New-look Blue Jackets hope for a winning culture shift
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Can the Blue Jackets recapture the magic of head coach Rick Bowness' start from last season? Photo: Jason Mowry/Getty Images
The puck drops on the Blue Jackets' 2026-2027 campaign Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. What can fans expect from the often-floundering franchise?
Why it matters: After narrowly missing the playoffs last season, preseason talk has been all about changing the culture of a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2020.
Flashback: Last season got off to an awful start, resulting in the Jackets firing head coach Dean Evason in January.
- Retired 70-year-old Rick Bowness returned to the league to take his place, and made an immediate difference.
- Columbus put together an astonishing 19-3-4 run in Bowness' first 26 games to rocket into playoff position, but sputtered down the stretch and missed the postseason.
Behind the scenes: Bowness, who's been to a Stanley Cup Final, inherited a team he believes isn't used to winning.
- After the team's season-ending loss, he gave a fiery interview that rang true with many Columbus fans.
- "I don't know if I'm back, but if I'm back, I'm changing this culture. Losing is not important enough. It doesn't bother them. How can you go out and play like that?"
The latest: After star attacker Kirill Marchenko gave an extremely awkward interview that got him booed at home, the team made the blockbuster trade of the preseason in an attempt to fix that team culture.
- The Jackets sent Marchenko, injured goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and forward Miles Wood to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matthew Knies and Steven Lorentz and defenseman Emil Andrae.
- The trade makes Columbus younger, and likely sets up rising goaltender Jet Greaves for the full-time job.
Between the blue lines: If the new-look Jackets can recapture the magic of the early Bowness tenure, they can compete for a postseason spot — but they'll need to find some solutions.
- Losing Marchenko's offense is a big blow. Multiple young players will need to step up.
What we're watching: Columbus leaned hard on superstar Zach Werenski last year, who played among the most minutes in hockey. Can he withstand that again?
- And Greaves has looked good, but is he ready to truly take the reins?
📺 How to watch: The Blue Jackets Hockey Network is the team's new home, streaming on Prime Video and Fubo.
- In a last-minute addition, the network will also be on Spectrum TV.
- Some nationally broadcast games will be on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+/Hulu and TNT.
🥅 What's next: Thursday night's matchup against the Buffalo Sabres kicks off a three-game home stand to start the season.