NHL.com is reporting that The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Monday morning that they have relieved Scott Arniel of his duties as coach.

Assistant coach Todd Richards will be Arniel’s replacement, on an interim basis, for the rest of the 2012-13 season.

Richards, who joined the club as an assistant coach on June 20, 2011, will make his debut behind the Blue Jackets bench on Tuesday when the club visits the Chicago Blackhawks.

Richards, 45, compiled a 77-71-16 record as the head coach of the Minnesota Wild from 2009-11. Prior to joining the Wild, he served as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks in 2008-09 when the club compiled an NHL-best 53-18-11 record. Richards spent two seasons as the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2006-08, compiling a 98-49-13 record and leading the club to the 2008 Calder Cup Final.

Arniel, in his second season with the Blue Jackets, had led the team to 11-25-5 record this season. At the season’s midway point, Columbus, in last place in the League, has just 27 points and is 20 points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Arniel, 49, finishes his Columbus tenure with a 45-60-20 record. He was the fifth coach in Blue jacket history, replacing Ken Hitchcock to  start of the 2009-10 season.


Subscribe to NHL Trade Report updates on Facebook, on Twitter, by Email, or RSS.