After the top pick rejected the offer to head up the Columbus Blue Jackets, the National Hockey League team has a new leader. WOSU reports on Scott Arniel's vision for the Jackets.
Despite not being the first choice as the Blue Jackets' head coach, Scott Arniel wanted the job. His acceptance came soon after Guy Boucher turned down the position Monday afternoon.
The Blue Jackets are among the youngest clubs in the National Hockey League, and Arniel said that is what drew him to the team.
He said he sees the Jackets doing more than make the playoffs. Arniel's eyes are on the Stanley Cup.
"We want this to go on. We don't want this just to be one and out. So, how long that time period is? I'm hoping it starts this year, and it builds from there. We want our players to learn how to win. I don't imagine there's one player in here who likes sitting and watching these hockey games on TV, these playoff games," he said.
The Blue Jackets had a losing record last season - the eighth in nine seasons. And the team is one of only two NHL clubs to never have won a playoff game.
Arniel, from Ontario, coached the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose for the last four seasons. He spent 18 seasons playing professional hockey before pursuing a coaching career.