Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen to miss game against Golden Knights

The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced head coach Brad Larsen will take some time away from the team after a death in the family.

Associate coach Pascal Vincent will be behind the bench for today’s Blue Jackets/Golden Knights game. Larsen is a former NHL player who played as a winger for the Colorado Avalanche and Atlanta Thrashers throughout his eight season NHL career.

He was a bottom-six player who spent most of his time playing in the American Hockey League. In 294 NHL games, he scored 19 goals and 48 points with 134 penalty minutes. He began coaching professionally right after his playing career ended at the age of 33.

Larsen was the assistant coach for the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for two seasons before being promoted to head coaching duties for the following two seasons. He had a lot of success in Springfield, leading them to a combined 92-45-15 record.

During his time coaching the Falcons he had the chance to mentor future NHL players’ Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan Johansen, Nick Holden, Cam Atkinson, David Savard, and none other than Daily Faceoff‘s very own Mike McKenna.

Larsen was again promoted in the Blue Jackets organization to be head coach Todd Richards’ assistant for the 2014-15 season. He worked hard in that role and ended up spending seven years as the Blue Jackets’ assistant coach. After Richards was fired, he stayed on under John Tortorella’s coaching staff.

Prior to the 2021-22 season, Tortorella was let go by the Blue Jackets organization and Larsen was hired to be the new head coach. In nearly two seasons as the head coach in Columbus, Larsen has compiled a record of 58-78-14 as the leader of a rebuilding team.

Pascal Vincent, who will be the Blue Jackets head coach for today’s game has an extensive coaching history in the QMJHL, AHL, and as an assistant coach in the NHL.