Agnew fills Columbus NHL hot seat

Gallant had been with the Blue Jackets since they were formed

Gary Agnew has been named as interim head coach of Columbus after Gerard Gallant was fired following the Blue Jackets' poor start to the NHL season.

President Doug MacLean said: "Gary is an excellent coach and we're confident he'll do an outstanding job."

Gallant, 43, was fired after a record of 56-76 with 10 over-time losses. Agnew was one of his assistant coaches.

Columbus have lost nine of their last 15 games. They joined the NHL in 2000 but have never made the play-offs.

MacLean said: "It's a tough decision to make but hopefully we can turn things around."

Expectations were high for the club this season after they acquired forwards Anson Carter and Fredrik Modin in the off-season, and convinced Nikolai Zherdev to return to the NHL from Russia.

But the Blue Jackets rank last in the league in goals with 32 and are on pace to continue a dubious legacy of at least 45 losses for their sixth year in as many seasons.