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The search is on for the fourth head coach in Winnipeg Jets 2.0 history.
Rick Bowness announced his retirement on May 6 after two years behind the Jets’ bench a stellar 38-year coaching career. There will be no “replacing” the 69-year-old, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said, in the sense there aren’t many out there as experienced, as respected by players, and as genuine a person as Bowness.
“Every time you get into a situation like this, you want to make sure that the next person can be their own selves as well,” Cheveldayoff said at Bowness’ retirement presser, where the topic of “who’s next” unavoidably arose. “This isn’t following Rick Bowness and all of the great work that he did. This is establishing, whoever that next person is, from that day moving forward. But it does take a special acknowledgment to understand the different levels of foundations that have been put in place here.”
The head coach from next season onwards will take over at a critical time for the franchise: the Jets’ contention window should be open for the next few seasons but they haven’t been able to get over the first-round hump since 2018 and need someone who can get them to the next level and ultimately a Stanley Cup. Here, we’ll take a look at some candidates.
Scott Arniel
Many see associate coach Scott Arniel as the heir apparent to the head-coaching gig, and perhaps rightfully so. After all, hiring him the same summer as Bowness seemed to be an exercise in succession planning, more than a matter of just bringing another experienced person with past organizational connections on board.
Arniel, 61, bolstered his case for the job when Bowness stepped away for a month early in the season to be with his wife Judy, who suffered a seizure. Arniel seemed comfortable taking on the a greater role, even in odd circumstances, leading them to a 9-2-2 record and ensuring Bowness didn’t return to a tire fire. Arniel also took over for a few games in March when Bowness was away due to a medical procedure.
It’s not like those stints were Arniel’s first rodeos of being in charge. He was the Columbus Blue Jackets’ bench boss for the 2010-11 season and half of the 2011-12 season and coached them to a 45-60-18 record before being fired in January, 2012. He was also the head coach of the Manitoba Moose from 2006 through 2010 — leading them to four-straight playoff berths and Calder Cup Final appearance in 2009 — and the head coach of the Chicago Wolves in 2012-13. He has also worked as an assistant or associate coach with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, and Washington Capitals.
Arniel was careful not to step into Bowness’ spotlight after the retirement presser, but said he does want the job and the organization knows that.
True North Sports & Entertainment is extremely loyal to their people, so it’s safe to assume Arniel — whose connections with Winnipeg go back to 1981, when he first played for the Jets 1.0 — is the frontrunner. He’d also be a logical choice considering he already has relationships with the players and has institutional knowledge of how to maintain the now-strong culture Bowness was integral to instilling.
However, Cheveldayoff and company have the luxury of having time on their side when it comes to a search. They shouldn’t just hand Arniel the reins because it’s the path of least resistance; it would behoove them to conduct a fulsome search and interview several candidates in case there’s someone better to lead the team into the future.
Dave Hakstol
The 55-year-old Hakstol most recently served as the first head coach in Seattle Kraken history but was recently fired after the team took a step back from their sophomore campaign and missed the playoffs after reaching the second round in 2022-23.
Hakstol is a defensive-minded coach whose teams give up very little by the way of chances, THW’s Edgar Chaput told me recently. In that sense, he could be a logical successor to Bowness. Chaput added that although Hakstol was fired, comments from Kraken GM Ron Francis that the Kraken perhaps over-achieved in 2022-23 and ended up this season closer to where they deserve indicate the issue was personnel, not coaching. Hakstol was a Jack Adams Award nominee in 2023 after the Kraken won 46 games;THW’s Neil Villapiano wrote at the time that players were buying into what Hakstol was preaching. There were some recent that players no longer wanted to play for Hakstol, but the Kraken have refuted them.
Hakstol also served as the Philadelphia Flyers’ head coach between 2015-16 and 2018-19, making the playoffs twice, and has an all-time NHL head-coaching record of 241-213-69. Between head coaching gigs, he was the assistant head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs between 2019 and 2021.
One thing an NHL head coach has to be good at these days is relating to young players. Players are entering the big leagues younger than ever and need mentorship from caring individuals to develop, not just hard-assery, bag skates, and benchings. Caring about players on and off the ice was something Bowness was excellent at and garnered him a lot of good will and loyalty.
Hakstol has experience mentoring, which ticks another box. In his role as head coach of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux/Fighting Hawks from 2004 through 2015, he led UND to the NCAA Frozen Four seven times and amassed an all-time NCAA record of 289-143-43. He won conference coach of the year awards in 2009 and 2015 and was an eight-time finalist for national coach of the year.
Jay Woodcroft
Jay Woodcroft was a casualty of the Edmonton Oilers’ poor start to the season, getting the axe after just 13 games in which they went 3-9-1 and were sagging under the weight of high expectations.
It was an inauspicious end to his tenure, and perhaps a case of overreaction by Oilers’ brass in response to what could be seen in retrospect as a talented team simply going through a slump.
Prior to his ouster, Woodcroft’s Oilers’ tenure was highly successful. He took the job in February, 2022 after Dave Tippett was fired and led the team to a 26-9-3 record down the stretch and to the Western Conference Final. In 2022-23, he led them to a 50-win season and to the second round, where they were knocked out by the eventual Stanley-Cup winning Vegas Golden Knights.
Woodcroft’s recent playoff success — he won the same number of series in two seasons as the Jets have in 13 since relocation — make him compelling and his winning pedigree is undeniable. Woodcroft led the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to a Calder Cup in 2021 and had a 105–71–21 record as head coach there, and also won the Stanley Cup as the Detroit Red Wings’ video coach in 2008.
Gerard Gallant
The most-highly decorated available coach, Gerard Gallant is a Jack Adams Award-winner and three-time nominee, winning the NHL coach of the year honours in 2018 for leading the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season (the run included rolling over the Jets in five games in the Western Conference Final.)
The 60-year-old PEI product is known as a player’s coach: a headstrong and sometimes-demanding guy who gets respect from his players for his communication skills and honesty. You don’t build the type of resume he has without being good at what you do.
Most recently, he was the New York Rangers’ head coach for two seasons and helped them capture 100-plus points in both campaigns. He led them to the Eastern Conference Final in 2021-22, but after they lost in the first round to the New Jersey Devils in 2022-23, he and the organization mutually parted ways. Reports surfaced of a loud argument between Rangers’ president/general manager Chris Drury and the coaching staff following one of the games in the series versus the Devils, indicating his departure may have been less about on-ice results and more about the fact Drury and Gallant fundamentally weren’t on the same page.
Prior to his time with the Rangers, Gallant was the first coach in Golden Knights’ history, amassing a 118-75-20 record before being fired in 2020 during a four-game losing streak despite still being five games over .500 at the time. The Golden Knights’ organization is nothing if not cutthroat.
Gallant was also the head coach of the Florida Panthers from 2014-2017 and of the Blue Jackets for parts of three seasons between 2003-2004 and 2006-07. He has an all-time NHL head coaching record of 369-262-4-70.
Gallant also clearly has no trouble getting the most out of young players in addition to processionals, as a stint in juniors after a tenure as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders illustrates. In three seasons as head coach of the QMJHL’s Saint John’s Sea Dogs between 2009 and 2012, he led them to three first-place finishes, three final appearances, two QMJHL championships (in 2011 and 2012) and one Memorial Cup (in 2011). He was named the QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League Coach of the Year twice.
Todd Nelson
Sometimes, it can be a bit funny to see NHL teams hiring guys who have been fired from multiple other head-coaching positions (granted, even the best coaches are bound to get fired at some point due to the nature of the job.) It can seem sometimes that the same 32 guys just cycle between different teams and that potential first-timers rarely get an opportunity.
If Cheveldayoff and company want to hire someone who isn’t a recycled product, they should look no further than Todd Nelson, who has had nothing but success in the AHL.
Nelson, 54, most recently led the Hershey Bears to the Calder Cup last season and guided them to a 53-win campaign this season. He also led the Grand Rapids Griffins to the Calder Cup in 2017, won a Calder Cup as an assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves in 2008, and has never missed the playoffs in eight seasons as an AHL head coach. He is one of only three people to ever win the Calder Cup as a player (he did that in 1994), assistant coach, and head coach.
Nelson also has 51 games of NHL head coaching experience with the Oilers; he moved up from the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons (the Oilers’ affiliate at the time) to take the reins on an interim basis after Dallas Eakins was fired. He was also an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars from 2018 through 2022, where he got to know then-head-coach Rick Bowness — and Bowness’ defensive schemes — that were critical to their 2020 Stanley Cup Final berth.
As we can see, there are no shortage of compelling candidates, and we didn’t even look at everyone available. It will be interesting to see whether the Jets try to hire someone before the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on June 28 in order to get his feedback on possible selections or if their search goes into July.
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