Head coach Rick Bowness leaves Stars, effective immediately

Rick Bowness has been on an NHL bench for a record 2,562 regular-season games as a head coach or an assistant over nearly four decades. That’s a long time. But now, according to Kevin Weekes of NHL Network, he will step away immediately from the Dallas Stars.

Bowness’ contract was coming to an end, though there was hope that he would return to Dallas.

The 67-year-old got a two-year contract after that 2020 final as interim head coach, and still managed to bring the Stars to the Stanley Cup finals in a postseason bubble in Canada. The Stars had 98 points this season and were ousted in the first round of the playoffs in a Gam7 overtime against the Calgary Flames.

Bowness is 89-62-25 with Dallas and many expected him to return for at least one season… however, Weekes reports he is out.

On top of that, Weekes also points out that assistant coaches in Dallas, John Stevens, Derek Laxdal and Todd Nelson, will not return.

This is the official statement from Bowness: 

Per NHL stats, Scotty Bowman and Pat Quinn, both members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Bowness are the only other head coaches with games in five different decades. Bowness did so with Winnipeg (1989), Boston (1991-92), Ottawa (1992-96), the New York Islanders (1996-98), Phoenix (2004) and Dallas (2019-22). He also was an assistant for Vancouver and Tampa Bay.

Where will he go next?