But under new coach Dean Evason, they are fighting for a playoff spot in a tight Eastern Conference. Up in Vancouver, the Canucks are dealing with locker-room drama that could end in a massive trade.

Just at face value, the Blue Jackets need a player with such a long-term contract to be a reliable, significant part of their lineup. Beyond that, they may need to rely on Severson more heavily down ...

One of those candidates is family man Dean Franklin, who applied for the series in order to put himself "in uncomfortable situations and to test myself on how I deal with the tasks at hand".

Defensively, the Blue Jackets have shown improvement under new coach Dean Evason. While they still rank 22nd in shot attempt percentage at 5-on-5, they’ve managed to be efficient with their chances, ...

So, you don’t really have a lot of time to be mad. You have to figure it out. When we talked to Wild owner Craig Leipold in the preseason, a lot of the conversation was about how ‘Next year we’re ...

Not only has Evason been impressed with what he’s seen from Merzlikins, his teammates have been too. That calmness referenced by Evason is a sign of growth as a leader of the team for Merzlikins.

7. “It sucks,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “Do we want Monnie in our lineup? Absolutely, but he’ll get fixed up and people will continue to step up in his absence, and we’ll ...

He even sent a good-natured “chirp” at goaltending coach Niklas Backstrom, which made head coach Dean Evason chuckle. “It’s pretty cool, right?” Evason said. “He’s chirping ...

COLUMBUS --When Dean Evason took over as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 22, he talked about building a team-first mentality so the guys would play hard for each other. He had no idea ...