Rick Bowness blasts Blue Jackets after season-ending loss: 'If I'm back, I'm changing this culture'

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The Blue Jackets had just gone through the motions in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, committing 23 giveaways and totaling just three hits, a lifeless, disinterested — and sadly, fitting — end to the season. “All you gotta do is look at the stats,” Bowness said, fighting back tears as he began to talk. “Three hits, 23 giveaways. Like, I don’t know if I’m back (as coach next season), 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? I should have done this about a month ago. But this is why we are where we are. This is why we’re out of the playoffs, that kind of effort. “Losing … 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! Twenty-three giveaways!” The Blue Jackets were 21-11-5 under Bowness, but they ended the season with just three wins in their final 13 games, including a six-game (0-5-1) home losing streak, to fall out of a playoff spot. Where did it all go wrong? “Because it got tough,” Bowness snapped. “Because it got hard. Like we talked about after the Olympic break, it’s gonna get harder. So everything is good as long as it’s going their way. And now it gets tough, and we don’t want to battle back. “This is what’s happened over the last week, the last couple of weeks. That’s all that’s happened. We’re going to change that. If I’m back … (GM) Don (Waddell) and I will talk, we’ll get to that. But, man oh man, some of those guys are so lucky the season is over and there’s no practice tomorrow.” The Blue Jackets have been one of the NHL’s least successful teams since entering the league as an expansion franchise in 2000. They’ve qualified for the playoffs only seven time in 25 seasons and have only once made it past the first round. But they’re currently on a playoff drought of six seasons, the second-longest in franchise history. Never before have the Blue Jackets lost six consecutive home games to end a season. Another ugly number that grew on Tuesday: Nationwide Arena sold out 15 times this season, and the Blue Jackets won just four of those games (4-6-5). “It’s terrible. Inexcusable,” Bowness said of the home losing skid. “If they’re not embarrassed by, not only tonight, but by that, they’re on the wrong team. They’ve got to be embarrassed by that.” When Bowness was hired by the Blue Jackets on Jan. 12, the agreement was that he’d finish this season and decide afterward, via conversation with Waddell, if he would continue as coach next season. It sure sounded like Bowness wanted to return, but the plan, Waddell has said, is to hold exit interviews with the players on Wednesday and meet later in the week to settle the coaching staff. “I’m gonna talk to Don, all right?” Bowness said. “But the players were told tonight that if I’m back, we’re changing this freakin’ culture, and we are.” “Surprised is not the word. Very disappointed is the word. Very disappointed. We’ve got a good team, and they do care. So I’m mad right now, yeah. They do care, but they gotta show it on the ice. Like said in Carolina (a 5-1 loss on April 2) ‘Shut up, and let your play do the talking for you.’” The Blue Jackets were eliminated on Monday when the Philadelphia Flyers clinched the final available playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets were in fifth place in the East and second place in the Metropolitan Division on March 24. It marked the second straight season they were eliminated with one game left in the season. “I know the game is meaningless (in the standings), but you still have to play,” Bowness said. “We talked about it before, just play with some pride. “We have great fans here. They deserve better than that, they do. I love the fan base. I love the enthusiasm. I love the city. They got a lot of good things going on here, and we’re not putting up with that if we’re back (as coach). Pfff, man.” Asked how he would change the culture — what is step one? — Bowness turned to his experience. The 71-year-old has been behind an NHL bench as an assistant or a head coach for nearly 3,000 games, more than any other coach, “Oh, there are ways,” Bowness said. “I’ve had enough experience. We can deal with this. I’ve dealt with it before. If we’re back, we’ll straighten it out.” 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