Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness ripped his team following a blowout loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Blue Jackets lost 7-3 on their home ice at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday evening, to drop to 2-3 on the season.
It was a horrible performance by the entire Blue Jackets team, and Bowness — who is not afraid of criticizing his players if they perform poorly — laid into his team following the loss.
Rick Bowness Lays Into Blue Jackets Players Following Bad Loss
Speaking to the media after Columbus’s 7-3 loss to the Panthers, Bowness made it clear that he was completely baffled by the way his team played in the game, and he hopes the embarrassing blowout loss serves as a wake-up call for his team.
“You have to hope, you got to believe that performance tonight will embarrass them enough to stop this, right? Because if they’re not embarrassed by that, we don’t want them on the team. It’s as simple as that,” Bowness said.
The 71-year-old head coach then made it clear that he is not here to babysit these grown men and that he expects them to have more respect for themselves and the sport of hockey.
“I’m not a babysitter. I’m too old to be a babysitter for these guys. You’re a professional athlete. Prepare yourself to play properly. Prepare yourself to play with some discipline,” Bowness said.
Will Blue Jackets Make Playoffs?
The Blue Jackets have missed the playoffs for six straight seasons, which is one of the longest postseason droughts in the NHL currently.
The team still obviously hopes to make the playoffs this season, and it’s still early enough for them to turn things around, as the season just started. But what we’ve seen so far from this Blue Jackets team has not been impressive, and they are going to need to play much better if the playoffs are going to happen.
Bowness is trying his best to whip the players into shape, but ultimately, it’s up to these grown men to look in the mirror and figure out how to change things.
Blue Jackets Coach Rick Bowness Rips Team After Blowout Loss