Rick Bowness explains his Columbus Blue Jackets postgame rant

Host Liam McHugh added his thoughts, as well.

“After that press conference near the end of the year, if I’m a Blue Jackets fan, I was fired up after it,” McHugh said. “If I was a team that was looking for a head coach, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s exactly … that’s what I want. I want that passion.’”

Bowness made sure to put himself under the spotlight too.

“The first person I go after when we play badly, and I tell the players this all the time, is me,” Bowness said. “I’m the head coach. It’s my responsibility to make sure they’re ready to go. But it’s also their responsibility. They signed the contracts. They’re players. They’ve got to go out and compete.”

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness watches from behind the bench during the second period of the NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins at Nationwide Arena on March 29, 2026.

Bowness wants the Jackets to use the sting of missing out on the postseason as summer motivation.

“I don’t want them going home, all of us, me included, and being comfortable because we had a good stretch, or we made some improvements from the last year,” Bowness said. “I think if we’re going to get that culture to where it needs to be, you have to spend the summer uncomfortable, and you have to bring that into training camp.”

Bowness finished his thoughts by saying the Jackets heard the wakeup call, loud and clear.

“The end of the year meetings with the players all went great,” he said. “They got the message. We have to be better. I have to be better. My staff has to be better. Everyone does. It starts with me.”

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rick Bowness says Columbus Blue Jackets must be 'uncomfortable'