Bob Boughner tried to juggle two jobs at once and felt like he was dropping the ball.

After only one season as an assistant coach with the Blue Jackets, Boughner resigned with two years remaining on his contract, saying the pressure of working six hours away in central Ohio and running the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires was taking too big a toll on his family.

"I thought I could make it work," Boughner told The Columbus Dispatch. "And I couldn't."

Boughner, a former NHL defenseman, is co-owner of the Spitfires and stepped down as head coach of the junior club last season to join the Blue Jackets staff.

Boughner told The Dispatch that being an NHL assistant wasn't worth his time but that he'd consider NHL head coaching jobs if offered.

However, one day later Boughner's name surfaced as a candidate to join the Detroit Red Wings' staff as an assistant after Brad McCrimmon quit. The Red Wings confirmed that Boughner is a candidate.

The Blue Jackets head into the summer looking for three coaches -- an assistant to replace Boughner; a goaltending coach to replace Dave Rook, who resigned; and an assistant coach for minor league Springfield.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
Hard to believe, but the Blue Jackets were 14-6-0 on Nov. 24, facing Detroit with a chance to take over first place in the Western Conference. At that point, Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason looked to be back in rookie form, and first-year coach Scott Arniel's speedy system seemed to be a hit.

TURNING POINT
The Blue Jackets were just two points out of eighth place in the Western Conference on Feb. 27, when they suffered a hard-luck 3-2 loss in Nashville. So began an unconscionable 3-12-7 run to end the season and end all postseason hopes. In those 22 games, the Blue Jackets had only one regulation win.

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