Coach Rick Bowness forced to leave the Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets head coach and looooooong time NHL coach Rick Bowness has been forced to take a leave of absence from the team after his wife has suffered a seizure this past weekend.

The Jets announced that Judy Bowness suffered a seizure on Sunday evening and is currently undergoing medical evaluation and testing. As a result, Rick Bowness will take an indefinite leave from the team to be with his wife. Jets assistant coach Scott Arniel will serve as the team's interim head coach until Rick's return to action.

From the Jets' PR statement:

Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with Judy, Rick and the entire Bowness family at this difficult time. Here's hoping that Judy can get back to full health after this tragic setback.

As for the Jets, their next game is Tuesday night against the visiting St. Louis Blues in Winnipeg. The Jets are off to a 2-3-0 start this season under Bowness. They'll look to get even on Tuesday under Arniel.

As for Bowness, there's not enough time in the world to give him his due credit. Bowness is a hockey lifer, having started as an NHL coach way back in 1984 when he was an assistant coach for the first generation NHL Jets. In fact, Bowness himself was thrust into the role of interim head coach of the Jets during the 1988-89 season, making him the only current NHL coach to have coached in the league during the 1980s. He has spent time as an NHL head coach with the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and Arizona Coyotes. He's been an assistant coach for the Jets, Islanders, Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lighting and Stars. He has never won a Stanley Cup championship, but he's reach the Final in 2011 with the Canucks as an assistant and in 2020 with the Stars as a head coach.

All of this is to say that Bowness is a hockey lifer and you don't get to live that kind of life without having a rock solid foundation at home. Rick and Judy are one of the NHL's all-time rock-solid couples. Again, here's hoping that he can pull her through this difficult time.