On January 12th, 2026, the Columbus Blue Jackets found themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. With a record of 19-19-7, they were seven points back of the second wild card position. Far from a disaster of a season, but slightly disappointing, especially after the 2024-25 campaign where the team took a step in the right direction and were two points away from a playoff appearance. With the season far from being over, the team made a big change, firing Head Coach Dean Evason, and replacing him with Rick Bowness.

Bowness began his coaching career back in the 1980s, with the original Winnipeg Jets organization. After a few years as both an assistant in the NHL, and head coach in the AHL, Bowness got his first crack at a head coaching role in the NHL in the 1988-89 season. He was a midseason replacement, and went 8-17-3 after taking over. That was the end of his first stint in Winnipeg, as he was not brought back and went back to coaching in the AHL, this time for the Boston Bruins affiliate, the Maine Mariners. After two years in Maine, he was once again promoted to the big leagues, and was named the Bruins Head Coach before the 1991-92 season. 

He led the Bruins to the Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Mario Lemieux led Pittsburgh Penguins (the eventual Cup Champs). For most franchises this would be a successful season for a first year head coach, but Boston was seen as a contender, having made the Stanley Cup Finals twice in the previous four seasons, ownership had no patience when it came to finding the right coach. Bowness was let go after just one season.

Leading a team to the Conference Finals in his first full season as a head coach was enough on his resume to land him another gig. A challenging role, as Bowness was named the first coach in the new Ottawa Senators expansion franchise’s history. The expectations were low for the Sens, and Bowness had a longer leash than in his previous two tries. In the team’s first season they went a staggering 10-70-4, one of the worst records in league history. But as I said, he had a longer leash, and was kept in Ottawa. Unfortunately after landing the number one pick in the 1993 NHL Draft, the Senators whiffed on taking a franchise altering player, as they selected Alexandre Daigle, one of the most infamous first overall picks to date. After two and a half more years, and an overall record of 39-178-18 with the franchise, Bowness was relieved of his duties.

Between 1996-2004, the Moncton native had a stint with the New York Islanders, and Phoenix Coyotes, neither lasting two seasons. With two decades of coaching to his name, Bowness never had any real success at the NHL level, and it was hard to believe he would get another crack at it. He would serve as an assistant/associate coach in Vancouver (2006-2013), Tampa Bay (2013-2018), and Dallas (2018-2019), and when Stars Head Coach Jim Montgomery was fired, Bowness took over as the interim head coach. This season would be the greatest accomplishment of his career, as he righted the ship, and led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2020 Bubble, ultimately losing to the Lightning in six games. Unfortunately he fell victim once again to coaching a team with high expectations, as he would only last two more seasons without winning another playoff round. 

Someone with his amount of experience and a recent Cup Finals berth was sought after, and Rick returned back to where it all began, being hired as the Head Coach of the Winnipeg Jets in 2022. Although the team would fail to make it out of the first round, they would make the playoffs in each of the next two seasons, with a combined regular season record of 98-57-9. Following the 2023-24 season, Rick Bowness retired, stepping down as coach, and joining NHL on TNT as an analyst.

But when Columbus called, he came out of retirement to accept the position. This move came as a bit of a surprise as not only did it seem like he was done coaching and enjoying his role on television, but in all of Bowness’ years in the league, he never was associated with the Blue Jackets. Perhaps he had a relationship with team President and GM Don Waddell over the years, or maybe Columbus is trying to replicate the Stars in 2019-20 when Bowness took over midseason and led them to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Since taking over, the Blue Jackets have gone 8-1-0 in the Rick Bowness era, an impressive stretch in which they have averaged 4.5 goals per game, and climbed all the way to 10th in the Eastern Conference. Due to the strength of the East, they are somehow still the same amount of points back from the second wild card position as they were when Bowness was hired, which is seven. But they have made up ground within their division, as they are four points back from third place in the Metropolitan Division, with two games in hand on the Islanders who currently occupy that spot.

In most seasons, there is a team that finishes the season hot and sneaks into the playoffs in the final games, and Columbus is a good pick to be that team right now. Their new bench boss is getting the most out of this team, and the vibes are seemingly high in Ohio’s Capital. If they are able to clinch a playoff berth, it would be the first time the franchise has made the postseason since the 2020 Bubble, when Bowness was two games away from winning it all. 

The Blue Jackets will look to continue their success and extend their five game winning streak tonight as they travel to face the New Jersey Devils.