Out of Time: This coaching thing...It's hard work!

I wanted to write something within the larger context of my review of the Columbus Blue Jackets forwards and scoring, for which Bob Boughner was responsible as Scott Arniel's assistant, but Boughner beat me to the punch.

Effective today, the Boogey Man has left the employment of the CBJ.  While the release doesn't say anything about his future plans, I presume that he's going to return to his Windsor Spitfires major junior hockey club.  He apparently has not finalized any future plans, leading this writer to think that the CBJ may be underway with their McConnell-promised housecleaning.

I wrote about Boogey in the same breath when I wrote about Dave Rook resigning with a similar "This coaching thing is HARD!" excuse.  My thoughts on Boughner remain the same:

To be clear, the Columbus Blue Jackets are not to the NHL what his Windsor Spitfires have been to the world of Major Juniors.  While the CBJ were is 14th in the league in shots per game (30.6), they dropped to 24th in the league in goals per game (2.56).   They were 29th in the league in power play percentage (14.0%).

And Boogie was in charge of both the 5-on-5 goal scoring production and power play performance.  In my opinion, he was over his head once he removed himself from the Windsor ("I have Taylor Hall, Ryan Ellis and Cam Fowler...and you don't") environment.  And, don't forget the six shutouts that the CBJ fans had to endure this season - with a humiliating four of them in March and April, when one would think that the team would have picked up the offense by then.

That pretty much says it in my book.  The Boughner coaching tombstone in Columbus: OVER HIS HEAD.

Now, let's hope that Columbus' two Scotts, Howson and Arniel, learn from the hiring mistakes of both Boughner and Rook and get some committed, experienced NHL assistants on staff who can help get this team to a higher level.

Gosh, I wish Dave King was around in Columbus...a knowledgeable guy who has no ambitions to do more than give back to the game he loves.