Blue Jackets replaced assistant, Lefebvre, over COVID-19 vaccination

The first day of the Blue Jackets Development Camp included a significant development with the coaching staff.

The team announced on Monday that recently hired assistant Sylvain Lefebvre has decided against a COVID-19 vaccine and will therefore not be able to exercise this season. Cleveland Monster’s assistant Steve McCarthy will fill Lefebvre’s position.

“It’s just impossible to do your job based on the NHL (vaccination) protocol, so we needed a new coach,” said Jarmo Kekalainen, general manager of Blue Jackets, who was surprised to learn of Lefebvre’s decision. “We had to move on”

Kekalainen said the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols are the strictest for those with direct access to players.

“If you aren’t vaccinated, you can’t go anywhere near the players, 12 feet long,” he said. “You cannot travel on the (team charter) plane, you cannot be in the locker room, you cannot be the trainer in the office.”

Kekalainen declined to disclose whether Lefebvre cited a specific reason for not getting immunized with any of the approved COVID-19 vaccines. Before speaking to Dispatch, the GM issued a statement on the situation which read:

“We are disappointed, but we respect that this decision is a personal one for Sylvain and we wish him all the best. We are happy to have an outstanding coach in our club in Steve McCarthy, who played in this league, won championships as a player and was an important member of our hockey operations department as an assistant coach in Cleveland. ”

Lefebvre, 53, was hired on June 30 to take on the role of former assistant Brad Shaw. He should work with the team’s defenders and coordinate the penalty kill units. These duties will be taken over by McCarthy, who has spent the past five seasons as an assistant to the Monsters.

McCarthy, 40, played eight NHL seasons for three teams during his 16-year career, including stints in Russia, Finland and Switzerland. Kekalainen said he was one of the candidates the team was considering for Shaw’s previous role and will now join the Jackets team, with only that season guaranteed in the new role.

“We have a plan for him and now he’s coming here for a year and we’ll see where he goes,” said Kekalainen.

Lefebvre, a former NHL defender who played 945 games, has spent the last three seasons as an AHL assistant with the San Diego Gulls – the Anaheim Ducks’ top minor league subsidiary. Previously, he was the AHL head coach for three other organizations.

At the time of Lefebvre’s hiring, Blue Jackets trainer Brad Larsen said he looks forward to working with him as part of a new team in Columbus. Larsen, who is taking on the head coaching role of John Tortorella, quickly shifted his focus to working with McCarthy.

“Steve has done a great job with our young defense attorneys in Cleveland over the past five years and is ready for this opportunity,” Larsen said in a statement. “He’s a really bright, young trainer with a great work ethic and I’m excited to see what he will bring to our staff.”

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

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source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/13/blue-jackets-replaced-assistant-lefebvre-over-covid-19-vaccination/