‘I knew in my heart it was time’ Bowness bows out as Jets coach; NHL a better place because of people like Rick, says captain Lowry By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 11:45 AM CDT Monday, May. 6, 2024 Last Modified: 6:10 PM CDT Monday, May. 6, 2024 Updates

When he reached the end of the handshake line last Tuesday, Rick Bowness took a long hard look into the stands and came to a stark realization as he took those final steps off the ice and made his way back down the tunnel and into the Winnipeg Jets dressing room.

After dedicating so much of his life to the sport of hockey and getting so much out of it, it was time to call it a career as a coach.

“Honestly it’s walking off the ice after Tuesday night. It is,” said Bowness. “I didn’t like the way our team played, which is on me. So I was unhappy with myself, unhappy that we had lost, and that bothered me. But as I was standing there and I was looking around, it dawned on me.

“Coaches have always told me — and I’m talking to the older coaches, older than me — and they’ve always said, ‘You’ll know when it’s time.’ And when I was looking around, and just, I wasn’t happy with the job I had done, and it just hit me then, it’s time.’

Bowness told the rest of the coaching staff about his decision about an hour after the conclusion of Game 5, when the Colorado Avalanche eliminated the Jets with a 6-3 victory to secure the opening-round series.

“I knew in my heart it was time,” said Bowness.

In his two seasons back with the 2.0 version of the Jets, Bowness had an outstanding impact both on and off the ice.

Although playoff success didn’t follow (they went 2-8 against the Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights), that doesn’t take away from what Bowness was able to accomplish both on and off the ice.

This past season, the Jets tied a franchise record for wins (52) and set another for road wins (25) while securing the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL (199).

Bowness represented the Jets at the NHL All-Star festivities in Toronto in February and was also nominated for the Jack Adams Award as the top coach in the NHL.

“When I leave, I just want to be remembered (that) I just love the game, and I respected the game.” –Rick Bowness

When addressing the players after the defeat last week, Jets captain Adam Lowry admitted he had an inkling Bowness might be done, though he wasn’t sure until he reached out Sunday night with the news he was stepping away for good.

“Anyone you talk to in the game of hockey will have nothing but good things to say about Bones,” said Lowry. “An incredible communicator. The environment and the atmosphere in the room and what he was able to do to foster a room of inclusivity. He really made sure everyone had a voice. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Lowry praised Bowness for his ability to connect with players and to show he cares about them on a personal level.

That’s a trait Bowness has shown since his playing days, as Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill can attest to.

“He had it as a player. He was competitive, he played hard. When he got into the coaching business, he had that same passion but he was very supportive of the players. He cares about people,” Nill said from Dallas on Monday. “He would push people, but that’s because he cares about you and he wanted you to be the best you could be. And he did that with everybody.”

His personal nature didn’t just apply to players, coaches or staff either.

“One of the things I love about Rick Bowness is that you fly all over the country going into different rinks and it didn’t matter what rink you walked into, but when you walked into the bowels of the building of the arena, he knew the security guards, he knew the trainers,” said Nill. “They just appreciated who he was. They remembered him and they respected him. He just had time for people and that’s a great trait as a human being.

“To see what he did with his coaching record, the number of games that he’s coached (2,726), it’s an amazing testament and that just shows you how much people valued him as a person leading the club.”

Bowness shared the podium with Kevin Cheveldayoff on Monday afternoon and before he started taking questions, he joked with the Jets general manager about talking him out of retirement two summers ago, when he was originally hired.

There were several emotional moments for Bowness as he spoke about his journey.

“When I leave, I just want to be remembered (that) I just love the game, and I respected the game,” said Bowness. “I love this league. I respect the league. Over the years as you age, you hope you have an impact on your players’ lives off the ice, on the ice and that’s been more important to me over the last 10 years.”

Questions about what he planned to do in the future were met with a shrug of the shoulders.

“He really made sure everyone had a voice. I can’t say enough good things about him.”–Adam Lowry

When you make a decision of this magnitude, it’s impossible to know if you’re going to be ready to contribute to an organization in another capacity right away, though Bowness made it clear that he would be watching on TV and he would be sharing his opinions with players and coaches.

“One thing that Bones always was and is is he’s been authentic,” said Cheveldayoff. “Just a great hockey coach and an even better person. Just so thankful that he picked up my phone call that day that we called a couple years ago.”

Bowness, 69, thanked his wife Judy and his family for their unwavering support over the years.

He said he had no regrets, noting he’d done some stupid things over the years but always learned from them.

“You have to be true to yourself and that’s the biggest thing,” said Bowness. “My goal was never to be the best coach in the league. My goal was to be the best coach I could be, and to be that, you’ve got to be honest with yourself.”

When it comes to the legacy Bowness — who played for the 1.0 version of the Jets and was later an assistant coach and head coach for the franchise — is leaving behind, that is easy to pinpoint.

“Over his five decades in this game…. I think the NHL’s a better place because of people like Rick and the amount of time and sacrifice him and Judy and their family have had to put in over their incredible career… He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” said Lowry. “You talk about someone who left it better than when he came in, I think Rick really embodies that.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld