Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness spoke to the NHL on TNT crew Sunday before their broadcast of Game 7 between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Of course, only one topic was discussed.
Now knowing he'll be back behind the bench this fall, Bowness further addressed his comments made after the season-ending loss to the Washington Capitals on April 14, in which he said the players didn't care enough about losing and that the culture needed to be changed.
While he did walk the comments back a bit — as he did both that night and again two days later when it was announced he would return for the 2026-27 season — Bowness reiterated Sunday that the effort at the end of the season wasn't enough.
Rick Bowness is back on the panel and talked about his viral rant at the end of the season
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 3, 2026
"I wanted them to go home being uncomfortable" pic.twitter.com/QCLlDZ67l6
"Is the room as bad as I made it sound to be? No, the culture's not as bad as I made it sound to be," Bowness said. "Is it where it needs to be? Absolutely not. We're not going to leave that season and say 'okay, we got better this year; we made some good signs.'"
"I wanted them to go home and be uncomfortable. 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 for the last year."
"I wanted them to go home and be uncomfortable."– Rick Bowness
Bowness also took, as he had in speaking to the media in the days after his rant, his own accountability for the team's play.
"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."
He continued: "but it's also their responsibility. They sign the contracts, they're the players, they've got to go out and compete."
As for when the team is going to dial it up, Bowness hinted that the team is already taking strides in that.
"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. And talking to the players, they all are. Listen, they're ready now," 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."
– Rick Bowness
"The end of the year meetings with the players all went great.
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."
Bowness' staff will look different this season, as the contracts of assistant coaches Mike Haviland and Scott Ford — as well as video coach Aron Augustitus — were not renewed.
The now-permanent head coach also commented on how he felt like the over-the-top comments were something he could do because of the connection he made with many of the players in a short period of time.
"I couldn't do that unless I trusted my relationship with those players. I'd spent four months building strong relationships with those players," Bowness said.
Bowness' new contract will expire at the end of this coming season.
