Rick Bowness will return as Columbus Blue Jackets coach: Sources

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterRick Bowness will return as Columbus Blue Jackets coach: SourcesRick Bowness had an up-and-down run with the Blue Jackets this season. Brad Penner / Imagn Images Share articleRick Bowness will continue on with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 71-year-old coach, who came out of retirement on Jan. 12 to finish this season, has agreed to a new contract, team and league sources told The Athletic on Thursday. The length and terms of the new contract, which is expected to be announced at an afternoon news conference, were not immediately known. The news came shortly after Bowness’ fiery news conference after the Blue Jackets’ season-closing loss on Tuesday, in which he ripped players. The Blue Jackets faded down the stretch and missed the playoffs. “I don’t know if I’m back (as coach next season),” Bowness said, with emotion in his voice, “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.” When Bowness was lured out of retirement and off his fishing boat in Florida to replace Dean Evason, he and Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell agreed that Bowness would coach the final 37 games of the regular season and the playoffs, if the Blue Jackets were able to qualify. His tenure beyond this season was would be discussed when all the games were done. Despite a 21-11-5 record under Bowness, the Blue Jackets were eliminated from the postseason with one game remaining in the season. It wasn’t a three-month stretch without drama, however. The Jackets underwent a stark turnaround under Bowness from the start. They were 19-19-7 under Evason, but then went 19-3-4 from Jan. 12 to March 24, one of the hottest streaks in franchise history. In that time, the Blue Jackets rose from 28th to eighth in the NHL’s overall standings, from 16th (and last) to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and from eighth to second in the Metropolitan Division. But the magic didn’t last, and when it started to fade, it crashed quickly. The Blue Jackets ended the season with only two wins in their final 11 games, including six consecutive losses at one point. They were eliminated from the playoffs on April 13, when the Flyers secured third place in the division with a win over Carolina. Long before his stint with the Blue Jackets, he already had achieved legendary status as the coach who has spent more games (2,763) than any other assistant or head coach behind an NHL bench. He was head coach (full-time or interim) with Winnipeg (both the original franchise and the recent interation), Boston, Ottawa, the New York Islanders, Phoenix, Dallas and Columbus. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms