Winnipeg Jets HC to make return vs. Panthers

The Winnipeg Jets have announced that head coach Rick Bowness has returned to the team after taking a leave of absence to be with his wife following a medical emergency. 

Bowness left the team a month ago and associate coach Scott Arniel served as interim head coach while Bowness was with his family.

Bowness will officially rejoin the team and serve as head coach on Friday when the Jets take on the Florida Panthers. Winnipeg surprisingly sits in third place in the Central Division with an 11-5-2 record, they trail division leaders the Dallas Stars by just two points.

Bowness met up with the Jets in Sunrise, Florida today and the team posted a video of the 68-year-old circling the club's dressing room and greeting the players. The Jets rallied after a slow start to the season and managed to go 9-2-2 in Bowness’s absence. With their head coach now back in the fold, the Jets appear poised to go on a run as one of the feel-good stories in the early part of the NHL season.