Are Rick Bowness' Harsh Comments Actually Beneficial For The Blue Jackets?

If there’s one thing we know about Rick Bowness, it’s that he does not mince words. The longtime NHL coach has become a media favorite, largely because he doesn’t hesitate to call out his players when they’re not meeting expectations.

At 71, Bowness has run out of dams to give, infamously going off on his Columbus Blue Jackets players at the end of another disappointing 2025-26 season.

But after a thorough drubbing of the Jackets, 7-3, by the Florida Panthers Tuesday night, Bowness went in on his group again. Needless to say, Columbus’ players are on notice; Bowness isn't getting softer or more cuddly because he’s in a new season with a new collection of players. 

"You gotta believe that performance will embarrass them enough to stop this, right?" Bowness said after the loss to Florida. "Because if they're not embarrassed by that, we don't want them on the team. Simple as that."

Bowness did add that he believes in his players and that they can fix their problems, but he added, “if (the Panthers game) doesn't get (Jackets players’) attention, then they're on the wrong team."

With Tuesday’s defeat, the Jackets are off to a 2-3-0 start to their season. They’re currently in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference. Only the dismal Philadelphia Flyers are worse.

Although it hasn’t been all pitfalls and raspberries for the Blue Jackets, you have to wonder about Bowness’ comments, not so much their accuracy as their utility. Will Bowness really change the bottom line by being irritable with his players? In doing so, doesn’t he risk alienating himself from them? Who exactly is he helping, other than a very grateful media, by laying it all on the line like this?

Yes, we’re the first to acknowledge Bowness is well within his rights to go off in 84 post-game press conferences if he so chooses. While we tend to agree with him that the Jackets’ culture is what has to change, this is a Columbus franchise that’s been filled to the gills with negative developments in recent years.

This past off-season alone, Columbus nearly traded superstar defenseman Zach Werenski. They also cut ties with long-serving captain Boone Jenner, who left via free agency for the Washington Capitals. Up-and-coming star center Adam Fantilli’s contract negotiations also dragged into the start of training camp. On the eve of the season, they traded star winger Kirill Marchenko to the Toronto Maple Leafs after Marchenko made it clear he didn’t want to be part of the organization.

So, while Bowness’ most recent harsh comments will play well with frustrated Jackets fans looking for any positive development, we have to wonder if Bowness has just spent the final bullets in his gun as a coach. 

There’s no question Columbus must quickly turn things around, or they'll bury themselves in the standings and sentence their customers to another painfully long and dismal season. But by going to DEFCON-1 right out of the gate this year, Bowness has left very little room for him to be even more critical as the season further unfolds.  

It might be entertaining for people outside Ohio to watch Bowness take a torch to his team, but the Jackets are one of the last organizations that can afford another brutal season. Columbus won’t officially be in must-win territory until the calendar year changes, but make no mistake, the Jackets are at a point where words like “desperate” and “disastrous” are already part of the conversation. 

Unless Bowness has some tricks left up his sleeve and the Jackets find their footing sooner rather than later, he may be only getting started tearing into his talent.

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