Pascal Vincent Fired as Blue Jackets HC After Finishing With NHL's 4th-Worst Record

Pascal Vincent's tenure as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets lasted just one season.

Columbus announced Monday that it "relieved" him of his head-coaching duties and will "immediately" begin searching for his replacement following a disappointing 27-43-12 campaign in 2023-24.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman initially reported the Blue Jackets were moving on from Vincent.

To say Vincent faced a difficult challenge in his first year as a head coach in the NHL would be quite the understatement.

He was never supposed to be in that position for the Blue Jackets, as the team hired Mike Babcock prior to the 2023-24 season. Babcock had previously coached the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs during a lengthy career and was a notable name coming to Columbus.

However, he ended up resigning in September before he ever coached a game for the Metropolitan Division club.

As ESPN's Ryan S. Clark relayed, the resignation followed allegations he violated players' privacy by asking them to show him pictures on their cellphones. Multiple NHLPA executives met with Columbus players to investigate the situation, and he eventually resigned.

"Our players deserve to be treated with respect in the workplace," NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said at the time. "Unfortunately, that was not the case in Columbus. The club's decision to move forward with a new head coach is the appropriate course of action."

Vincent was then thrown into the head-coaching role shortly before the start of the season.

He had some experience as an assistant coach for the Winnipeg Jets for five seasons and the head coach of the team's AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, for five more. Columbus hired him as an associate coach before the 2021-22 season.

Yet the team never found its footing under Vincent and was an afterthought in the playoff discussion for much of the season.

Patrik Laine played just 18 games, Johnny Gaudreau scored a career-worst 12 goals and highly regarded rookie Adam Fantilli was limited to 49 games. Presumed franchise goaltender Elvis Merzļikins was also inconsistent at best with an .897 save percentage and 3.45 goals against average.

Columbus has a number of young players and the No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 NHL draft. It is clearly looking ahead to the future, and it wants a new coach leading the way even if Vincent was put into a difficult situation.