BLUE JACKETS MacLean still wears three hats with club

He will coach the Blue Jackets as well as being team president and GM.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Doug MacLean helped build the Columbus Blue Jackets from scratch. Now he'll be the one to blame if the team fails to win.
MacLean, who was interim coach for part of last season, said Friday he will coach the Blue Jackets full time in addition to serving as president and general manager.
"I don't feel any pressure," MacLean said. "I want to coach. I want to get into it. I'm excited about it and I'll deal with whatever happens."
The Blue Jackets never interviewed anyone for their coaching vacancy during the off-season. Terms of MacLean's contract were not available.
Replaced King
MacLean, 49, fired coach Dave King in January and named himself interim coach. The team was 14-20-4-2 before the change and 15-22-4-1 afterward, ending with 69 points for the third-worst record in the NHL.
The decision for him to stay behind the bench was made a few weeks ago after he spoke with majority owner John H. McConnell.
"He urged me to do it, and it really didn't take a lot of urging," MacLean said.
McConnell was sure it was the right move for a team that hasn't come close to making the playoffs in its first three seasons.
On board early
MacLean was one of the Blue Jackets' first employees in 1998, joining the expansion team as general manager two years after leading Florida to the Stanley Cup. He went 83-71-33 in a little over two seasons coaching the Panthers.
"He knows what it takes to lead a team to the Stanley Cup finals," McConnell said. "I firmly believe he is the best person for the job."
After finishing with 71 points as an expansion team in 2000-01, Columbus stumbled to 57 points the following season, fewest in the Western Conference. King had gone 64-106-21-13 in 2 1/2 years as the franchise's first head coach.
The other expansion team from 2000-01, the Minnesota Wild, has had more success, reaching the Western Conference finals this season.
"I look at our talent versus Minnesota, I think we're very comparable, but were not as good a team," MacLean said. "That's the coach and general manager's responsibility to make the team better. I feel comfortable, and it's going to be a huge challenge, but I'm excited about it."
Fourth draft pick
The Blue Jackets have the fourth overall pick in the June 21 draft. MacLean said his first priority is re-signing center Andrew Cassels, the team's second-leading scorer last season with 20 goals and 48 assists. Negotiations with Cassels' agent are going well, MacLean said.
He also plans to focus on re-signing team captain Ray Whitney, also a free agent.
MacLean said he will rely more on Jim Clark, executive vice president and assistant general manager, and Mike Humes, senior vice president, to run the business side.
And he doesn't plan on this being a short-term gig.
"I look at it as I'm going to coach until we win the Stanley Cup or until Mr. McConnell makes a change," MacLean said.