Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness trashed his players following a season-ending loss, saying that “they don’t care.”
The Blue Jackets lost 2-1 to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night in the team’s final game of the 2025-2026 NHL season. The Blue Jackets have now missed the playoffs for six straight years, and Bowness let his players have it when speaking to the media following the game.
“All you gotta do is look at the stat sheet. Three hits, 23 giveaways. Like, 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. Like, how can you go out and play like that? Should have done this about a month ago. This is why we are where we are. This is why we’re out of the playoffs. That kind of effort. You have to hate losing. I don’t care if it’s a meaningless game. I don’t care. Show up and compete. Three hits, 23 giveaways,” Bowness said following the game.
Rick Bowness Does Not Have a Contract for Next Season
Coaxed out of retirement, Bowness was hired by the Blue Jackets on January 12 after the team fired former head coach Dean Evason. The mid-season hire was made in an attempt to fire up the Blue Jackets and help the team snap a five-year drought of missing the postseason. However, while the Blue Jackets did play better under Bowness’s guidance, the team still ended up missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
When Bowness was hired by Columbus, he was only given a contract for the remainder of this season. He did a solid job in helping guide the Blue Jackets for the second half of the year, but ultimately, the team still missed the playoffs yet again. The Blue Jackets will likely consider Bowness for a contract extension, but since they missed the postseason, management will probably look at other options as well when it comes to the franchise’s next head coach.
Blue Jackets Have had Little Playoff Success in Franchise History
The Blue Jackets entered the NHL as an expansion team in the 2000-2001 season. Since then, the Blue Jackets have only qualified for the playoffs six times, advancing past the first round only two times. When compared to other expansion teams in the NHL, the Blue Jackets have arguably had the least amount of success of any newer hockey team.
While Bowness’s frustration is likely to upset some of the Blue Jackets’ players, nothing he said was wrong. The team has developed a reputation as a losing franchise, and it seems like nothing has changed in over 25 seasons. That’s why Bowness wants to stick around and instill a winning culture. After all, Bowness is considered one of the most respected coaches in the league, having begun his NHL head-coaching career in 1988. His greatest success came as the head coach of the Dallas Stars in 2020, when he took the Stars to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. If Bowness stays with Columbus, he will try to turn this franchise around and take them to their first-ever Stanley Cup final, too.
Rick Bowness Trashes Columbus Blue Jackets Players After Season-Ending Loss