Waddell and Bowness’ press conference comes two days after club’s season came to a disappointing end.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness has agreed to an extension to stay with the club for at least one more season, according to reports.

TSN Reporter Pierre LeBrun posted on X  that Bowness is staying as the Blue Jackets head coach. SportsNet also reported that Bowness will sign an extension. Details have not been made public.

Further to @Aportzline here, hearing that Rick Bowness has agreed to an extension to stay on as HC of the Blue Jackets. Should be made official at 2 pm ET news conference. https://t.co/mdaFhHqHAy

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 16, 2026

Columbus’ president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell and Bowness are set to speak during a 2 p.m. press conference, which will be available to watch in this article and on 10TV+.

The reported extension comes two days after the club’s season came to a disappointing end.

The Blue Jackets were in last place in the Eastern Conference when the 71-year-old Bowness took over for Dean Evason as coach in January. 

Columbus went 18-2-4 in Bowness’ first 24 games and moved into a playoff spot after collecting a point in 12 straight games. The Blue Jackets went 3-9-1 down the stretch though and have missed the postseason for the sixth straight season.

The press conference comes two days after Bowness clearly expressed his frustration with how the season ended. 

Bowness said he should have voiced frustration a couple of weeks earlier. Had he done so, the Blue Jackets might have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020. 

“These guys, they don’t care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them. How can you go out and play like that?” Bowness said postgame. “This is why we’re out of the playoffs. That kind of effort. You have to hate losing. I don’t care if it’s a meaningless game. Show up and compete.”

Defenseman Zach Werenski disagreed with Bowness’ assessment that the players don’t care or don’t hate to lose, but also knew that the late-season collapse left everyone angry.

“I have a ton of respect for him. He loves us as players, and we love him as a coach,” Werenski said. “We need to learn how to win, and he can help us with that. He’s been around a long time and knows what it takes. We haven’t done it enough — it’s clear. But saying we don’t care or don’t hate to lose, I think that’s wrong.”

In addition to shifting the team’s culture, the Blue Jackets must address their inability to protect late leads. Over the course of this season, they blew 21 third-period leads. The backbreaker came on March 29 against Boston when Columbus was up 3-0 through two periods and lost 4-3 in a shootout.

“We have to learn how to win and get over that hump. That’s what our fans deserve, and we owe it to each other. It’s a tough lesson and will be a long summer thinking about it,” forward Adam Fantilli said.