Rick Bowness agreed to a contract on Thursday to return as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets next season.

Bowness led Columbus to a 21-11-5 record after taking over for Dean Evason on Jan. 12.

“Rick has done an outstanding job since his arrival and it was obvious to all of us that he is the right person to lead our club as head coach,” President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell said in a statement. “Rick developed strong relationships with our players who will continue to benefit greatly from his leadership as we look to learn from the hard lessons of this season and work towards our goal of competing for a Stanley Cup.”

The Blue Jackets were in last place in the Eastern Conference when Bowness arrived. They went 18-2-4 in Bowness’ first 24 games and moved into a playoff spot after collecting a point in 12 straight games.

But Columbus struggled down the stretch, going 3-9-1 to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season.

Bowness gave his players a lot to think about after a 2-1 season-ending loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. He launched into a 3-minute rant on the team's effort and that “losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them."

He also said that if he was back "we’re changing this freaking culture. 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 is expected to be the league's oldest coach at 71 when next season begins. He has a 331-419-48-42 record in stints with the Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets (twice), Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.

Columbus went 40-30-12 this season, the first time it has posted 40 games two straight seasons since 2018-19. The 92 points this season are the fifth-highest point total in club history, but the first time the team had at least 90 points and didn't make the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets have Zach Werenski, who led the team with 81 points and is among the favorites for the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

Center Charlie Coyle and left wing Mason Marchment, along with captain Boone Jenner, will be unrestricted free agents. Adam Fantilli, the third pick in the 2023 draft, is a restricted free agent in line for a lucrative extension.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Alex Ovechkin had an assist on the go-ahead goal in what perhaps will be the final game of his record-breaking career and the Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Tuesday night in the season finale for both teams.

Ovechkin had the second assist on Jakob Chychrun's power-play goal with 4:07 remaining in the third period. He finished the season leading the Capitals with 32 goals and 64 points

Anthony Beauvillier also scored for Washington and Clay Stevenson stopped 27 shots.

Boone Jenner scored for Columbus and Jet Greaves made 19 saves.

Ovechkin — the league’s all-time leading goal scorer with 929 — is in the final season of his contract and said he is waiting until after the season before deciding on his future.

The Capitals have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for just the fifth time since Ovechkin was drafted in 2004.

The 40-year-old Russian became the fifth player age 40 or older in NHL history to play in all 82 regular-season games. The last one to do it was Jaromir Jagr with the Florida Panthers in 2016-17.

It is the fifth time in 21 seasons Ovechkin has not missed a regular-season game.

The Blue Jackets were in last place in the Eastern Conference when Rick Bowness replaced Dean Evason as coach on Jan. 12.

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.

Jenner snapped a shot from the slot that beat Stevenson on his blocker side 27 seconds into the second period.

Beauvillier evened it 10 minutes later when he got behind the Blue Jackets' defense, took a long pass from Trevor Van Riemsdyk and beat Greaves with a wrist shot on the breakaway.

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