The Columbus Blue Jackets' season officially ended on Tuesday night. The climbed up the standings into third place in the Metropolitan Division on March 19. All they had to do was keep up the momentum. Instead, Columbus collapsed in horrendous fashion, losing eight of their final 12 games, and were eliminated from playoff contention.
Trying to bring in a different voice, the Blue Jackets hired Rick Bowness to replace Dean Evason. Bowness helped the team turn things around and climb into playoff position. Which makes their fall that much more painful. After their 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, Bowness called out the Blue Jackets players, saying they don't care and they have accepted losing. Bowness said if he were to be brought back, he said the first thing he's doing is changing the culture.
"Just look at the stat sheet: Three hits, 23 giveaways. I don't know if I'm back, but if I'm back, I'm changing this culture. These guys, they don't care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn't bother them. How can you go out and play like that?" Bowness said, h/t ESPN.
So will Bowness return? One NHL insider expects that to be the case.
Pierre LeBrun predicts Blue Jackets will bring Rick Bowness back for another season
TSN NHL insider Pierre LeBrun said that his "sense" is that Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell wants to bring Bowness back as head coach, and that the bench boss wants to return. But LeBrun stresses that player exit meetings are "also important" in regards to a decision.
My sense is Don Waddell still wants to bring Rick Bowness back (needs a new contract). And I think the feeling the mutual. But obviously lots for both to talk about over the coming days. Player exit meetings also important. https://t.co/k8aeUlQUI8
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 15, 2026
Bowness is one who is not afraid to tell it like it is. That was evident during his time as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He notably called out the Jets when they were eliminated from the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights, saying that they had "no pushback" during their playoff series.
“No pushback. It’s the same crap we saw in February,” said Bowness, h/t Sportsnet. “As soon as we were challenging for first place and teams were coming after us, we had no pushback. This series, we had no pushback. Their better players were so much better than ours, it wasn’t even close.
“We have to push back. There has to be a pushback. There has to be pride. You have to be able to push back when things aren’t going your way. We had no push back. Their better players were so much better than ours tonight. They deserved to win. They were the better team in the regular season, they were the better team in this series.”
Bowness retired in 2024 after his two season tenure in Winnipeg. Over a year later, the Blue Jackets convinced Bowness to come out of retirement to help the team turn things around. It certainly looked like the Blue Jackets were destined to make the playoffs. But now, Bowness wants to change things up. He doesn't want players who are complacent about losing. He wants to change the culture in Columbus. And he let the hockey world know standing at the podium behind a microphone.
It will be interesting to see what the Blue Jackets do. Will they side with Bowness after missing out on the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season? Or will they side with the players and find someone else to coach? The expectation thus far is that the Blue Jackets want Bowness back, but they'll first have to negotiate a new contract.
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