Rick Bowness didn’t wait long to send another message to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On the first day of training camp Thursday, the Blue Jackets coach said he was unhappy with “a couple of guys” who arrived with sub-par conditioning, another blunt warning from a coach who has already spent plenty of time challenging the group’s standards.
“Most of the guys are in great shape. There are a couple of guys that I’m not happy with, and right now they’re protected by the three-hour rule. When the three-hour rule is up, then we’ll take some steps to correct that,” Bowness said.
He said the issue goes beyond summer fitness and ties directly to the expectations laid out with players before camp.
“It’s not just the correspondence at the end of the summer. It’s the meetings at the end of the season.
We were very clear with what my expectations were. For me, that’s more important than the summer correspondence.
End-of-the-year meetings, me and you sitting there talking - let’s be clear on the message.
“It’s not that bad, but it’s not where I want it to be. So, we’ll fix it.”
The comments arrive after a turbulent offseason in Columbus, one that included star defenceman Zach Werenski briefly surfacing on the trade block, winger Kirill Marchenko’s future becoming a subject of speculation and an injury to goaltender Elvis Merzlikins that will keep him out for the foreseeable future.
The Blue Jackets also opened camp without top centre Adam Fantilli, who remains unsigned as a restricted free agent.
It’s another rough note for a team that Bowness already lit into at the end of last season. After a 2-1 home loss to the Washington Capitals, he unloaded on the club’s effort level and made clear he believed the problem ran deeper than one bad night.
“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 a month ago. But this is why we are where we are,” an exasperated Bowness remarked.
“This is why we’re out of the playoffs. That kind of effort.
You have to hate losing. I don’t care if it’s a meaningless game.
I don’t care. Show up and compete.”
That outburst came after Columbus closed the season on a 2-7-1 skid, a late collapse that wiped out the playoff push. The team had gone 21-11-5 under Bowness after he replaced Dean Evason in January, but the finish left the season feeling like a missed opportunity.
Bowness had already signaled in April that if he returned, the culture itself would be part of the target.
“Like, I don’t know if I’m back [next season], but if I’m back, I’m changing this culture,” Bowness said Tuesday night.
The Blue Jackets have not reached the playoffs since 2020, and Bowness is their fifth head coach since that appearance.
His coaching résumé is a long one, stretching 42 years across both assistant and head coaching roles in the NHL. Before Columbus, he spent two seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, where he went 98-47-10, made the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, and was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award during the 2023-24 season. He later parted ways with Winnipeg after the season because of health issues.
Bowness also has previous stops with the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, where he won the Stanley Cup in six games.
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For now, John H. McConnell II will step in as team president in the immediate future, keeping the title inside the family that founded the franchise. Priest will remain in an advisory role through the end of 2026, so this is not an abrupt handoff, but it still opens a stretch where fans will watch closely for how much the organizations day-to-day direction shifts and who ultimately shapes the next phase. [Read more 🡒]