Rick Bowness was cruising down the Intracoastal Waterway when his phone rang ...
"Rick, this is Don Waddell. How you doing? How about coming out of retirement to coach the Blue Jackets?"
Rick Bowness was introduced as the new head coach of the Blue Jackets at noon Tuesday. Let's get right to the opening statement from president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell, who can answers some of the nuts-and-bolts questions that Jackets fans have been asking since Dean Evason was, in a bit of a shocker, fired Monday afternoon.
For instance: I speculated that Waddell's decision-making process probably began before Christmas – and Waddell shot that down post-haste.
Here's Donny:
Making a coaching change mid-season is never an easy decision. A lot goes into those decisions. The bottom line for us is we haven't met our expectations, and it starts with me. We all take accountability for this, coaches, players and myself. We don't take this lightly. I have all the respect in the world for Dean and Steve and I think last year they did a tremendous job in very difficult situations. But, again, I think our expectations this year were higher than what we're achieving right now and that's why we felt we would make a change. I also want to make sure I thank the McConnell family and Mike Priest, our president. Their support has been unbelievable, not only in this process but (throughout) my time here in Columbus. They're here to win, and when we ask them something, they never say no. So, I thank them.
It's a critical point of our season, with 12 games before we go on the Olympic break, eight at home. That's why we felt like if we were going to do something, now was the time to do it. And so we're very fortunate to be able to hire Rick Bowness. I've known Rick for a long time. His son Ryan, the assistant GM with the Islanders, worked for me in Atlanta. I paid him 8$ an hour ...
I know this is a big question. This all happened very quickly, by the way. It was almost 11 o'clock yesterday morning when I caught Rick out there on his boat with his wife and asked him how he was doing and asked him if he was interested in coaching our team. It took him about five seconds to say, 'I'm in. Let me just run it by my wife.' We put this deal together very quickly. What we talked about was, we'll finish out this season (then) he and I will sit down and assess the season and how it went, and make decisions moving forward.
Rick's experience is off-the-charts. You're not going to find anybody with as much experience. He has been a head coach for many years, and assistant coach for many years. The accountability and structure that he's going to bring to us is going to be welcome by our players. He's a great communicator. With that, I want to introduce our new head coach, Rick Bowness.
That's right: According to Waddell and Bowness, the hiring process began after breakfast Monday and a contract was signed not long after Mr. and Mrs. Bowness docked their center-console non-yacht. Before dinner.
I want to be skeptical about the timing, but I'm not about to accuse anybody of lying. Waddell decided over the weekend to fire Evason. He met with ownership. He wanted Bowness and, bang, it was done. He said he had a "Plan B" if Bowness was not amenable, but he didn't go into details (no shock there).
We'll let Bowness take it from there.
"Was I out looking for a job? Absolutely not. I wasn't. I was quite content with what I was doing. Judy and I have a great life in Florida. We were enjoying that very much. ... But throughout all that, Judy and I would always have conversations and she'd always say, 'Well, what's going to happen when someone calls?' And I'd say, 'They're not going to call, they're not going to call.' The only thing we'd say was, well, we'd have to consider it.
"There's only a few teams that I would have come out of retirement to coach, and this is certainly one of them. I've always had a ton of respect for Don. I know this team is really good. When you work in our league, man, you want to work with good people. And they're here. ... But you also want to have a chance to win – that's the most important thing. And when I look at the roster, and I did see a few games over the year, and I looked at that team and I said, 'I think I can help that team. They're better than their record shows.'"
"I'm very proud to be here today. I'm very proud to be part of the Columbus organization. And we're going to do some things to get this thing back on track. ... Honestly, I'm really looking forward to this challenge, and we're going to have a lot of fun with it.
Bowness stepped away from coaching in Winnipeg in 2024, when he said he "knew it was time." In this context, he was asked about why he decided to come out of retirement.
"The answer to that is, my wife Judy and I, we had some health issues," Bowness said. "It kind of put things in perspective. Without the health issues, I would have not stepped down. They've been addressed over the last year and a half. I feel a whole lot better, and Judy's doing great. So that opened the door again, because I did want to coach again. ... I still have the passion. ... The break is over."
Michael Arace
Speaking directly to how he'll improve the Jackets, Bowness conjured his pre-morning-skate meeting with the players and ticked off his points of concern:
- Goals against (3.38/game, fifth-worst in the league).
- Shots against (30.9/game, third-worst in the league).
- Penalty kill (76.4% kill rate, fourth-worst in the league).
- Slot chances against (23.13/game, ninth-worst in the league).
- Rush chances against (CBJ are mid-pack in high-danger chances; they have an xGA of 2.27, which is ninth-worst in the league).
"Those issues? They'll take you right out of the playoffs," Bowness said. "They will. In our league, you don't score your way into the playoffs. This isn't the '80s. You defend your way in. You get your offense from good, solid defense. And that's team defense, everyone committed.
"So, we're just going to try to get everyone to buy in a lot more defensively, far more committed. There are some structural changes we can make, absolutely, and we're going to make them. We have to tighten this thing up, and you tighten it up by giving them a gamelan – and the onus is on them. We're going to be pushing them hard on that."
The elephant in the room is, of course, the dread third-period meltdowns. The Jackets have lost 26 games (regulation and OT) to this point. They've blown a third-period lead in nine of those losses. They've been outscored in third periods by a margin of 63-39. Their third-period goals against total and goal differential figure (minus-24) are the worst in the league.
These choke-city numbers are what ultimately compelled Waddell to fire Evason and McCarthy coach, who had handled the Jackets' awful defense for five years. the final straw, Waddell indicated, was the 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Nationwide Arena Jan. 4. The Jackets gagged on a 4-1 lead in that game. Waddell went on the ensuing road trip, took a hard look at the team and had some (general) conversations with players of all ages.
"I don't mean to bash (Evason)," Waddell said, "but I could tell they were frustrated with how things were going."
Waddell came to the decision that he wanted a new voice – and firm, experienced hand – to attempt a fix. Waddell wanted Bowness, who, while he's soon to turn 71, is known as much for firm-handedness as he is for the bounce in his step and the smile on his face.
"Obviously, a new coach has new structure and new ideas, which I think is going to be a blessing for our team," Waddell said. "I think they're looking for it. A different person behind the bench always makes a difference."
Left, Bowness talks to assistant Jared Boll at morning skate. Middle, a sign in the bowels of the arena. Right, Bowness is introduced by president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell.
Bowness was asked how he'd fix the piping in third periods.
"A good part of defense is puck management. It is," Bowness said. "Puck management has to improve, in crucial areas – blue-line play, neutral zone, hanging onto the puck more in the O-zone instead of throwing hopers (hopeful shots) into the slot. I'm a pressure coach. I don't sit back at all. And I don't like what I'm seeing now. We're sitting back, and that drives me absolutely nuts.
"So, to answer your question, we're going to play pressure, we're going to manage the puck better and we're going to make it harder for (opponent) to create any offense. That has to be done. When you're on your heels in this league, man, you're going to get burnt."
Bowness has logged 2,726 games as an assistant, associate or head coach in the NHL, a league record. He has served seven teams as head coach and has a record of 309-408-37 with 48 ties. He led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup final
Bowness has spent 2,726 games as an assistant, associate or head coach, an NHL record. His record as a head coach with seven teams is 309-408-37 with 48 ties. He led the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup Final in 2020. In his last stop, he was a finalist for the Jack Adams (coach of the year) Award in 2024.
Michael Arace
Player reaction
As Waddell alluded in his statement, Bowness is a temporary hire until deemed otherwise. Bowness is in Columbus as a fixer. He's going to shake things up.
I think the PR department spent more time instructing the players on how to provide anodyne answers than Bowness spent introducing himself to the team and rolling out his initial plan. That said, Zach Werenski is always thoughtful.
Here are some player reactions:
Zach Werenski
The one message I got from talking with (Bowness) was there was going to be a lot of communication, no gray areas, it's black-and-white and we're going to take care of our D-zone. And that's going to be the first thing we take care of, and we'll play offense from there.
I think it shows that management still believes in this group and that the season's not over yet. I think that's important for the guys in here. In saying that ... at the end of the day, it's on us players. We have to do our part as well, and that's win hockey games.
I think the message that it sends us players is management still believes in this group, and still believes in saving our season and getting right back into it. We should be excited about that.
It's all business from here on out. We can't be unsure when we hop over the boards what's going on. When we get here to the rink and we're here for two-three-four hours, we have to be extremely focused, detailed. We still, in a sense, control our own destiny here. We have seven of eight at home to get right back in it. It's now on us to be as focused as we can be, as dialed in as we can be. There's going to be moments of learning the system, and that takes some time, but it's on us to adapt as quickly as we can and play the best that we can. It's on us players.
(What did he say right off?) We talked about taking care of our D-zone; that's the first thing we're going to make care of, and be better in that area. And then, details matter – and we have to enjoy the process. It's going to be hard at times, but we're still in a good spot here, and you have to enjoy it. You have to enjoy learning new things and taking on new challenges and kind of being behind the eight ball. Coming to work every day and having the best job in the world. These are things you have to enjoy, and I feel like we need more of that in this room. And I think it was a great message.
(This is your sixth coach ...) I haven't counted.
(Hectic?) I really don't put too much thought in it, to be honest. I just try to go about my business and do my job. Coaching is the same way: Obviously, if you have success, you have less coaches. We've had a lack of success the last couple of years and I feel like that's a big reason why we've had so much turnaround here. I think part of that also falls on the players, and raising our expectations, and rising to them. I feel we haven't done that this year.
So, yeah, it has definitely been a lot of coaches, but with more winning comes less coaches and that's ideally what you want.
(Did Don talk to you about the why?) I've had conversations with Don. He didn't address why or when, but that's not for me to know. It's his job. He's the GM. Like I said earlier, I feel like this just tells the guys in here he still believes in us and believes in this season and getting something out of it. So, I think the message was clear to the players, how he feels about it.
(It also says it has to start NOW) For sure. We've talked about it for a while, that it has to start. But I think this is – this is it. This is our season. However many games to get back in it and, obviously, he (Waddell) has done all he can do in terms of bringing guys in and making this change. It's on us players now to really take control of this and get us back in a good spot now.
(Dean lose room?) Uh ... No, I don't think so. I don't want to get into that. I just want to move forward. I'm excited to play tonight. I'm excited to play for Rick. I'm just ready to move forward, to be honest.
You win some of these third-period games, and you're probably looking at a different outcome. At the end of the day, we've fallen short of our expectations. That falls on everybody here, a little bit – players, coaches, everyone included. Don thought this was time to make a change, but like I keep saying, that tells us he still believes in this group and this season. Now, we just have to move forward with it.
(Can this be a rallying point?) It should be. You never want to see people lose their jobs because of the play on the ice. I feel like for our group, this next stretch of games is going to make our season. So, we have to rally now and, I keep saying it, but it's on us players to take it to the next level.
Sean Monahan
Monahan, as a Winnipeg Jets rental at the end of the 2023-24 season, played 34 regular-season games and five playoff games for Bowness.
We had a little meeting with him before (skate). He's funny, he can be intense, very structured and very professional the way he goes about things. He's a great coach. Timing-wise, with him coming in at this point in the season, it's going to give us a boost.
You could feel some excitement out there at the morning skate. The pressure's on us to perform. Rick and the coaches can only say so much. It's about us going out there and doing it. It's a strong message to the guys in here that we believe in each other and we've got to go out there and do it.
Captain Boone Jenner
We know the spot we're in, and we share the responsibility of where we're at. It's up to us to write the script the right way here. We can't do anything about the past, but we're still right in it. We believe, in this room, that we should be able to climb in the standings. We've got to use this the right way, get some energy out of it and try to get us back into it. I'm looking forward to that and try to respond as a group.
Anytime this happens, it's surprising, and it's a tough day. Dino and Mac gave a lot to this team and to us. It's a tough day. It's on us to step up.
(How can help in thirds?) I'm sure we'll get to that. We talked this morning in a meeting. I think it just comes down to the details and how we want to play and what our mindset is.
(Why is Dean gone?) I think, like I said, we all share responsibility. It's tough to see a coach go, with everything he gave us. I think where we are in the standings is not where we want to be, and unfortunately, these things happen. It's not like we don't think we're a part of it. It's on us to step up now as players, and really try to right this ship.
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Michael Arace
