To reach the next level, the Blue Jackets have to become comfortable being uncomfortable.
At least that’s the belief of head coach Rick Bowness.
When the 2025-26 season ended, Bowness made headlines across the hockey world with his postgame press conference after game No. 82. Eliminated from playoff contention the night before the game against Washington, the Blue Jackets dropped a 2-1 decision to the Capitals, and Bowness’ postgame comments about the team needing to develop a “hate to lose” culture went viral.
Bowness then signed a contract to return to the team for the upcoming season, and speaking a few days later when he was part of TNT’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the coach explained a little bit more about why he chose to use such direct words going into the offseason.
"I wanted them to go home and be uncomfortable,” he said on the national TV broadcast. “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. I think if we’re gonna 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.”
Indeed, Bowness seemed to be setting a tone for the upcoming season, and he put his money where his mouth is when he decided to return to the Blue Jackets for the 2026-27 campaign. The goal now is clear – to end a six-season stretch without postseason hockey in Columbus, especially given how close the Blue Jackets came each of the past two seasons.
Back in Columbus for the NHL draft in June, Bowness reiterated his thoughts when speaking with BlueJackets.com.
“When you come that close and miss, you don’t want to walk away and say, ‘We were close. We made improvement,’” he said. “That’s not good enough. You have to be mad. You have to be uncomfortable that we came that close and just came up a little bit short, so the message is definitely, you gotta be uncomfortable. And they have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable because that’s what’s going to help get us to the next level.”
One of the things Bowness was lauded for when he was hired in January and piloted the team to a 19-3-4 record in his first 26 games was his communication skill, and that has continued into the summer, as Bowness noted that he checks in with his players at least once a month during the offseason.
During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that meant texts to CBJ players making sure they were keeping an eye on the action to see the intensity of hockey’s best time of year; more recently, those check-ins have been to make sure the lines of communication have been open and to see how players are getting ready for the upcoming season.
For a young player like Cole Sillinger, that interaction has been appreciated.
“You were never trying to read his mind,” Sillinger said. “There was always a direct kind of message on what he was trying to say, in my opinion. And throughout the summer, of all the coaches I've had in my career, I've never had a coach that communicated this way, just a little text here and there, or calls here and there.
“It's certainly nice just to build a relationship in different areas and talk about some things other than hockey as well. So yeah, I've really enjoyed my time under Bones, and now I'm looking forward to having a full year with him.”
And to hear Bowness tell it, he’s liked what he’s heard as he’s taken the temperature of his team during the offseason.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Listen, the guys were as disappointed as anybody that we missed the playoffs and how we finished. What we do need is these younger guys to take another step, and they’re well aware of it. I had some great end of the year meetings with some guys, and some of them want a lot more responsibility, and we’re going to give it to them, right? Like Cole Sillinger and Adam Fantilli, they’re going to get more responsibility. They’re going to take us to the next level.”
That’s especially true given the Blue Jackets’ moves this offseason. While the team did bring in Valeri Nichushkin – a top-six wing who has proven he can score and defend at a high level the past few seasons – via trade from Colorado, signed wing Ryan Lomberg, and re-signed veterans Charlie Coyle and Erik Gudbranson, the squad also said goodbye to wing Mason Marchment and veteran captain Boone Jenner.
There are plenty of veterans around, but a big key to the current and long-term success of the Blue Jackets will be the growth of a core nucleus of youngsters who have gained plenty of experience the past few seasons. Bowness mentioned Sillinger and Fantilli – the former of whom signed as an RFA last week, while Fantilli remains to be signed – as two players in that boat, but it’s fair to say such names as Denton Mateychuk, Kent Johnson and Dmitri Voronkov will be counted on to fill big roles again and keep growing this upcoming season.
“It’s their time now, without a doubt,” Bowness said. “They want it. At the end of the year meetings they told me they want it. They told me they want more responsibility, so they’re coming to me and saying, ‘I want more penalty kill, I want more power play.’ Great. You’re gonna be given that opportunity, absolutely. But it’s up to them. We’ll give them every opportunity and then it’s up to them to grab it and show us that they can do it.”
For Sillinger, that’s the goal. The 23-year-old has already played five NHL seasons and leads all players from the 2021 draft with 367 games under his belt, and he’s developed a reputation as a responsible two-way player who can also slot into special teams roles. But Sillinger also acknowledged that he feels he has more in the tank, describing his career production thus far as “probably more unfulfilling than fulfilling.”
“I want to find a more consistent role, and I chatted with Bones, and there was a very good communication there that there could be some opportunities,” Sillinger said. “But everything that is going to come is going to be earned.”
As the season nears, with training camps are set to open next month, the Blue Jackets feel a little bit of everything will come together to get the team over the hump. They have a head coach they believe in, young players who will get the opportunity to become an even bigger part of the puzzle, and veterans who have been around the block.
They also believe that the near misses of the last two seasons will be a fruitful learning experience, even if it means being a little uncomfortable this offseason.
“Our younger guys, we have some really, really good players who are coming on strong and gotten a little taste of the NHL and just how tough it is, how tough it is to get into playoffs, and the way we need to play all the time,” Coyle said when he re-signed. “I went through it. We all go through it. So learning from that, and once we do, I mean, I'm excited. It excites me just talking about it and seeing where we can get because everyone knows, but it's something we're going to work on and continue to do.
“And I know Bones is very adamant about that, and making sure we're going to be prepared come April and beyond. We have a full season to do that and prepare, and it's only going to help us, so I'm pumped for it.”
