Jets happy to see ‘lifer coach’ Bowness back in NHL with Blue Jackets

Rick Bowness’ nickname is “Bones.” But now that the Columbus Blue Jackets have lured him out of retirement, Winnipeg Jets coach Scott Arniel has another idea.

“I guess change his nickname to ‘The Fixer,’” Arniel said.

Columbus hired Bowness on Monday to replace Dean Evason and will reevaluate after the season. The 70-year-old had retired after his second season as Winnipeg’s coach on May 6, 2024, because he and his wife, Judy, had health issues.

“We’ve talked here the last little bit,” Arniel said. “He was pretty surprised when he got the call. I think everybody’s surprised, certainly about what happened there. Yeah, we chatted about it. He asked me my opinion, and certainly the biggest thing for him, he just talked about his health, how good he feels, how good Judy feels. They’ve just felt that they got away and got healthy. He’s a lifer. He’s a lifer coach.”

Bowness has spent 2,726 games as an assistant, associate or head coach, an NHL record, including 802 games as a head coach, guiding seven teams to a combined record of 309-408-37 with 48 ties.

He helped the Jets go 52-24-6 in 2023-24 and was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which is awarded to the NHL coach of the year. He missed 11 games after his wife had a seizure and four more due to a minor medical procedure that season.

“Obviously, I know how much he loves the game, and he’s been a fixture in the NHL for so long,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “I really enjoyed having him as a coach. It was nice to hear that he was feeling really good and he’s in a position where he feels he can come back and coach with this opportunity. So, I’m excited for him, but first and foremost, I’m happy that he’s in a great spot.”

Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov is too.

“He loves hockey, he’s a great guy and I guess he couldn’t stay away from hockey for too long,” he said. “I’m happy he’s back, and he’s going to do a good job in Columbus.”

Bowness was working for TNT and talked to Arniel often.

“He was working for the media, so I thought he was looking for inside scoops,” Arniel said. “But no, that’s why I’m not overly surprised that he’s going into Columbus. He’s been doing some TV, but he’s been watching games all the time and critiquing things.”

The Blue Jackets (19-19-7) are last in the Eastern Conference -- seven points behind the Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins, who are tied for the second wild card in the East -- entering their game against the Calgary Flames at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, SNW).

Bowness said the immediate issues are the goals against, shots against, penalty kill, slot chances against and rush chances against.

“No matter where he’s been, his mindset has always been about defending first, and that’s an area people have been talking about with Columbus needing to improve on,” Arniel said. “Whatever their situation is, I’m not overly concerned. We have our own stuff we’re working on here, but at the end of the day, he’s the fixer. He’ll go in, and he’ll find some things that need to be improved on, and he’ll go at them hard.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Darrin Bauming contributed to this report