CBJ part ways with head coach Dean Evason, assistant coach Steve McCarthy, name Rick Bowness head coach
January 12, 2026
CBJ part ways with head coach Dean Evason, assistant coach Steve McCarthy, name Rick Bowness head coach
44 comments
holy shit, we actually did it
love Bones as the replacement!
Well no shit. I didn’t think they had the stones.
Wow this is crazy!! Bowness is such a great fit for our roster right now.
At least one team in Ohio tries to be committed to winning. It hasn’t really worked out but at least they try.
Wow, I’m shocked that they had the balls to make a move so quickly (relative to hiring), especially after last season’s success, but I’m here for it… something had to give
WHAT
Holy shit balls Batman
Well this cane out of nowhere. Glad McCarthy is gone too.
Called it before the game last night. Sad to see Dean go but it had to happen
wow tbh i thought he retired
I like the guy tho
WOW. I like Bones, I hope he does well.
I’d wish Evason could’ve stayed around in some capacity, he seemed like a swell guy — just not a coaching fit for us right now.
Omfg it’s happening!! Everyone get in here;!!! McCarthy too???????
I did not have this on my jackets 2026 bingo card.
Wow did not see it coming before the end of season
WOAH.
Holy shit guys. They did it. They really did it.
Wow! I’m going to the game tomorrow too
Take notes, Mike Brown
I thought we were waiting till the end of the season this is crazy. Hope we start getting better results!
I wonder how red Evason’s face is right now
Holy shit they actually did it
Kinda saw this coming. Seemed like Deano lost the room, and when the boys tune you out your days are NUMBERED
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first HC (or any coach?) dismissal of the 25-26 season?
HOLY SHIIIIIIT.
WOAH
I appreciate what Dean did for us this last season and a half, but it was time. But getting BONES LETS GO WE LOOK GOOD
No fucking way, genuinely did not think that they would do it.
Holy shit… just got the text. They’re BOTH GONE.
My thought is that this is an attempt to right the ship before it’s too late and we’re too far from a playoff spot.
Jackets have a bunch of home games coming up. Could be a good time to get off to a hot start under a new coach and catch up in the wildcard race.
McCarthy being canned is great news too. Happy to bring Bowness in, he seems like a great fit.
WELL DAMN I WAS WRONG…I thought they wait until break but FINALLY GOT RID OF MCCARTHY
Don Waddell called in a few favors to pull Bowness out of retirement
take my word as a jets fan
he is a great short term answer to fix the culture while you work one of your assistants to become your proper head coach later
So so glad to see this change — mostly to see McCarthy gone more than Evason.
Grateful to Evason for his work despite the obvious recent frustrations; Really looking forward to see how Bowness handles this.
Deano was a very solid, **safe** hire after the Babs debacle, but we needed a new voice
McCarthy is finally gone! We did it!! The ghosts of nationwide have been vanquished!!!
I almost shit my pants when i saw the news. It stopped at “and hired Rick” and I thought it was going to say Nash 🤣
I could tell Evanson was getting desperate because he kept starting Greaves well past the point he clearly should have been rested
Bowness…after all his family’s medical history I thought for sure he was done done. This is 100% a favor to Waddell
I like Dean as a guy, and thought he did really well last season with what he had, but this season he had more and was seemingly doing less with it, so I sadly agree with this. I do wish him luck going forward, but hopefully this can get us back on the right track.
Hopefully this means no more turtling on defense and pushing the actual puck.
By god, there are so many areas that can see a push in the right direction from this but I really hope Rick can help KJ find his game again. This might save his career in Columbus instead of being shipped out like Chinny was
Gotta give Don his flowers for this one!! Throughout the jackets existence, upper management has been too complacent with losing for too long. Very glad to see Don isn’t that way and is actually making a change!
Whoa.
I’ve gotta eat all the crow. I guess Waddell has more stones than Jarmo ever did in firing coaches.
44 comments
holy shit, we actually did it
love Bones as the replacement!
Well no shit. I didn’t think they had the stones.
Wow this is crazy!! Bowness is such a great fit for our roster right now.
At least one team in Ohio tries to be committed to winning. It hasn’t really worked out but at least they try.
Wow, I’m shocked that they had the balls to make a move so quickly (relative to hiring), especially after last season’s success, but I’m here for it… something had to give
WHAT
Holy shit balls Batman
Well this cane out of nowhere. Glad McCarthy is gone too.
Called it before the game last night. Sad to see Dean go but it had to happen
wow tbh i thought he retired
I like the guy tho
WOW. I like Bones, I hope he does well.
I’d wish Evason could’ve stayed around in some capacity, he seemed like a swell guy — just not a coaching fit for us right now.
Omfg it’s happening!! Everyone get in here;!!! McCarthy too???????
I did not have this on my jackets 2026 bingo card.
Wow did not see it coming before the end of season
WOAH.
Holy shit guys. They did it. They really did it.
Wow! I’m going to the game tomorrow too
Take notes, Mike Brown
I thought we were waiting till the end of the season this is crazy. Hope we start getting better results!
I wonder how red Evason’s face is right now
Holy shit they actually did it
Kinda saw this coming. Seemed like Deano lost the room, and when the boys tune you out your days are NUMBERED
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first HC (or any coach?) dismissal of the 25-26 season?
HOLY SHIIIIIIT.
WOAH
I appreciate what Dean did for us this last season and a half, but it was time. But getting BONES LETS GO WE LOOK GOOD
No fucking way, genuinely did not think that they would do it.
Holy shit… just got the text. They’re BOTH GONE.
My thought is that this is an attempt to right the ship before it’s too late and we’re too far from a playoff spot.
Jackets have a bunch of home games coming up. Could be a good time to get off to a hot start under a new coach and catch up in the wildcard race.
McCarthy being canned is great news too. Happy to bring Bowness in, he seems like a great fit.
WELL DAMN I WAS WRONG…I thought they wait until break but FINALLY GOT RID OF MCCARTHY
Don Waddell called in a few favors to pull Bowness out of retirement
take my word as a jets fan
he is a great short term answer to fix the culture while you work one of your assistants to become your proper head coach later
So so glad to see this change — mostly to see McCarthy gone more than Evason.
Grateful to Evason for his work despite the obvious recent frustrations; Really looking forward to see how Bowness handles this.
Deano was a very solid, **safe** hire after the Babs debacle, but we needed a new voice
McCarthy is finally gone! We did it!! The ghosts of nationwide have been vanquished!!!
I almost shit my pants when i saw the news. It stopped at “and hired Rick” and I thought it was going to say Nash 🤣
I could tell Evanson was getting desperate because he kept starting Greaves well past the point he clearly should have been rested
Bowness…after all his family’s medical history I thought for sure he was done done. This is 100% a favor to Waddell
I like Dean as a guy, and thought he did really well last season with what he had, but this season he had more and was seemingly doing less with it, so I sadly agree with this. I do wish him luck going forward, but hopefully this can get us back on the right track.
Hopefully this means no more turtling on defense and pushing the actual puck.
By god, there are so many areas that can see a push in the right direction from this but I really hope Rick can help KJ find his game again. This might save his career in Columbus instead of being shipped out like Chinny was
Gotta give Don his flowers for this one!! Throughout the jackets existence, upper management has been too complacent with losing for too long. Very glad to see Don isn’t that way and is actually making a change!
Whoa.
I’ve gotta eat all the crow. I guess Waddell has more stones than Jarmo ever did in firing coaches.