Montreal (AFP) – Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness retired on Monday after more than 40 years of coaching, departing a week after his club had been knocked out of the NHL playoffs.
The 69-year-old Canadian guided Dallas into the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, where the Stars lost to Tampa Bay, but was unable to win another playoff series in four final campaigns, two with Dallas and the past two with Winnipeg.
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The Jets went 98-57 with nine overtime losses in two seasons under Bowness but were ousted each time in the first round of the playoffs, falling to Colorado this season after matching a club record with 52 wins.
Bowness has a career NHL head coaching record of 310-408 with 48 drawn and 37 overtime losses over 14 seasons with Winnipeg, Boston, Ottawa, the New York Islanders, Phoenix and Dallas.
He also served as an associate coach from 2013-2018 with Tampa Bay.
“This game has given us a tremendous lifestyle that we never could have dreamed of as kids,” Bowness said.
“We still love it, still have the passion for it. As I tell the players, every day in this league is a blessing. We’re treated so well.”
“I just love the game. It has been my life.”
Bowness played 173 NHL games as a forward for the Atlanta Flames, St. Louis Blues and the Jets before starting as a coach in the Jets organization in 1982, reaching the Stanley Cup Final as an assistant with Vancouver in 2011 and Tampa Bay in 2015 and with the Stars in 2020.
His 2,726 combined games as head coach, associate or assistant coach are the most in NHL history.
The retirement leaves three NHL teams without a coach, the Jets joining the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken.
© 2024 AFP
