Blue Jackets add MacLean to coaching staff
Veteran NHL player and coach Paul MacLean was added the Columbus Blue Jackets' coaching staff as an assistant with emphasis on special teams.
MacLean is expected to be on the bench for the Blue Jackets' home game against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, according the Columbus Dispatch.
MacLean, 61, was head coach for the Ottawa Senators from 2011-14, compiling a 114-90-35 record with the club and two playoff appearances. He was fired 27 games into the 2014 season, with his dismissal coming just 18 months after winning NHL coach of the year honors.
Before taking over at Ottawa, MacLean was an NHL assistant coach for 11 seasons with the then-Phoenix Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks and Red Wings.
"I've always said that we look at every opportunity to make our team better and adding a veteran coach with a winning pedigree like Paul MacLean to a staff that has led us to three-straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs does just that," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a release.
MacLean played 11 seasons in the NHL from 1980-81 to 1990-91 as a right wing, scoring 324 goals with 349 assists over 719 games with the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Red Wings.
--Field Level Media
