Arniel rounds out Jets coaching ranks with Chynoweth, Payne

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This article was published 17/06/2024 (473 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Scott Arniel has checked off an important item from his to-do list.

By the time the process of rounding out the Winnipeg Jets coaching staff came to its conclusion, he had interviewed 17 people for the two vacancies.

Coming out of the extensive process were a pair of NHL veteran assistants in Davis Payne and Dean Chynoweth, who officially joined the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

Payne, 53, spent the past five seasons working with D.J. Smith for the Ottawa Senators and has experience as a head coach with the St. Louis Blues. He spent two seasons as an associate coach with the Buffalo Sabres and five seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings — helping them win a Stanley Cup on Darryl Sutter’s staff in 2014 against the New York Rangers.

“With the success of (Payne’s power plays), with myself running the PK and going against some of his power plays and knowing how detailed they are and how he approaches that,” Arniel said Monday afternoon. “It’s evident he’s done it for a number of years. Not only that, but his ability to help with development. He’s been with a lot of those young kids in Ottawa over the last few years, whether that’s (Tim) Stutzle or (Drake) Batherson. I also heard good things about his relationship with Claude Giroux and the veteran guys.

“He also worked with guys like Justin Williams and (Anze) Kopitar in L.A. The unanimous thing you hear about him is that he puts in the time and the effort to care about the players. The body of work he’s created over the course of his coaching career has been really noticeable.”

Chynoweth and Payne join a coaching staff that also includes assistant coach Marty Johnston and goalie coach Wade Flaherty.

Payne will be responsible for the Jets’ power play and will run the forwards, while Chynoweth is tasked with overseeing the penalty kill and the defence.

Chynoweth, 55, spent the past three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and also has NHL coaching experience with the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders.

Chynoweth was part of consecutive Memorial Cup championship teams (serving as captain for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1988) and went on to play 11 pro seasons as a defenceman, including 241 NHL games with the Boston Bruins and Islanders, who chose him 13th overall in the 1987 NHL Draft.

He also spent nine seasons as a head coach in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos and four seasons as bench boss in the American Hockey League with the Lake Erie Monsters and San Antonio Rampage.

The Calgary product has worked with players such as Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Morgan Rielly in the NHL and with Tyson Barrie and Nikita Zadarov in the AHL — all of whom represent a wide variety of skill sets.

“With Dean, he’s a guy that’s been at a lot of different levels, whether that’s in the AHL or in junior,” said Arniel. “In the NHL, he’s worked with some elite players. He worked with that group in Carolina and then moved over to Toronto. In Carolina, he was a big part of their PK and we know that’s one of the better ones in the league over the last few years.

“His personality is very upbeat and positive, he’s really outgoing. The one thing in talking to players is how they felt unified as a group and with (Chynoweth) constantly checking in on them on the relationship side of things. Wherever he’s been, he’s had a good relationship with his players and I felt that was a real positive.”

Arniel wasn’t familiar with Chynoweth, other than monitoring his work in other stops and running into him at different events.

Helping Josh Morrissey in his pursuit of the Norris Trophy and integrating some of the young blue-liners such as Ville Heinola and eventually Elias Salmonsson will be among Chynoweth’s responsibilities.

“Defence is a big part of the game and we’ve felt like we’ve done a pretty good job over the last couple of years with our D,” said Arniel. “This is the next step.”

Payne, 53, was chosen in the seventh round of the 1989 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and played eight pro seasons as a forward, including 22 NHL games with the Bruins.

His coaching resume also includes seven seasons in the ECHL — capturing a Kelly Cup with the Anchorage Aces — and another three seasons in the AHL with the Peoria Rivermen.

Payne’s first NHL head coaching job with the Blues ended after just 137 games, as he was replaced by Ken Hitchcock 13 games into the 2011-12 season.

Arniel was dismissed by the Columbus Blue Jackets several weeks later and the two bonded over their shared experience.

“We had the same sort of timeline of doing the same things,” said Arniel. “We both got let go around the same time and that’s when I really first met him. I was out working for Vancouver and pre-scouting for the playoffs for (Alain Vigneault) and he was working for St. Louis and doing the same thing. We were in the same cities, at the same games and had a couple of meals together, so we’ve always been in contact over the years.”

Throughout the interview process, Arniel heard from a number of coaches with varying levels of experience.

“I was open to anything,” said Arniel. “I had some really good interviews. The people I talked to were younger and older. It was an interesting process, a fun process.

“With Dean and Davis, they just check so many boxes.”

With the coaching staff complete, Arniel’s focus shifts fully to the offseason.

“The free agency part has been going on since the day I got hired, but now it’s ramping up here,” said Arniel.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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