Columbus Blue Jackets: 2026 IIHF World Championships Update
The Columbus Blue Jackets sent three players to the 2026 IIHF World Championships in Switzerland.
Video Transcript
Mike, where do the Blue Jackets go from here?
I mean, we've credited Rick Bowness coming in with a lot of their turnaround in the second half.
But knowing that he is sort of, you know, a, a temporary, presumably a temporary fix there, what, what do you think they're missing really in order to truly take the next step?
Well, Columbus was in Buffalo recently.
I talked to a couple reporters, and it sounded as if Bowness may come back for next year, that, you know, they had a lot of success, and he's, he's a really good coach and, you know, if he signs on for a year or two, I know he's, I think he's in his late 60s or early 70s.
You know, he, you know, this is some- this is something that he loves.
But I mean, honestly, when you look at the Columbus Blue Jackets roster, the thing that stands out is, you know, you've got three players in, in Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment, and Boone Jenner, who's their captain, who are all unrestricted free agents.
So the first thing is to get them re-signed and, you know, we-- in a very thin free agent pool, it's gonna be tough to do that, even if they have cap space
