(Winnipeg) Rick Bowness does not take offense at having been the second choice of the Jets.
Posted yesterday at 5:05 p.m.
The Winnipeg squad’s new head coach attended his first press conference on Monday, just over a week after the Jets’ first target, Barry Trotz, declined the team’s offer to spend more time with their family.
“If I had been in their place, I would have tried to hire Trotzy. It’s as simple as that,” laughed Bowness, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff at his side.
“Trotzy was the perfect guy for this position. I understand. With his credentials, I would have done the same thing Chevy did. I received a nice text message from Trotzy a few days ago. It didn’t work and that’s okay. So do I feel bad for being their second choice? Absolutely not. I would have done the same. He would have been my first choice. »
Cheveldayoff added that he quickly turned to Bowness.
“Barry has made the decision to take care of his family, which is admirable. When it became obvious, I immediately reached out to Rick, to see if there was a synergy, an opportunity. »
Bowness resigned from his position with the Dallas Stars after last season. He went 89-62-25 in 176 games over nearly three seasons. In the playoffs, the Stars went 18-16 under him.
The 67-year-old Moncton man, who signed a two-year contract on Sunday, is the eighth head coach in franchise history and the third since the team relocated from Atlanta in 2011.
Bowness said ex-Jet Scott Arniel, who served as an assistant coach at Washington this season, has been hired as an associate coach.
A former right-winger, Bowness finished his 173-game NHL career with the Jets in 1982. He also began his coaching career with the club in 1988-89, when he coached the team for the 28 last games of the season. He is 211-351-76 as a head coach in almost 12 seasons.
He’ll have a lot to do with the Jets, who fell short of expectations by missing the playoffs this season, the seventh time since the team returned to Winnipeg.
Several players have expressed frustration over the last campaign, during which Paul Maurice tendered his resignation in December. Dave Lowry completed the season and the team finished with a 39-32-11 record.
“He missed something,” Bowness said of the Jets’ final season. I won’t say more because I wasn’t there. But they have deviated from their path.
“But if you look at their training, the way they’ve been competitive for a while, we just have to work everyone together, players included, to get the club back on track. »