COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 19 (UPI) -- Columbus Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean was fired Thursday after more than six years with the NHL team.
The Blue Jackets have not been to the playoffs in their six-year existence. This season, they ended with a 33-42-7 record, good for fourth place in the NHL Central Division, two points ahead of Chicago.
"It's a sad day for me, and for a lot of guys in the dressing room," left winger Jody Shelley told the Columbus Dispatch. "Doug's done a lot for all of us. He gave me a job and I'll never forget that."
MacLean signed a three-year contract extension last spring.
The Blue Jackets have the league's worst overall record in the past six seasons, and have never come within 19 points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
MacLean, who guided Florida to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, has over two decades of experience in the NHL.
