Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell fired Dean Evason as head coach and replaced him with Rick Bowness with the team sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home to face the Calgary Flames tonight at 7 PM. New Head Coach Rick Bowness makes his Blue Jackets debut behind the bench.

Columbus announced Monday it fired Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy and named Rick Bowness as the new head coach. This was Evason's second season as the head coach of the Blue Jackets, and the team decided to move on just 45 games into the campaign.

While Rick Bowness was named Columbus' new head coach, no new assistant coach has been named to replace McCarthy. McCarthy ran defensive pairings and coordinated the penalty kill for the Blue Jackets.

The most maddening tendency, Waddell said, is how the Blue Jackets have completely unraveled in the third period this season. The Jackets have outscored opponents 48-40 in the first period. They’ve been outscored 51-48 in the second period.

Former Columbus Blue Jackets forward and current Montreal Canadien Alex Texier, had himself a night last night in a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers.