Rick Bowness was brought in by the Winnipeg Jets two seasons ago to change the culture within the locker room, and to implement a defensive structure that others around the league would take note of. In a very short time, he completed those goals and left a lasting impact on the Jets organization.
Bowness officially announced his retirement on Monday, May 6, wrapping up a stellar 38-year career as a coach in the NHL. Bowness’ impact on hockey will be dearly missed, but even more so, he will be remembered for the respect he has earned league-wide for being an incredible human being and giving his respect to others.
Rick Bowness Announces Retirement After 38 Seasons Coaching
Bowness’ 2,726 games coached are the most in NHL history, 802 of which he was the head coach for his teams. He was the head coach for the Jets, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Arizona Coyotes over the span of his 38-year career as coach. In his press conference, he mentioned how important his relationships with his players were to him as he reached the later stages of his career.
“I just loved the game,” Bowness said while fighting back tears during his press conference. “Right? And I respected the game. I love this league, I respect the league. I hope over my career, it’s not about winning the Stanley Cup, that’s important too. Over the years, as you age, you hope you have an impact on your player’s lives. Off the ice, on the ice, and that’s been more important to me over the last 10 years.”
A big part of changing that culture was the decision to strip Blake Wheeler of the captaincy and go without a captain for a season, before handing the ‘C’ to Adam Lowry. Lowry was in attendance for Bowness’ retirement press conference, and shared the respect he had for his head coach of the past two seasons.
“Most games coached, ever,” Lowry said on Bowness’ career. “You talk about someone who left better than when he came in, I think Rick really embodies that.”
Lowry also took the time to explain how often Bowness checks in on him and the players throughout the room, and expressed the importance of having a coach who consistently shows that they care. Bowness mentioned this as being something that was within his control as a head coach, and it’s something he took great pride in.
“I’ve had some runs at the Stanley Cup, and things happen that are out of your control. What is in your control every day is the impact that you can have on your players, on and off the ice. That is within a coach’s control, and I’ve always taken great pride in that.”
Jets’ 2023-24 Success a Product of Bowness’ Defensive System
In a short period of time, Bowness changed the way the Jets play hockey. He often referred to a strong defensive effort as “Winnipeg Jets hockey”, which became a trademark for how they wanted to play.
Former Bowness-coached players who now play against the Jets have referred to this as “Bones hockey”, further showing his impact on this roster and his ability to get players to buy in defensively. Look no further than the 2023-24 William M. Jennings trophy, given to the team with the fewest goals allowed during the regular season, as a testament to what he coached into his players.
“I couldn’t have picked a better place to come back to and finish my career, Bowness said on Monday afternoon. “It’s been a real honour for me to coach the Winnipeg Jets again.”
This past season, Winnipeg set a long list of franchise records. Their 52-24-26 record tied a franchise record for wins in a season from 2017-18 (52), 25 of which were road wins, which was also a franchise record. two franchise-record winning streaks of eight games, and a point streak of 14 games. Along with those, they set a franchise record and tied an NHL record, by going 35 straight games allowing three goals or fewer.
Bowness was also named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the first time in his career in 2023-24, which goes to show the respect he and the Jets were given throughout the regular season. His record as Jets’ head coach (98-57-9) is an indication of his impact, as the Jets finished fourth-best in the NHL in 2023-24, and first place in regulation wins (46).
The Jets now are left with a vacant head coaching position which they will look to fill over the offseason. It could be current associate coach Scott Arniel, or an outside candidate, but General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff remained non-committal on the approach they will take to choosing their next coach, given the fresh nature of this change. Because of Rick Bowness, the new head coach will be stepping into a locker room culture that has drastically improved over the past two seasons, and the expectation that the Jets remain a playoff team, year in and year out.
More must-reads: