Rick Bowness is one of the most well-liked coaches in National Hockey League history by the fans, his players as well as his colleagues, but as with any person, there comes a day when they have to retire and enjoy the next phase of life. That's exactly what Bowness is doing.
On Monday morning, Rick Bowness announced his retirement from the National Hockey League after 42 years as a coach at various level. At the time of his retirement, Bowness was the last remaining NHL coach from the 1980s.
Bowness, 69, coached 802 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets 1.0, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets 2.0. In those 802 games, Bowness had a record of 309 wins, 408 losses, 48 ties and 37 overtime losses.
The Moncton, New Brunswick native spent six seasons behind the bench as an Assistant Coach for the Vancouver Canucks between 2008-09 and 2011-12 and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2011. In 2012, Bowness was fired by the organization along with then-Head Coach Alain Vigneault and Assistant Coach Newell Brown.