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Rick Bowness

Rick Bowness Will Not Return As Dallas Stars Coach

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The Dallas Stars are the latest team to be on the hunt for a new head coach. They have officially announced that Rick Bowness, along with assistants Derek Laxdal, John Stevens, and Todd Nelson will not be back next season. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News confirms goaltending coach Jeff Reese, video coach Kelly Forbes, and assistant video coach Matt Rodell will remain in their positions.

Bowness released a statement explaining the mutual parting:

After careful consideration with my wife Judy, we feel it’s best to step away and allow the organization the opportunity to pursue a different direction at the head coaching position. I’d like to thank all the passionate fans and the dedicated staff for their support and hard work in my time here. It has been an honor for me, and my family, to represent the Stars and the city of Dallas.

The 67-year-old coach has been behind an NHL bench more than any other coach in history, first becoming an assistant in 1984 with the Winnipeg Jets. His near 40-year coaching career in the NHL included stops in Winnipeg, Boston, Ottawa, New York, Phoenix, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, and Dallas, while also taking him through Sherbrooke, Moncton, and Maine in the AHL.

While his statement doesn’t confirm retirement, it does mean his time with Dallas is over, and the Stars will need to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.

After taking over during the 2019-20 season, Bowness took Dallas all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, and had an overall regular season record of 89-62-25 in parts of three seasons. The team was defeated in seven games in the first round this year.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN broke the news on Twitter. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Stars Notes: Klingberg, Bowness, Injuries

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As things currently stand, Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg is arguably the best defenseman set to be available in this summer’s free agent market. But according to Klingberg, he hopes he doesn’t get there. In today’s season-ending meeting with the media, Klingberg, who has been the subject of many trade rumors in the past, emphasized his desire to remain in Dallas, saying:

At the end of the day, I always want to stay here. We’ve been trying to find different ways to get it done. Year length, money-wise, just trying to get something we’re both happy with.

The factors that could potentially block a Klingberg return are the ones he mentioned, the cost and length of his extension. On May 7th, Stars GM Jim Nill said that he would love to keep Klingberg. But it may not be possible given the team’s cap situation and the other offers Klingberg could receive on the open market. The Stars already have Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Ryan Suter under contract for at least the next three seasons, and with extensions for Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov, and Roope Hintz to consider over the next two offseasons, it’s difficult to imagine that the Stars will be able to match the kinds of offers Klingberg could receive from elsewhere. So, despite the mutual interest in a return that was communicated today, it looks as though some serious creativity will be required if Klingberg is to remain with the only NHL team he has ever known.

Now, for some other notes regarding the Stars:

  • Stars head coach Rick Bowness coached this season on an expiring contract, a deal that has now ended thanks to the Stars’ defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames. Per Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News, Bowness stated today that he would prefer a one-year contract at this stage of his career and that he may consider retirement if that’s the path he chooses to go down. Nill did praise Bowness’ work today, emphasizing that Bowness has “done a good job” in this 98-point campaign. He did also say, though, that they will need to “reassess everything.” So with both Bowness and Nill’s comments in mind, it’s certainly possible that the Stars join the multitude of teams seeking a new head coach this offseason.
  • On exit days across the NHL, it is common for the numerous injuries a team’s players have been playing through to be revealed publicly for the first time. The Stars’ end-of-season press conferences were no different, and we learned today of a multitude of ailments that Stars players were battling during the season. As relayed by Saad Yousuf of The Athletic, Tyler Seguin fractured his foot in Game One of the series, Hintz strained his oblique in Game Six, and Luke Glendening had a concussion and both knee and groin issues that would have kept him out on a week-to-week basis. While it’s certain that all three players would rather be taking on the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night, one small benefit of the Stars’ loss is that they now get to begin the recovery process in earnest.

Snapshots: Bowness, Power, Wheeler, LaCombe

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Earlier this month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that Stars head coach Rick Bowness had a team option for next season on his contract.  However, in his latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Friedman clarified that this is not the case; instead, his contract is simply expiring following this season.  Dallas finds itself right in the thick of the battle for one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference and how they fare on that front will likely go a long way in shaping what direction the team wants to go.  That said, Bowness is 67 so there is a chance that he may not want to continue on in a top role anyway.  With no team option on his deal, there’s a real possibility that whatever direction they go winds up being a mutual decision.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • While Owen Power wasn’t in the lineup for the Sabres, the team plans to have the 2021 top pick make his NHL debut on Tuesday on Tuesday against Toronto, notes Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. That will allow the defenseman to get a full practice in with the team instead of going directly from Michigan to Buffalo’s lineup.  Power suggested he might get an opportunity to see some time on his off-side over their final few games as they will evaluate his ability to play on the right.
  • Jets winger Blake Wheeler won’t play in tonight’s game in Ottawa and is listed as doubtful for tomorrow in Montreal due to his upper-body injury, relays Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The captain has been quite productive since the start of February, collecting 34 points in 30 games and his absence certainly isn’t helping Winnipeg’s quickly-decreasing chances of getting into the final playoff spot in the West.
  • While the Ducks signed a key college prospect today when they inked Blake McLaughin, another of their NCAA prospects is still deciding whether he should turn pro or stay in school. Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports that defenseman Jackson LaCombe will likely need a few more days to decide if he’s going to return for his senior season with Minnesota.  The 21-year-old was a second-round pick of Anaheim back in 2019 (39th overall) and had 30 points in 39 games with the Golden Gophers this season.

West Notes: Stars, Martinez, Manson

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With the Stars having a particularly inconsistent season and being in a battle for a Wild Card spot, some have wondered about the futures of head coach Rick Bowness and GM Jim Nill.  Speaking with Saad Yousuf of The Athletic (subscription link), team owner Tom Gaglardi suggested that no firm decisions have been made either way:

“I think we went into this season and we thought we had a really good team and really expect this team to be solid in the playoffs. If that happens, Rick’s probably somebody we want to continue to build around. Past that, we don’t talk about those things. Summer will come when summer comes. We’ve just decided, we’re not talking about these things right now.

“We’re not talking about anybody’s contract. Let’s focus on the now and getting everything we can out of this season. The summer will come. There will be lots of time to take stock and decide which way we go. If there are changes to be made, we’ll make them then.”

A decision will need to be made on Bowness one way or the other as he’s in the final year of his contract while Nill is signed through the end of next season.  It appears that the way Dallas performs over the next few months will go a long way towards determining what direction they’ll go.

More from the West:

  • Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez isn’t quite ready to return from his upper-body injury, notes Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link). Vegas will have to activate him from LTIR in order to get him in the lineup which will likely in turn cause winger Max Pacioretty to be placed on there for the time being.  Granger adds that the lineup for tonight’s game isn’t finalized yet due to some COVID testing questions.
  • The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Josh Manson suffered an upper-body injury in today’s game against Ottawa. He suffered the injury on a hard hit from Brady Tkachuk in the first period.  Manson, a pending unrestricted free agent, has six points in 42 games heading into today’s contest although he is second in the team in hits with 111.

Injury Notes: Klingberg, Senators, Dowd

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It looks like the Dallas Stars will receive a huge boost for their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night in the form of a healthy John Klingberg. Head coach Rick Bowness said Sunday morning that Klingberg “should” return, but that the team won’t have full confirmation until tomorrow. The 29-year-old defenseman was injured in the team’s season opener and missed the succeeding four games, playing just 10:21 before suffering a lower-body injury. He’ll look to provide a boost with his offensive instincts to a team that’s scored just ten goals through their first five games.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • There’s some updates on the injury front in Ottawa, as TSN reports goalie Matt Murray has been moved to injured reserve with a neck injury after being run into by the Rangers’ Chris Kreider on Saturday afternoon. He’ll miss at least the next ten days. It also appears center Shane Pinto will be out for a shorter term than expected, as head coach D.J. Smith he’s only expected to be absent for a week or two. A prompt return would be a good break for both him and the team, as Pinto had begun to impress in a top-six role.
  • Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette says the status of Nic Dowd for the team’s one-game road trip to Ottawa on Monday night is in question. Dowd is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He played in all of the team’s overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, so even if he does miss that contest, it doesn’t appear he’ll be out for any sort of term. The native of Huntsville, Alabama has one goal in five games this season.

Central Notes: Bowness, Toews, Perron

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Going into the final year of a contract as a coach is a scenario that a lot of teams like to try to avoid but that’s not the case with the Stars and bench boss Rick Bowness.  Speaking with Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News regarding his expiring deal, Bowness stated  “That doesn’t bother me one bit. Shouldn’t bother the players”.  The 66-year-old also admitted to turning down three deals with more money and term before originally committing to Dallas so clearly, there is some comfort in going with short-term agreements.  After a disappointing and injury-riddled season, many expect the Stars to bounce back this season which would bode well for his future behind the bench.

More from the Central Division:

  • Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews is expected to travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip and could be cleared to play at some point in that stretch, reports Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The 27-year-old was a significant addition to Colorado’s back end last season as he logged nearly 25 minutes a night while chipping in with 31 points, the most in his career.  For the time being, Colorado is carrying a minimum-sized roster (though that could change by next week) so no roster move would be needed to activated Toews.
  • In a recent reader chat, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested that he thinks Blues winger David Perron could take another team-friendly deal around the $4MM mark if he has a similar showing to last season. While he could likely garner more on the open market, the 33-year-old hasn’t hidden his desire to be in St. Louis, signing back there each time he has reached free agency.  In order for him to remain there, Perron will need to take a below-market deal with St. Louis having over $72MM in commitments to just 14 players for next season, per CapFriendly, not leaving much wiggle room to fill out the rest of the roster.

Snapshots: Mrazek, Fabbri, Gudbranson, Hinostroza, Bowness

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The Hurricanes got a key part of their lineup back tonight with the announcement that Petr Mrazek was getting the start tonight against Dallas.  The veteran had missed the last 31 games due to a right thumb injury after entering the season as the expected starting goaltender.  Carolina more than held their own with James Reimer and Alex Nedeljkovic splitting time in Mrazek’s absence and with the latter now once again being waiver-eligible, they will be forced to carry three goalies the rest of the way as it’s highly doubtful he’d go unclaimed again.  Last month, GM Don Waddell indicated that he’s open to moving one of his three netminders and a good showing from Mrazek over these next couple of appearances may go a long way towards determining whether or not that happens.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri missed today’s game due to an undisclosed injury. Following the contest, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link), that the 25-year-old is listed as day-to-day and they expect to know more about the extent of the injury on Tuesday.  Fabbri sits third on Detroit in scoring with ten goals and eight assists in 30 games.
  • Senators defenseman Erik Gudbranson did not accompany the team on their trip to Winnipeg, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The veteran returned to Ottawa to be with his wife who is expected to give birth to their first child in the next few days.  Gudbranson has played in 34 games this season, picking up a goal and two assists.
  • Blackhawks center Vinnie Hinostroza opted to make the 20-hour drive from Florida to Chicago to reduce his required quarantine tine, notes Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Panthers this week after having a limited role in Florida where he played in just nine games.  Hinostroza isn’t on the CPRA list yet but should be on there once he makes it to his hotel room in Chicago to begin serving his quarantine period.
  • Stars head coach Rick Bowness was pulled from their game against Carolina after the second period due to COVID-19 protocols, the team announced (Twitter link). Assistant coach John Stevens served as acting head coach for the rest of the game.

Anton Khudobin To Be Benched For Disciplinary Reasons

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When the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Stars take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, it won’t be playoff hero Anton Khudobin starting in net. Or dressing as the backup either, for that matter. Instead, the beloved veteran will sit in the press box, benched by head coach Rick Bowness for disciplinary issues. While Bowness would not disclose the specific reasoning behind Khudobin’s punishment beyond calling it an “internal issue”, per The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks, he did provide a short synopsis of his thoughts on the topic:

You deal with things by communicating and making your feelings known, what is and what isn’t acceptable. I have very few rules, but you damn well better follow them.

The experienced coach clearly is not happy with Khudobin’s actions, as his words express. As a result, highly-touted rookie Jake Oettinger will get his third career start tomorrow with experienced AHLer Landon Bow serving as backup. Both players were in attendance at practice on Saturday; Khudobin was not. The veteran netminder showed up at the end of practice and skated without his teammates. It remains unclear whether Khudobin’s absence was a cause or effect of these ongoing “internal issues”.

When asked whether Khudobin’s benching would last beyond Sunday, Bowness remained non-committal. “We’ll deal with it one day at a time” was all that he would say at this time. With starter Ben Bishop on Long-Term Injured Reserve as he rehabs a knee injury and not expected back until March, Khudobin will obviously return to the Dallas crease at some point and there is no indication at this point that his current issues are anything that would force a trade or any other major move. However, with an off-season approaching in which Khudobin will be exposed in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, this could only add fuel to the fire that Khudobin’s time with the Stars could be coming to an end this season. If Bishop returns and appears healthy and Oettinger seems ready to become an NHL backup sooner rather than later, bad blood between Khudobin and Bowness could see the Stars hoping that the Seattle Kraken select the talented veteran keeper. Just a few months ago, that statement would have been unthinkable as the well-liked Khudobin led Dallas to postseason glory. However, something has clearly changed.

Rick Bowness Officially Named Dallas Stars Head Coach

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The entire organization had basically already confirmed that Rick Bowness would be back as the head coach of the Dallas Stars in 2020-21, but today they made it official. Bowness has left behind his interim tag and becomes the full-time head coach moving forward. Stars GM Jim Nill released a statement on the move:

The Stars are very excited to officially announce Rick as the team’s head coach. After being called upon in a difficult situation, Rick stepped into the interim head coaching role seamlessly and used his unmatched experience to lead the team to a successful second half of the season and a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. Watching the team throughout our playoff experience, you really saw the team become his. His ability to connect with our players and our staff is remarkable, and it leads to a situation where everyone is competing for him because they want to see him win.

Bowness of course led the Stars all the way to the Stanley Cup Final as an interim coach, taking over midseason after Jim Montgomery was fired for unprofessional conduct. The team had a 20-13-5 record down the stretch with him behind the bench, before winning the Western Conference in the return to play tournament.

For that, and the way players have obviously responded to the long-time NHL coach, it was an obvious choice to bring him back next season if Bowness wanted to. Amazingly, it might have been the unique bubble situation that actually convinced Bowness to return as head coach, a position he hasn’t held on a full-time basis in more than 20 years. Bowness explained:

My wife Judy and I are thrilled to have this opportunity to continue our work here in Dallas. This team is very special for me, that time in Edmonton was unlike any experience I have ever had in hockey, and it brought us together as a staff and as a team. We had a great run to the Stanley Cup Final, but we have some unfinished business left and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to build on what we started.

The Stars, armed with one of the most valuable players in the entire league, Miro Heiskanen (relative at least to his entry-level salary), will bring back mostly the same unit next season after mostly passing on the free agent market. It will be Bowness’s job to somehow get that group back to the promised land.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Rick Bowness Has “Earned The Right To Come Back” As Head Coach Of Stars

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As they stormed back last night to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, it’s easy to forget that the Dallas Stars are still operating with an interim head coach behind the bench. Rick Bowness took over control of the Stars after just 31 games this season and has now led them to the promised land with an incredible playoff run, but still had that interim tag on his job title.

The company line all postseason has been that GM Jim Nill and Bowness would sit down and discuss his future after the team stopped playing, but the front office executive was a little more forthcoming when speaking to the media today. As Sean Shapiro of The Athletic reports, Nill explained that Bowness has “definitely earned the right to come back” as head coach next season.

That’s not a new contract, but it does seem as though Bowness can take the reins of the Stars again if he chooses to in 2020-21 (whenever that season happens). His focus is squarely on the challenge that is in front of him and it’s not like he would have been out of work anyway. Bowness first became an assistant coach at the NHL level in 1984 and has been employed ever since, spending time with the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, and Tampa Bay Lightning before joining the Stars as an assistant in 2018.

One of the other big contributors this postseason and potentially a clubhouse favorite for the Conn Smythe also doesn’t have much certainty surrounding his future in Dallas. Anton Khudobin, who has been outstanding in the postseason with a .920 save percentage in 19 appearances, is scheduled for unrestricted free agency in October. Shapiro tweets that Nill hopes to re-sign Khudobin this offseason. The journeyman goaltender is 34 and has played 237 regular season games, split between six different organizations.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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