Rick Bowness had his say after the Blue Jackets’ ugly 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on April 14 at Nationwide Arena, laying into his team for not caring enough.
His tirade was more about the Jackets falling into a 3-9-1 tailspin to end the season, which dropped them from second in the Metropolitan Division to a spot outside of a playoff bubble, than it was about losing to the Capitals in the finale. Both lit the fuse, though, and Bowness blew his stack.
A somber locker clean out day at Nationwide Arena less than 24 hours later marked Blue Jackets players’ first opportunities to respond. One by one, they pushed back a bit, some stronger than others, against the notion that a culture change is needed and the team doesn’t care enough.
“I mean, he’s obviously heated in the moment, and rightfully so,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “I feel like we obviously let it slip, and I think … some things … I don’t want to say I don’t agree with, but I know deep down, he cares about us and he cares about this team and the players in the room.”
Bowness’ message came across as fire and brimstone, however, and quickly spread online.
The notion that Blue Jackets players don’t care enough to get into the playoffs is taking root, even though Bowness himself walked back his comments at the end of his rant, saying his players do care but need to show it better on the ice.
“I think it maybe came out a little bit wrong from how it got spun to the media,” Werenski said. “I definitely do think, right now, especially with how the season ended, everyone has to take a good, hard look in the mirror and see where we could be better.”
Bowness was also credited by players for displaying passion, and the majority who spoke said they’d love to continue playing for him if the coach and Blue Jackets president/GM Don Waddell agree on a contract extension.
“We’d love to have him back,” center Sean Monahan said. “He did a great job for us. I don’t think there are fences that need to be mended, no. He loves us, we know that. You get emotional in this sport. It’s intense and when you’re that close and you put yourself in the position that we (had), and then you let it go away, it stings, and it’s something we’ve got to carry over coming into training camp.”
In all, 11 players met reporters on a day when most of the team met with Waddell for exit interviews. All recoiled to varying degrees from two statements Bowness had made: One was regarding their response to losing, the other was the coach’s vow, should he return, to change the Jackets’ culture.
“What I’ll say is everybody wants to win, him included, and when it comes down to the exact words of what he said, that we don’t care … I’d have to disagree with that,” top center Adam Fantilli said. “We do care in our locker room, and, as I know guys have said before [me] walking in here, we have to learn. We have to learn how to win and be that team that can get over that hump, get into the playoffs. It’s what our fans deserve. We owe it to each other, but it’s a tough lesson, and it’s going to be a long summer thinking about it.”
Fantilli, selected third overall in a loaded 2023 NHL Draft, was asked a pertinent follow-up: How do NHL teams learn to win?
“To learn to win,” he said, following a pronounced sigh. “I think it takes being in a position that we’re in, and getting fed up with it, and realizing what we’re doing to ourselves. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot sometimes, and we’re devastating our fans, and they’re coming out and supporting us as much as possible. … I said at the beginning, this year was going to be a failure if we didn’t make the playoffs, and that’s exactly what it is.”
Fantilli stood out for his genuine disgust. Werenski was truly heartbroken, saying this is the worst he’s ever felt exiting a season. Kirill Marchenko, whose scoring touch abandoned him in the Jackets’ collapse, promised to work on “small details” over the summer to make himself a better player.
Cole Sillinger said he will continue looking for a key that unlocks his offensive side, while Jet Greaves relayed what he learned while becoming a full-time NHL goalie. Pending free agents Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment and Erik Gudbranson discussed their futures, all saying they enjoy playing in Columbus but will let their agents do the heavy lifting.
Waddell and Bowness, meanwhile, will meet with reporters on April 16 to wrap things up from their perspectives, and it’ll be interesting to see what each says about the coach’s blowup two days removed.
The players just got their say.
“You want to play for a guy like that,” Coyle said. “Was it a little bit warranted? Yeah, of course it was. He’s a guy who I’ve loved playing for, still love playing for and he cares so much. … Yeah, was he emotional? Of course he was, but we’re all disappointed. We all feel some of those emotions in the way he was feeling and the way he showed, but at the end of the day, I saw a guy who cares so much. He wants to better this team and better everything around it. So, I can’t really complain about that.”
Ivan Provorov agreed while also pushing back on the line of questions he faced about Bowness.
“You’re never going to blame a guy for caring,” Provorov said. “He cares. He deeply cares. … We all care. We all want to win. He wants to win. We want to win as players. We all wanted to win as a team. Obviously [the loss to the Capitals] was frustrating overall, from not making the playoffs and not getting the last win at home, so I think you all should just cut everyone some slack.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets applaud Rick Bowness’ passion, push back on rant
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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