Portzline: Rick Bowness spoke for Blue Jackets fans when he torched his players

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Regular Rick Bowness didn't hold back after the season finale. Jason Mowry / Getty Images Share full articleCOLUMBUS, Ohio — There have been other memorable postgame rants by Columbus Blue Jackets coaches through the years, certainly. Ken Hitchcock would fume about his players “wanting it to be easy.” Scott Arniel would say repeatedly, “Ask the players!” John Tortorella would vent about “no shows” in his lineup and “no-hitter” games in which his club didn’t finish any checks. But what Rick Bowness made public on Tuesday in his roughly three-minute news conference after Tuesday’s season-ending 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals was different, and it landed with many in the long-suffering fan base like rain after a drought. Bowness vowed that if he returns next season — his contract ran only through the end of this season — he’s going to change the culture within the Blue Jackets’ dressing room. He called out his players for accepting losing. He charged them with becoming shrinking violets when the play turned more physical late in the season. His strongest accusation — the one that infuriated players well into the night on Tuesday — was that “they don’t care.” Bowness later walked back that comment, acknowledging that the players do care. But the rest of it stood. It’s almost as if Bowness pulled up a seat in the Nationwide Arena stands on Tuesday, because he spoke for many in the sold-out crowd and so many others watching — and cursing at their TV sets — at home. Blue Jackets fans have earned the respect of the NHL by showing up through the years in a way that most U.S. cities can’t imagine. Rain or shine — and it’s been mostly rain across 25 years — the fans have supported this franchise beyond what it actually deserves. All they’ve ever wanted is a team that cares about winning as much as they do. There’s a reason the first beloved Blue Jackets player was Tyler Wright. There’s a reason Brandon Dubinsky is royalty here. You never walked away from a game involving those two — and there are a few others — wondering if they cared. When Tortorella would get his back up in defending the organization and the city — sometimes even irrationally — Blue Jackets fans lost their collective minds. Really, they wanted to suit and play for him. On Wednesday, Blue Jackets players cleaned out their lockers, had exit meetings and met with the media. They’d all heard what Bowness had to say after the game, and mostly they said they admired the passion and shared his frustration. But they all took exception to Bowness questioning how much they cared, how much they hated to lose. “I’m not trying to go at it with Bones,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “I have a ton of respect for him, and I think he loves us as players. We love him as a coach. I don’t agree that that’s how guys in there feel. “I think guys do hate to lose. I think we need to learn how to win. I definitely think he can help us with that, he’s been around for so long. But I don’t think it’s right to say that we don’t hate to lose and we don’t care.” Loud noises could be heard from Bowness’ office before he emerged — sounding like a stick being hammered against a wall — red-faced and clearly agitated, to start answering questions. “He’s very passionate, and you want to play for a guy like that,” Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle said. “It was a little bit warranted, yeah, of course it was. He’s a guy who I have loved playing for, and still love playing for. He cares so much, you can tell in the way he talked. Was he emotional? Of course he was. “We’re all disappointed. We all feel some of those emotions he showed. But at the end of the day, I just saw a guy who cares so much and wants to better this team and better everything around it. I can’t complain about it.” Rick Bowness furious following the 2-1 loss to Washington. The Blue Jackets finish the season losing six straight at home, barely missing the playoffs, more tonight @nbc4i #CBJ pic.twitter.com/o7We2CEmTY — Joe Nugent (@joenuge) April 15, 2026 There’s not a player in the NHL who is OK with losing. The one thing many fans don’t get to see is how hard players have to work to get to the NHL and stay there, how pain and discomfort is part of their daily routine just to get to the games. But there are certain players who push things to an entirely different level, and that’s probably what Bowness referenced. Several years ago, the Blue Jackets traded a player to a contending team near the NHL trade deadline. The player was always one of the more fit and competitive players on the Columbus roster, but after a few days with his new team, he learned a tough lesson. He was eating a granola bar in the dressing room after practice when a veteran player approached him, saw the brand he was eating, and literally smacked the granola bar out of his mouth. “We don’t eat that s— here,” the veteran player said. A few years later, that former Blue Jackets player shared that story as an example. He thought he was working hard in Columbus. He thought he hated to lose in Columbus. But he needed to go elsewhere to realize he wasn’t doing enough. It is said that winning players hate losing more than they like winning. Well, maybe that hatred of losing — truly not accepting it, and confronting others who are OK with it — is the pathway to winning. As the Blue Jackets players filed through one after another, they were asked to respond to what Bowness had to say. The more you listened, the more you became convinced that Bowness was correct. These guys wants to win. They don’t like to lose. But the way they played with the season on the line — 2-8-1 to fall down the standings — was all the proof needed that something must to change. When Bowness was hired to coach the Winnipeg Jets for the 2022-23 season, one of his first moves was to strip captain Blake Wheeler of his letter. He wanted more voices in the room, a space for others to grow and be heard. This could be a similarly disruptive offseason in Columbus. Blue Jackets players head off to an uncertain summer with the sting of a disappointing season, and now the frustration and anger of being called out — challenged to their cores — by a veteran coach they all respect. It’s hard to imagine Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell moving on from Bowness after hearing his words late Tuesday. We know Bowness wants to return, so if he’s not brought back, it’ll be received by many as another free pass for the players. Let’s hope that Waddell and Bowness, when they hold their end-of-season press conferences on Thursday, don’t walk back any of what Bowness had to say. It delighted many in the fan base who feel better just knowing somebody feels their pain. And if the players are mad all summer, maybe that’s a good thing. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Aaron Portzline is a senior writer for The Athletic NHL based in Columbus, Ohio. He has been a sportswriter for more than 30 years, winning national and state awards as a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch. In addition, Aaron has been a frequent contributor to the NHL Network and The Hockey News, among other outlets. Follow Aaron on Twitter @Aportzline