Rick Bowness was perfectly happy – content, even – on his boat.
The man who has coached the most NHL games in league history as either a head or assistant coach had spent a life in hockey, and after (what he thought was) his retirement from coaching Winnipeg in the spring of 2024, he was looking after his health and enjoying life at age 70.
Winters in Florida and summers in Nova Scotia were treating Bowness and his wife, Judy, well, but there was always a question over the last year and a half of what would happen if someone called.
It didn’t take long to find out the answer. Monday morning, Rick and Judy were on the boat when the phone rang and CBJ president and general manager Don Waddell was on the other end. Would Rick be interested in coaching the Blue Jackets for the rest of the season?
“Wait 'til you hear this one,” Bowness told Judy.
By Tuesday morning, Bowness was in Columbus, and by yesterday night he was 1-0 as the CBJ head coach after their 5-3 win over Calgary. The boat rides and winter sun might have been more relaxing, but behind the bench at Nationwide Arena felt a lot more like home to Bowness.
“I love it,” Bowness said after the win. “I just love it. That’s why I came back. That's what I missed the most. When I was out a year and a half, the thing I missed the most was the interaction with the players. I love that part of coaching – working with the players and talking with the players and helping them get better. The second part is I love being behind the bench.”
And to hear Bowness tell it, the biggest thing he’ll do to help pull the Blue Jackets back toward the playoff line is build relationships with his players. Sure, there are X’s and O’s he’ll address – the penalty kill will likely be high on the list after the Jackets gave up three power-play goals to the Flames, as well as defensive structure and holding third-period leads – but the veteran coach said he’ll accomplish a lot of those objectives by getting to know the Blue Jackets as people.
At the start, the biggest thing Bowness is asking for is 100 percent effort, and one of the ways to get that is to start right away with relationships.
“I have to know what makes them tick,” Bowness said. “I need to spend time with them. Those things, they do take time. I have to talk to every one of the players. I have to get to know them, and it starts with that. I have to watch them play. I don’t know these guys that well. Honestly, some of the guys in that room have probably never heard of me either, so I have to spend a lot of time with those guys and I have to watch them play and I have to see what they do well and what we can help them with.”
Bowness describes himself as a talker, saying that with a laugh, but after one game behind the bench, CBJ players confirmed that was the case. Forward Charlie Coyle said there was rarely a quiet moment on the bench against the Flames, as Bowness wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts both good and bad.
“There was a lot of that tonight,” Coyle said. “Mostly positive stuff. Some slight criticism when maybe you have to make a different play to get the puck in deep or things like that you have to address right away and move on. It’s good stuff that we need. Any team needs that. He was talking all the time. It’s almost rare when he’s not talking, but it’s a good thing and we need that right now. It’s good to have a positive voice in him, and someone who has that much experience and knows, you trust it right away.”
In fact, that experience is what stands out to CBJ players, which is what you’d expect from someone who was behind an NHL bench for the 2,727th time last night. After a six-year playing career, Bowness first worked in the league as an assistant coach during the 1984-85 season and earned his first head coaching job in 1988-89 – before any active member of the CBJ roster was born.
But while there certainly are some old-school attributes to Bowness’ style – such as his demand for accountability and competitive level – he also has the disposition to relate to players who are two generations younger than him.
In the words of young forward Kent Johnson, who played a season-high 20:55 in Tuesday’s game, “I think it’s gonna be fun.”
“We’re all excited,” Johnson said. “I think he really grabbed the room today. I think you guys saw on the ice the energy and compete we played with. That was obviously a big focus. I thought our backchecking was better. I think it’s just exciting for everyone.”
Bowness could be enjoying the rest of the winter back on his boat, but being behind an NHL bench sounds like a lot more fun right now. That’s why it didn’t take long for him to say yes to the Jackets’ offer, especially once Judy was on board.
“Right away, we knew we made the right decision, so we felt relieved,” Bowness said. “We did. That’s all I can tell you. Ten seconds after fortunately (Waddell) took the call back and let me have the job, we’re looking at each other. We’re happy. We’re relieved. We’re back.”
