Bowness rips Blue Jackets' effort down the stretch: 'They don't care'

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness aired his grievances in an emotional tirade after a disappointing season finale put a bow on the club's lackluster play down the stretch.

"All you have to do is look at the stat sheet. Three hits, 23 giveaways. ... These guys, they don't care," an irate Bowness said after Columbus' 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, according to WCMH's Joe Nugent.

"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. You have to hate losing. I don't care if it's a meaningless game. I don't care. Show up and compete."

The Blue Jackets owned an 88% chance of making the playoffs in late March, per MoneyPuck, but went 2-8-1 in their final 11 games to fall out of the race and were officially eliminated Monday.

"Some of those guys are so lucky the season's over and there's no practice tomorrow," Bowness added.

Despite the flat finish, Bowness did an impressive job getting the Blue Jackets back in the playoff hunt at all. Columbus started the campaign 19-19-7 under head coach Dean Evason, but it went 21-11-5 after Bowness took over midseason.

Bowness' contract only covered the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, but the 71-year-old said big changes are coming next season if his deal gets renewed.

"I don't know if I'm back (next season), but if I'm back, I'm changing this culture," he said.

The Blue Jackets opted to keep several pending unrestricted free agents at the deadline instead of trading them, including Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment, and Boone Jenner. Columbus has missed the playoffs six years in a row.