rick bowness took over as interim head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 12 (ET) and has overseen a 19-3-4 run that lifted the club from last in the Eastern Conference to 38-22-11 overall. He came out of retirement because he missed working with players and said the return has been “a lot of fun, ” stressing communication and adaptation as the keys. The surge has pushed Columbus into second place in the Metropolitan Division heading into a Thursday night game at the Bell Centre (ET).
Rick Bowness: A swift turnaround
When rick bowness was hired to replace Dean Evason, the Blue Jackets were last in the Eastern Conference and seven points removed from the final wild-card berth after narrowly missing the playoffs the previous season. Under his leadership the club has gone 19-3-4 and improved to 38-22-11, a change that moved Columbus into second in the Metropolitan Division ahead of the Bell Centre matchup on Thursday night (ET). The dramatic run is the clearest metric of the return: fans and management are now focused on securing a playoff spot rather than clawing back into contention.
Coaching style and background
At 71, rick bowness has spent 44 years coaching professional hockey and said he was on his boat near his home in Boca Raton, Fla., when he received a text from general manager Don Waddell inquiring about his interest; he and his wife, Judy, accepted the opportunity. rick bowness has emphasized a simple formula: talk to the players, let them know where they stand, and adapt to different generations. He noted the generational gap with a touch of humor—he brings up Led Zeppelin and the players “have no idea what I’m talking about”—but framed it as part of a coaching method that centers communication and mutual understanding.
rick bowness’s resume includes taking the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup final after joining them in December 2019, a run that ended in a six-game loss to Tampa Bay, and coaching stops in Boston, Ottawa, New York (Islanders), Phoenix and Winnipeg. He retired from the Jets in May 2024 after the team’s elimination and had intended to stay retired before answering the call from Columbus.
Immediate reactions from the bench
“This has been a lot of fun. Am I glad I came out of retirement to do this? Absolutely, ” Rick Bowness, interim head coach, Columbus Blue Jackets, said on a Thursday morning (ET). He added that he was associating the run not solely with wins but with the daily work of getting to know players and spending time with them. The coach has repeatedly framed the team’s objective plainly: the focus must remain on what the club needs to do to earn a playoff spot, with broader decisions left to be addressed at the end of the year.
What’s next
As Columbus prepares for the upcoming game at the Bell Centre (ET), rick bowness has made clear the immediate priority is playoff positioning and preparing the roster day to day; he said end-of-year decisions should be dealt with later. The short-term test for the Blue Jackets will be sustaining the communication-driven approach that produced a 19-3-4 stretch and converting it into postseason qualification.
