SUNRISE, Fla. -- Rick Bowness will return and coach the Winnipeg Jets against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday (8 p.m. ET; BSFL, TSN3) following a month away from the team after his wife, Judy, suffered a seizure Oct. 22.
Bowness, who left the Jets (11-5-2) on Oct. 23, was greeted warmly by players and coaches prior to the team’s morning skate Friday; Winnipeg was 9-2-2 under associate coach Scott Arniel.
“Judy is doing about as well as we could expect,” Bowness said Friday. “The meds they have her on, we knew would take a while to take effect. They told us originally it would be 2-3 weeks and it was almost five. I do feel a little more comfortable leaving her alone for a couple hours to come to a practice. … She is getting stronger every day and that is about as good as we could expect at this point.”
Bowness said he had been staying with his wife at their home in nearby Boca Raton, Florida, and he made the short drive from there to the arena to meet the team Friday.
Judy Bowness will be traveling with the Jets to Nashville so she can return to Winnipeg following the Jets game at the Predators on Sunday.
The Bowness children will help in Judy’s care when Rick is on the road.
“She will spend nights with them,’’ he said, “so she will never spend another night alone.’’
Having Rick Bowness back was “awesome,” Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry said after the morning skate Friday.
“It is great to have him back,” Lowry said. “Obviously the situation with Judy, a step forward means she is starting to do better. That is the most important part. We are thrilled to have him back. He is a big part of the team, is our leader. It will be great to have him back in the room.”
For Bowness, the feeling of being back was emotional even though he said he spoke with Arniel every day and had met with the players and coaches a few weeks ago to give them an update on his wife's condition.
“Our coaches did a fantastic job, they really did,” he said. “They kept our team very well prepared and everything we put in place during training camp, they stayed on top of those details. … It was not an easy thing for our players as well. I give our players credit for staying dialed in and for playing as well as they have.’’
Bowness also thanked Mark Chipman, the chairman of True North Sports & Entertainment, and Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff for allowing him “to take the time to be with Judy. We wouldn’t have made it without their love and support.”
Florida coach Paul Maurice, who spent parts of nine seasons as coach of the Jets, said it was great to see Bowness back with the team.
"Good for him,'' said Maurice, who left Winnipeg during the 2021-22 season and was replaced that summer by Bowness. "The collective hockey community all understands when something serious happens to your family that has to come first. I am happy he's back. Scott Arneil did a wonderful, wonderful job. They were in good hands."
Bowness said: “As you go through life, there are always life-changing moments. That was certainly a life-changing moment for us.”
This is Bowness' second season as coach of the Jets after he spent the previous four seasons with the Dallas Stars, first as an associate and then as coach. He's 57-38-5 in Winnipeg.
The 68-year-old has coached 739 NHL games over 14 seasons, going 269-389-33 with 48 ties. His coaching career began as an assistant with the Jets in 1983, and he's spent more games behind an NHL bench as a coach or assistant than anyone in League history.
NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report
