Bowness, the club’s head coach, will sign an extension with the team that is expected to be announced when he and general manager Don Waddell meet with the media for the end-of-season availability at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on Thursday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The decision comes less than 48 hours after Bowness delivered an emotional post-game rant following the Blue Jackets’ loss to Washington in the regular-season finale in which he vowed to change things if he was extended.
“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 after the 2-1 loss on Tuesday. “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.
“If I’m back, we’re changing this freaking culture,” he continued. “I’ve been around long enough to know. I’ll find ways. I’ve got enough experience. I’ve dealt with this. I’ve dealt with it before. If we’re back, we’ll straighten it out.”
Bowness came out of retirement and took over as head coach on Jan. 12 after Columbus fired Dean Evason.
The 71-year-old Bowness led the Blue Jackets into playoff spot after posting an 18-2-4 record over his first 24 games, but the team faltered late with a 3-9-1 closing stretch.
He finished his first season in Columbus 21-11-5, good for a .635 points percentage. It marked one of only two seasons in his head coaching career he posted a points percentage above .600, with his best being the 110-point campaign with Winnipeg in 2023-24.