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Jets head coach Bowness announces retirement

Rick Bowness Rick Bowness - The Canadian Press
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Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness announced his retirement on Monday after spending the past two seasons behind the bench with the team.

His decision comes a week after the team's first-round exit against the Colorado Avalanche and just days Bowness was named as a finalist for the 2023-24 Jack Adams Award. 

The Jets posted a 98-57-9 record over their past two seasons with Bowness as head coach. He oversaw a 15-point improvement this year that saw the team finish second in the Central Division with a 52-24-6 record.

Bowness has been behind an NHL bench for a record 2,726 games as either a head coach or assistant coach. He, along with Hall of Fame coaches Pat Quinn and Scotty Bowman are the only coaches with careers spanning five decades.

The 69-year-old got his first head coaching job with the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets during the 1988-89 season and has a career 310-408-37 record with 48 ties split between both iterations of the Jets, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, and Dallas Stars.

Bowness took a leave of absence a couple of times last season. Bowness missed 13 games early in the season after his wife took ill and then missed five games in March after undergoing a medical procedure.

More details to follow.