Review: How did head coach Rick Bowness do as the Winnipeg Jets head coach
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The Winnipeg Jets have hired Scott Arniel as the successor to Rick Bowness, but just how good of a job did Bowness do in Winnipeg?
When analyzing Rick Bowness's tenure as head coach for the Winnipeg Jets, I think its important to consider the state of the organization before they brought him in. The Jets hired Bowness July 3, 2022, and his impact was almost immediate.
Before Bowness took the job as bench boss, the Jets posted a 39-32-11 record, and were just sixth in the Central Division. They missed the playoffs in 2021-22 and were plagued with inconsistency, chemistry issues, and dwindling attendance. As Bowness started implementing his new systems, the Jets managed to turn their season around in rockstar fashion.
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Bowness guided them back to the playoffs in 2022-23 (46-33-3, second wild card in the Western Conference) and then to an even better finish this season (52-24-6, second in the Central).
Last season, Winnipeg's 198 goals against were fewest in the NHL (tied with the Florida Panthers) and its 110 points were tied for fourth-best with the Panthers, behind the New York Rangers (114), Dallas Stars (113) and Carolina Hurricanes (111).
The Bowness effect is one of the most noteworthy head coaching takeovers in the NHL. Bowness admits theres aspect of his tenure as head coach he wishes had gone differently, but theres no denying he commanded the respect of the team and the Jets played extremely well under his leadership.
Over his 14 seasons as an NHL coach, Bowness was 310-408-37 with 48 ties in 803 games with the original Jets, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and current Jets.
| POLL | ||
10 AOUT | 118 ANSWERS Review: How did head coach Rick Bowness do as the Winnipeg Jets head coach Did Rick Bowness do a good job with the Jets? | ||
| Yes | 104 | 88.1 % |
| No | 14 | 11.9 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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