The Columbus Blue Jackets promoted from within to find their new head coach, naming longtime assistant coach Brad Larsen to the position and signing him to a three-year contract.
Larsen replaces John Tortorella, with whom the team parted ways in May. It will be Larsen’s first stint as head coach in the NHL. Larsen has been an assistant coach with the team for the past seven seasons.
Blue Jackets hire Brad Larsen
“We underwent an exhaustive process in which we looked very closely at a number of outstanding candidates to be the next coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the one individual we kept coming back to throughout was Brad Larsen,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said.