Rick Bowness will return next season as coach of the Winnipeg Jets, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Sunday.
The 68-year-old has one season remaining on his contract, plus an option.
"I think in Rick's situation, he's more than comfortable going into the season with his contract as it is," Cheveldayoff said.
Bowness walked back harsh criticisms he levied against the Jets following their elimination from the Western Conference First Round by the Vegas Golden Knights, when he said he was "disappointed and disgusted" following their 4-1 loss in Game 5 on Thursday.
"I think first you have to look at the context of where Rick was at," Cheveldayoff said. "If he could have chosen some different words, I'm sure he would of, but I know in the second period he went into the dressing room, and he was not pleased with how things were going.
"One thing that came as advertised and is as advertised is 'Bones' held no punches to anybody. He was honest. In the heat of the moment, it's not like talking after Game 65 or Game 70. It's talking at the end of a series, of an emotional time. The emotion and investment that goes in from the players' standpoint is insurmountable, but the coaches' is equally. There's that drive and that passion."
Several Jets players voiced their displeasure to the media regarding Bowness' comments. One was Blake Wheeler, captain for six seasons before Bowness stripped him of it at the start of this season.
"He could have been honest with us," Wheeler said. "We could have had those discussions behind closed doors, so I didn't agree with how he handled himself after that game.
"I think he got caught up in the moment. We don't expect him to be perfect all the time, and people make mistakes. … Regardless of what the message was, that could have been done more appropriately. To us, not to you (the media)."
The Jets allowed a goal 50 seconds into the first period of Game 5, finished it with five shots and trailed 4-0 before Kyle Connor scored at 14:22 of the third. They led the Western Conference (31-16-1) on Jan. 22 before going 15-17-2 down the stretch and settling for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.&
"'Disgusted' was probably too strong a word," Bowness said. "One of my many faults is that I'm too emotional and that I wear my heart on my sleeve. That being said, I criticize myself for the choice of words. The message, the clear message, is one that I will never accept that kind of an effort in a game like that. I'll never accept that."
The window to win the Stanley Cup could be closing for the Jets. Several core players can become unrestricted free agents at the end of next season, including goalie Connor Hellebuyck, forwards Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Nino Niederreiter, and defensemen Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo. Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, who had an NHL career-high 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) this season, can become a restricted free agent July 1.
"I still have to be blunt. I still have to be honest," Bowness said. "There's not going to be any grey area. Again, there's uncomfortable conversations you have, and people don't want to hear those things and I get it. … If I feel that I have to share my feelings and get everything on the table, they're going to hear it."
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