Coaching is a drug, it seems. It’s one that Rick Bowness obviously can’t get enough of. He got out and tried to stay out, but the lure of working with players dragged him back in.
But he swears it’s the last time.
“This has been a lot of fun. Am I glad I came out of retirement to do this? Absolutely,” Bowness, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ interim head coach said Thursday morning. “You guys are associating that with the wins, and I’m not. I’m associating it with what I missed the most. That was working with the players and spending time with them. Working with them and getting to know them. And I really, really missed that.
“But I’m not taking my mind off what we have to do today and tomorrow. We’ll deal with this at the end of the year. That’s when it should be dealt with. All the focus should be on what we have to do to get this team into the playoffs.”
Bowness, 71, was hired by Columbus on Jan. 12 to replace Dean Evason. The Blue Jackets (19-19-7) were last in the Eastern Conference at the time — seven points removed from the final wild-card berth after narrowly missing the playoffs last season.
The team has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis under Bowness, going 19-3-4 with the affable career coach and improving to 38-22-11 overall. Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, Columbus was second in the Metropolitan Division.
Bowness wants none of the credit.
“It’s all about communication,” he said. “When I started coaching, I was younger than some of the players. I coach the way I wanted to be coached. Talk to the players. Let them know where they stand. You’re able to adapt to them if you get to know them and get to understand them better. You only get to do that by communicating with them.
“Have the generations changed since the ’80s, when I got into this? Absolutely. You adapt or you die. I can adjust to them. I bring up Led Zeppelin, and they have no idea what I’m talking about. I always tell them, ‘If you want to keep me out of your room, keep playing that music you play.’ “
Bowness, who has spent 44 years coaching pro hockey, was on his boat near his home in Boca Raton, Fla., when he received a text from Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell inquiring about his interest. He and his wife, Judy, jumped at the opportunity.
Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness yells during the first period of Game 4 playoff on April 28, 2024, in Denver. David Zalubowski /AP
Taking a team over during the season is nothing new for the Moncton, N.B., native. He went to Dallas in December 2019, leading the Stars to the Stanley Cup final — a six-game loss to Tampa Bay. Bowness has coached in Boston, Ottawa, New York (Islanders), Phoenix and Winnipeg. He retired from the Jets in May 2024 after the team was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. The decision was largely determined by health concerns, including a significant medical emergency affecting his wife. Bowness took a leave of absence the previous October after his wife suffered a seizure.
While Bowness has adapted to the players, he also has evolved with the speed of the game and the players’ skill. In his first team meeting, Bowness addressed analytics on the defensive side of the puck, especially the amount of goals being surrendered and the shots allowed. He also spoke about commitment, telling the players if that area wasn’t respected, the team had no shot at making the playoffs.
“The one term I’ve always hated and don’t want to see associated with my name is ‘old school,’ ” he said. “I don’t like that term at all, and I never want to be viewed as that, other than for music.
“The team has turned it around. The players have turned it around,” Bowness added. “They’re the ones who have to go on the ice and make that decision about blocking shots. Am I going to backcheck hard? Go to the net? They all need direction. You give them direction you think’s going to help them. A little direction, then get out of the way and let them play.”
And play they have.
“He came in and obviously gave us a fresh look,” said former Canadiens forward Sean Monahan, who played 34 games under Bowness with Winnipeg in 2023-24. “He has the knowledge to know the little details of how to win. We’ve kind of run with that. He’s got a lot of strengths. He’s easy to talk to. He came in and gave us a boost.
“The whole group here, we’d go through the wall for him.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com