COLUMBUS, Ohio – After weeks of lopsided losses and blown leads, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired second-year coach Scott Arniel.
Under Arniel, the Blue Jackets were just 11-25-5 this season — the worst record in the NHL.
Assistant coach Todd Richards will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season. Richards was 77-71-16 as head coach of the Minnesota Wild from 2009-11. His first game leading Columbus will be Tuesday night in Chicago.
Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson announced the firing Monday, the morning after the club’s latest dreadful loss in a 7-4 setback at Anaheim. The Ducks came into the game just one point ahead of the Blue Jackets’ league-low 27 points but dominated throughout.
The Blue Jackets have blown eight games in which they led heading into the final period, the most in the NHL by a wide margin.
Arniel was hired as the fifth head coach in Blue Jackets history on June 8, 2010, and compiled a 45-60-18 record in 123 games.
In his first season, the Blue Jackets were a respectable 34-35-13 despite a lineup that included only one certifiable top-line player in perennial All-Star forward Rick Nash.
Last summer, Howson met the demands of many frustrated fans when he
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