.
Prior to Maclean’s arrival Nov. 21, the power play was successful 15.6% of the time in 20 games and ranked 24th among NHL teams. The percentage increased only a tick with Maclean, bumping to 16.8% in the Jackets’ remaining 50 games, and still ranked 24th during that span.
Overall, the Blue Jackets finished 27th on the power play at 16.4% (31 of 189), and it only got worse in the playoffs. They went just 3 of 34 (8.8%) in 10 games, which ranked 22nd out of 24 postseason teams going into Thursday’s second-round games.
Maclean, a longtime NHL assistant and also the winner of the Jack Adams Award in 2013 for his work as Ottawa Senators head coach, was the second assistant in as many years brought in at midseason to focus on the power play.
The Blue Jackets had more success under the direction of hall of famer Martin St. Louis, who was hired Jan. 21 of the 2018-19 campaign, but he opted to focus on coaching his sons’ teams rather than returning for another season.
Now, barring a third unforeseen addition to the coaching staff, Larsen will get another crack at solving the Jackets’ lingering power-play issues, which have vexed them since the second half of 2016-17.
Impressive compliments
A day after former Blue Jackets executive Bill Zito was hired as the Florida Panthers’ general manager, coach Joel Quenneville had some nice things to say about the team his new GM helped construct.
The three-time winner of the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks doesn’t know Zito like he does Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella or assistant Brad Shaw, but he knows a strong team identity when he sees it.
“You look at Columbus, the way they play … the competitiveness of their team is something that you appreciate — whether that’s a trait from the day (players) were drafted to how they evaluate players,” said Quenneville, who spoke on a video conference.
“You’re watching a game early in the playoffs and they’re going into (five overtimes), Tampa and Columbus, and Columbus is very comfortable playing a Tampa team that over that kind of time is going to be dangerous. I think that’s something that we want to make sure that we’re looking to get to.” bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger