DURHAM, N.C. -- Gerard Gallant was appointed coach of the
Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, nearly six months after he took
over on an interim basis.
Gallant led Columbus to a 16-24-4-1 record, replacing Doug
MacLean on Jan. 1. The Blue Jackets finished with the second-worst
record in the Western Conference last year.
MacLean, the Blue Jackets' president and general manager, also
said Dean Blais had been hired as associate coach.
Gallant joined the Blue Jackets organization July 18, 2000, and
served as an assistant for 3 1/2 seasons before becoming interim
head coach.
"Gerard Gallant has the potential to be a real good coach,"
MacLean said outside a general managers' meeting at the NHL draft.
"He has limited head coaching experience, but he's got qualities
we really like in a head coach. I interviewed a number of top
coaches and I just didn't feel there was a big enough difference to
make a change."
Blais spent the last 10 seasons as the head coach at the
University of North Dakota, where he won two NCAA championships and
five Western Collegiate Hockey Association titles.
"I'm absolutely thrilled to get him. He's a great fit for
Gerard, a young coach with limited head coaching experience,"
MacLean said. "Dean's probably the most qualified head coach
outside the NHL."
Gallant has plenty of NHL experience. He spent 11 years in the
league as a player, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings. He said he
relished the opportunity.
"We have a good young team that is ready to turn the corner and
I am really excited about being a part of the great things to
come," he said in a statement.
The Blue Jackets feature a young lineup that includes
20-year-old Rick Nash, who shared the goal-scoring lead in the NHL
with 41.
Blais finished the 2003-04 season with the highest career
winning percentage of any active NCAA Division I coach at .679 with
a 262-115-33 mark during his 10 years at North Dakota. He led the
Fighting Sioux to NCAA championships in 1997 and 2000 and a
second-place finish in 2001.
Last season, Blais guided UND to a 30-8-3 record and took the
Sioux to within one game of the Frozen Four, losing to eventual
national champion Denver 1-0 in the West Region final.
MacLean also said Gord Murphy will return as assistant coach and
Rick Wamsley is back as goaltending coach.