Rick Bowness has held the job as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets for less than 10 months. Hired last summer to clean up the mess left behind from Paul Maurice's unexpected resignation, Bowness has finally discovered the cause of his predecessor's migraines
Rick Bowness has held the job as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets for less than 10 months. Hired last summer to clean up the mess left behind from Paul Maurice's unexpected resignation, Bowness has finally discovered the cause of his predecessor's migraines
On Thursday night, the Jets were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite pulling ahead to a 1-0 series lead, Winnipeg lost four-straight games and is officially the first club bounced from postseason contention.
Bowness was not impressed.
"I'm so disappointed and disgusted right now; that's my thoughts," he said in his one-minute media availably, to which he answered three questions from Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press.
The 68-year-old spoke passionately, yet angrily, as he attempted to describe his frustrations stemming from all the way back in the mid-winter months.
"It was the same crap we saw in February; it was," Bowness added. "As soon as we were challenging for first place and teams were coming after us, we had no pushback. This series? No pushback."
Calling out his veteran players and goal scorers for their lack of effort and effectiveness, Bowness also hinted on a lack of pride and zero 'pushback'.
"They deserved to win, they were the better team in the regular season, they were the better team in this series."
The veteran bench boss has another year remaining on his contract with Winnipeg, but with his remarks and the push for major change, who knows who will be in Winnipeg come fall of 2023.