Breaking: longest tenured NHL coach in search of a new opportunity
It's been an otherwise quiet Friday in the hockey world, with not much in the way of news to speak of. That was, until ESPN's Kevin Weekes broke the news that the Dallas Stars will be on the search for a new head coach this summer.
Per Weekes, Stars head coach Rick Bowness will be stepping away from the bench effective immediately, as will assistant coaches Derek Laxdal, Todd Nelson and John Stevens.
Bowness has been behind an NHL bench in a variety of roles since the 1984-85 season, when he got his start with the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach. He served with the Jets as an assistant for 3 seasons before accepting a head coaching position with the AHL's Moncton Hawks from 1987-89. He made his head coaching debut as a midseason for the Jets in 1989. He coached two more seasons in the AHL before becoming a full time NHL head coach with the Boston Bruins in 1991-92.
Since that time, Bowness has bounced around the NHL, carrying the titles of head coach, assistant coach and associate coach with the Senators, Islanders, Coyotes, Canucks, Lightning and Stars. He has more than 2500 games of experience behind an NHL bench.
Bowness and the Stars made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2019-20 after Bowness came in as a midseason replacement. He was subsequently signed to an extension, but the Stars missed the postseason in 2020-21. This season, the team faired much better, qualifying for the postseason and taking the Pacific Division leading Calgary Flames to 7 games in the first round, though they couldn't get the job done in Game 7.
All the best in whatever comes next for Rick Bowness. The 67-year-old has not formally announced his retirement, so it is believed that he'll see what opportunities become available this summer in another market.
