Jets’ coach Bowness gets first all-star nod

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This article was published 12/01/2024 (634 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Move over, Connor Hellebuyck. You’ve got some company at the all-star game.

Rick Bowness never got there as a player — he’ll be the first to joke that he wasn’t much of one at the NHL level — but the league’s most-tenured coach is finally heading there for his accomplishments behind the bench.

Bowness, who turns 69 later this month, will be the Central Division representative on account of his Winnipeg Jets having the best record by this weekend’s cutoff.

It will be his first trip to the NHL’s annual showcase of its best and brightest. This year’s festivities are being held in Toronto, with the skills event Feb. 2 and the four-team three-on-three tournament Feb. 3.

“Obviously that’s a tremendous tribute to Chevy (general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff). The team he’s put together. It’s obviously a great tribute to Scotty (Arniel) and the coaching staff who held this thing together for a month,” said Bowness, who took a 13-game leave of absence this year after his wife, Judy, suffered a seizure.

Winnipeg went 9-2-2 in that span.

“How many coaches get to leave their team for a month and continue to do well? And give the players a ton of credit. This group has worked hard from day one. They haven’t let up. They’ve kept their foot on the gas pedal,” said Bowness.

“So it’s a great group. This is a good team on the ice, and it’s a really good team off the ice. And that’s just as important.”

Hellebuyck, who is having another Vezina Trophy-calibre season, was already named Winnipeg’s on-ice all-star. Seeing the coach get to join him clearly resonated with the roster.

“I’m always happy to see him get rewarded for his work and the things that happened this year with Judy and stuff, it’s unbelievable what he’s overcome,” said forward Vlad Namestnikov, who has previously played for Bowness in Dallas and Tampa Bay.

“So we’re all happy for him and he’ll represent us well there.”

Bowness will be joined by colleagues Rick Tocchet (Vancouver Canucks, representing the Pacific Division), Peter Laviolette (New York Rangers, representing the Metropolitan Division) and either Jim Montgomery (Boston Bruins) or former Jets coach Paul Maurice (Florida Panthers), depending on the result of Saturday’s games on behalf of the Atlantic Division.

Bowness has been an NHL coach in some capacity since he started as an assistant with the Jets 1.0 in 1984-85. His time in the big leagues goes back even further to his debut as a player with the now-defunct Atlanta Flames in 1975-76.

“It’s awesome. It’s a testament to our team. It’s a testament to him. He’s done a great job for our team,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti.

“He’s done a great job with our team. We’re in a position where we’ve been able to be successful. It’s a testament to all of the guys in the room given how hard we are working and how good we’re playing. It’s just been a full, complete team effort — organization effort — to get to where we are today.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

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