Bowness back behind bench

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This article was published 24/11/2023 (683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SUNRISE, Fla. — Try as he might, there was just no way Rick Bowness was going to be able to pass this off as just another day at the office.

Whether it was greeting each of his players with a firm handshake, a smile and a hug as he walked into the dressing room or the joy on his face as he barked out encouragement during the morning skate or even in the way he answered questions in the scrum with reporters, emotion was the order of the day as the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets was right back in his element.

After being away from the team for much of the nearly five weeks after his wife, Judy, suffered a seizure, it was abundantly clear the Bowness family had gone through a scary situation.

“Judy is doing about as well as we could expect,” Bowness said Friday morning. “We’ve taken steps with our kids that when I’m on the road that she will spend nights with them, so she won’t ever spend another night alone.

“She’s getting stronger every day. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t comfortable leaving her for a couple of hours.”

There were several times during the conversation when Bowness was still a bit shaken up.

“When you go through life, there are always life-changing moments and that was certainly a life-changing moment for us,” said Bowness, who has been in Boca Raton, Fla., with Judy for about 10 days. “It was emotional. I was in Winnipeg a couple of weeks ago and I met with the players, just to give them an update. I hold myself to the same standards that I hold them. You have to be all-in. You can’t have one foot out the door. At that point, a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t give them all of me. Judy needed me. That’s why I stayed away a little longer than I thought. That’s life.”

Bowness went out of his way to thank the entire Jets organization for its unwavering support throughout the process, shouting out the entire coaching staff, players, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and chairman and co-owner Mark Chipman.

Family is a word and concept that gets thrown around a lot in professional sports, but this was another tangible example of it being more than just a catchphrase.

“Obviously, with his situation with Judy and everything, it’s a step forward. It means she is starting to do better and that’s the most important thing,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “He certainly was around the team even when he wasn’t here, sending guys messages, talking. It’s different. Having his presence back in the room, feeling that energy, you feel the love for the game. He’s got so much knowledge, so much passion for it. It’s really great to have him back.”

Bowness is a hockey lifer, but his willingness to put his career on hold to ensure his wife got proper care was another reminder about why he’s held in such regard around the league.

“The collective hockey community all understands how important it is when something serious happens to your family and (it) has to come first,” said Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. “We’re happy he’s back.”

AROUND THE GLASS:

The hockey world is still buzzing — and deservedly so — over Zach Benson.

The 18-year-old former star with the Winnipeg Ice scored one of the most incredible first NHL goals you’ll ever see this week, pulling the puck between his legs and then somehow tucking it over the shoulder of Washington Capitals netminder Darcy Kuemper and just under the crossbar.

“I’m just trying to do the move that I think is going to work, and I just kind of let my instincts take over,” Benson, the 13th-overall pick for Buffalo in last summer’s NHL Draft said following the game. The Sabres eventually lost 4-3 in overtime.

It’s been quite a stretch for Benson, which included a homecoming of sorts last week when he got to play in front of family and friends at Canada Life Centre against the Jets, and then learning he would be sticking around with the big club.

By playing in his 10th game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, the first year of his entry-level deal will now be burned. Teams will often send junior-eligible players back before they hit that mark, but Benson has made quite an impression and earned a longer look.

It’s still possible the Sabres eventually return him to the Western Hockey League, or perhaps loan him to Team Canada for the world junior championship next month. Regardless of how it plays out, his personal highlight reel already includes a jaw-dropper.

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It wasn’t nearly as pretty, but no doubt the first goal of the season scored by Winnipegger Ryan Reaves on Friday — officially the 60th of his 843-game career — brought a major sense of relief.

Reaves, 36, has been under an intense spotlight with the Toronto Maple Leafs after signing a three-year contract last summer. The early returns were alarming, to say the least: 14 games, no goals, no assists and a ghastly minus-11.

He wasn’t brought in for his offence, but he can’t continue to be a liability when he’s on the ice. After being a healthy scratch in three consecutive outings, Reaves was back in the lineup for a matinee against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“He is an important part of our team. He is a presence around our room. He is continuing to keep a good attitude, which we have loved. A professional all the way through,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said prior to puck drop.

Reaves rewarded the pre-game confidence displayed by his bench boss, scoring with a nifty net-front tip.

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The NHL has quite a self-inflicted mess on its hands.

Minnesota Wild goalie (and longtime Jets nemesis) Marc-Andre Fleury went and had a special mask created in honour of his team celebrating Native American Heritage Night on Friday. It was meant to honour his wife, who is of Indigenous descent, and includes the names of their children and quotes from his own father.

A nice gesture, right? Not according to the league, which has stated that players are not allowed, under any circumstance, to wear specialized equipment for any cause. The one exception now is Pride tape, but that only came after severe backlash and Arizona Coyotes defenceman Travis Dermott defying the ruling.

Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to blast the situation.

“The NHL refusing to allow Marc-Andre Fleury from wearing a custom designed mask Native American Heritage Night (even in warm ups) is all you need to know about Gary Bettman’s NHL,” wrote Walsh.

“Hockey is for everyone?”

Walsh added that Fleury was going to go ahead and do it anyways and pay the fine out of his own pocket but “the NHL then threatened the Wild organization with an additional significant fine.”

Either the league backed down or Fleury and his team decided it was worth the risk as he ultimately donned the headwear.

Fleury is now planning to autograph the mask and have it up for bid at auction, with proceeds going to the Minnesota Wild Foundation and the American Indian Family Centre.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg