Jets announce Rick Bowness will miss Monday’s game to rest after recovering from COVID-19
Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will not be behind the bench for Monday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
The Jets announced Monday afternoon that Bowness will take some time to rest after recently overcoming COVID-19. Scott Arniel will take over head coaching duties for the Jets as they host the Blues at Canada Life Centre.
PERSONNEL UPDATE: #NHLJets Head Coach Rick Bowness will not be behind the bench for tonight’s game vs. St. Louis Blues in order to get more rest following his recent bout with COVID. Scott Arniel will assume the head coaching duties.
— Winnipeg Jets PR (@WpgJetsPR) October 24, 2022
Bowness, 67, experienced spells of dizziness during the Jets’ pre-game skate and had to cut his media availability short on Monday morning.
The veteran head coach performed his duties for the Jets in Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs after recovering from COVID-19 over the preceding week.
Bowness missed the Jets’ first four games of the regular season while dealing with his illness. Winnipeg fell 4–1 against the Maple Leafs on Saturday to fall to 2–3–0 on the year.
Since starting his NHL head coaching career with the original Winnipeg Jets back in 1988–89, Bowness has served as the bench boss for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, and Dallas Stars before returning to Winnipeg this past summer.
Bowness reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Stars in 2020. He has also enjoyed a prolific career as an assistant coach, helping both the Vancouver Canucks and the Tampa Bay Lightning reach the Final while working in that role.