Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness is stepping back from the game he loves after nearly four decades of coaching. Bowness made the announcement on Monday morning.

Bowness replaced former head coach Paul Maurice after Maurice resigned during the 2021-22 season. Bowness coached the Jets to a record of 98-57-9 during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 season, leading the Jets to the playoffs both years.

Despite an early exit from the playoffs both years, Bowness saw success in his two seasons as the head coach of the Jets. The team set several franchise records this year, including a 35-game streak allowing three goals or fewer between Nov. 4, 2023, and Jan. 20, 2024. They also set a record in the middle of that streak going 14 games in a row with two goals or less, and setting a record twice for longest win streak at eight games, and longest point streak at 14 games. 

Bowness was nominated as one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy last week. The award is given out each year to "the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success."

The Jets posted a tribute video to Bowness on their X account saying, "Hockey won't be the same without you, Bones."

The Moncton, NB native holds the league record for most games coached by an assistant or head coach with over 2,600 games under his belt. He has served as a coach for eight different franchises and was behind the bench for 17 playoff appearances, including trips to the finals as an associate coach with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015, and as Dallas Stars head coach in 2020. He is one of only three head coaches (along with Scotty Bowman and Pat Quinn) to serve behind the bench in five different decades.

Bowness and Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will speak to the media at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 6.