Rick Bowness was hired as coach of the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
The 67-year-old replaces Dave Lowry, who was 26-22-6 in 54 games after Paul Maurice resigned Dec. 17. Bowness began his NHL coaching career as an assistant with the Jets in 1984-85 and was 8-17-0 with three ties in 28 games as their coach in 1988-89.
“I’m tremendously excited to be returning to Winnipeg,” Bowness said. “I’m appreciative of this chance presented to me by (general manager) Kevin Cheveldayoff, Mark Chipman and the ownership group. We have an exciting group of talented young players with the Jets. So now my focus immediately turns to what it will take to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
Bowness was 89-62-25 in three seasons with the Stars coach after replacing Jim Montgomery on Dec. 10, 2019, including guiding them to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, when they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This season, the Stars were 46-30-6 and earned the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They lost the first round to the Calgary Flames in seven games.
“We’re very excited to hire Rick Bowness as the third head coach of Jets 2.0,” Cheveldayoff said. “Rick brings a wealth of experience and knowledge, both in the NHL coaching ranks and as a player and coach in the city of Winnipeg. Rick is a fantastic hockey mind and an even better person and we’re confident he will lead this team to new heights.”
Bowness is 212-351-28 with 48 ties in 639 regular-season games as coach of the Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Jets, and 26-23 in 49 postseason games. He holds the NHL record with 2,563 games as a coach or assistant.
Bowness is the ninth coach to be hired since the conclusion of the regular season. Lane Lambert was hired by the Islanders on May 16, Bruce Cassidy replaced Peter DeBoer as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights on June 17, John Tortorella was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers on June 17, DeBoer was hired by the Stars on June 21, Maurice was hired by the Florida Panthers on June 22, Luke Richardson was hired by the Chicago Blackhawks on June 27, Derek Lalonde was hired by the Detroit Red Wings on June 30, and Montgomery was hired by the Bruins on July 1.
The San Jose Sharks are the only team without a coach after firing Bob Boughner on July 1.
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