Don Granato will find his next coaching role behind the Columbus Blue Jackets bench. The club announced that Granato will join Rick Bowness‘ staff as an assistant coach. He will join Jared Boll and the recently-promoted Trent Vogelhuber in assistant roles.
Columbus has also hired video coach Cody Ward.
This will be Granato’s first NHL role since being relieved of his duties as the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach in 2024. Granato oversaw the Sabres for parts of four seasons. He led the club to a combined 113-109-24 record as head coach – a losing record, though an improved winning percentage over the 36-49-12 record they set in two seasons under Ralph Krueger while Granato served as an assistant.
Granato led the Sabres through their first days without former captain Jack Eichel. The bench boss helped Tage Thompson – who he coached for two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program – take over Eichel’s star role.
That mentorship has paid dividends for the Sabres after Thompson led the team in scoring in their return to the playoffs this season. Granato also supported the early days of Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, and Mattias Samuelsson – who have since become NHL fixtures. He coaches with a mentor style and sharp understanding of the game, two traits that could be invaluable for a Blue Jackets squad featuring multiple promising young players.
Columbus could have multiple options to replace Bowness. At 71 years old, he is the oldest head coach in the NHL and came out of retirement to join the Blue Jackets partway through the 2025-26 season. It wasn’t clear if Bowness would return for a full year, until he signed a one-year extension.
Columbus will face questions of Bowness’ retirement again next season. Their recent hires seem to position the team for that outcome, with Granato bringing head coaching experience and Vogelhuber stepping up from his AHL head coach role.
The Blue Jackets will also add Ward to their coaching fold. This move marks a promotion after four seasons as an assistant video coach with the San Jose Sharks. Ward, the younger son of longtime pro coach Geoff Ward, began as a volunteer video coach working under his dad as he led the DEL’s Adler Manheim to a league title in the 2014-15 season.
The younger Ward then took on a manager and video coordinator role with Canisius University’s men’s hockey team while attending the school for a sports management degree from 2017 to 2021. He moved to one season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves after college, serving as video coach during the team’s run to the 2022 Calder Cup. His experience supporting staffs in both the NHL and AHL should add another detail-oriented voice to a Blue Jackets bench that elevates video coaching.