Listing off the greatest Winnipeg Jets head coaches since the team returned to the NHL in 2011
Since the Winnipeg Jets returned to the NHL for the 2011-12 season, they have established themselves as one of the league’s top franchises in terms of success with a 519-381-95 record. During that span, they've been lead by five different bench bosses, with some having success with the team while others quickly moved on.
Today, we're looking back at the Jets' recent head coaches and ranking them based on their impact to the team during their tenure.
5. Dave Lowry
Despite finishing with a positive record, Lowry finds himself at position No. 5, as he coached the team for just 54 games, leading the Jets to a 26-22-6 record. The Sudbury native was appointed bench boss of the Jets following Paul Maurice resigning from the position in during the 2022 season. Despite being the father of now-captain Adam Lowry, the team moved on from the elder Lowry to Rick Bowness the following season.
4. Claude Noel
The Jets struggled to hit another gear with Claude Noel as they finished with a 80-79-18 record with him as their head coach. The years to follow were much better for the team, as Paul Maurice stepped into the role following Noel and carried the team to places Noel couldn't during his tenure.
3. Scott Arniel
The recent assistant head coach is stepping into a very favorable spot as the new bench boss of the Jets. Former head coach Rick Bowness set a winning pedigree in Winnipeg that Arniel should be able to continue as long as he makes sound adjustments at the right time. He should finish this season with a winning record which already places him in a better position than Noel or Lowry, making him third on our list. His history as a former draft pick and player for the Jets, as well as head coach of the team's AHL affiliate also boosts him up the rankings.
2. Rick Bowness
The legendary head coach that won 310 NHL games with 106 of those wins coming with the Winnipeg Jets. Bowness was with the team for two different stints, one that lasted just 28 games in 1989 and then a second term that went from 2022 until 2024 in which he helped the Jets to a 98-57-9 record.
No Jets head coach has a better winning percentage, and during his tenure the team made it to the playoffs twice but went down with a 2-8 record. His postseason success was limited, but with more years of Bones behind the Jets bench, who knows what could have been?
1. Paul Maurice
The now Stanley Cup-winning coach was with the Jets before leaving for Sunrise, Florida. The Sault Ste. Marie native was and still is a very vocal head coach and continues to support the Jets organization from a far, saying that he hopes the Jets are the next team to win the Stanley Cup following his Cup win this past season.
During his nine year stint with the Jets, Maurice managed a 315-223-62 record that he carried into the playoffs with a record of 16-23 that was highlighted by a run to the 2018 Western Conference Finals versus the Vegas Golden Knights. He continually made the Jets a contending team and helped build them into a successful organization that players wanted to continue playing for. His soundbytes were second to none and he immediately drew a liking from the Jets' faithful. His presence behind the bench and in the media room is surely missed.