Scott Arniel will be named the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to a Monday evening report by the Columbus Dispatch. He's clearly the second choice of the Blue Jackets, who reportedly offered the same job to Guy Boucher last week.
Blue Jackets Set To Name Scott Arniel Head Coach
Boucher spurned the Jackets and took the head coaching position with Tampa Bay instead. Our Columbus blog, The Cannon, says that this second choice isn’t so bad, though. An excerpt from their lengthy article on the hiring:
From what I was able to find this evening though Scott seems like just as good a fit as Boucher. Sure, he doesn't have the untested new system that still may not translate to the NHL, but Arniel has pro experience as the top dog in Manitoba of the AHL for the past four years. Those Moose teams have always had something in common- they don't get scored on often but they put a ton of pucks in the net. Arniel is a former NHLer as well, which always helps in relating to players. Knowing a guy was in their position before always aids in getting the message across.
I can certainly embrace the hiring of Arniel. He is GM Scott Howson's first coaching hire, and this will just add to Howson's stamp on the team. He now has his own coach, and a vast majority of the players on the roster were acquired by him. When the puck drops later this October, a new chapter in Columbus Blue Jackets history will begin.
Arniel had been head coach of the AHL's Manitoba Moose for the last four seasons, where he led the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks to a 181-106-33 record in that time. The Moose lost in the Calder Cup Finals in 2009. Prior to his AHL head coaching experience, Arniel was an assistant coach for three seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.
The team has scheduled a news conference for 3 PM Eastern on Tuesday.
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