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Bowness, Cheveldayoff, coy about coach's future with Jets

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Published May 02, 2024  •  Last updated May 03, 2024  •  4 minute read

Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness meets with media after the team cleaned out its lockers on Thurs., May 2, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg Sun Photo by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

Rick Bowness sounds like someone who wants to be back behind the Winnipeg Jets bench at least one more year. Of course, that won't be just his decision.

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Bowness is just completing a two-year contact, with the Jets holding an option for a third season. Coming off a vastly improved regular season but another first-round playoff exit, Bowness says he'll discuss his future with his family, then sit down with co-owner Mark Chipman and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.

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"I know what I'm going to do," Bowness told reporters on Thursday. "I know what I want to do. That will come out. We will let you know."

Asked later about potentially returning, given how difficult this season was for him — he missed time when his wife became ill and left the team for a minor surgical procedure on another occasion — he made it clear his passion for the game still runs deep.

"Love of the game, man," he said. "Still love it. Still have the passion for it. Listen, as I tell the players: every day in this league is a blessing. We're in the best league in the world. Never, ever, take a day for granted in this league. And I never have and I never will. I just love this game. It's been my life."

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Cheveldayoff wasn't ready to tip his hand, but did acknowledge the "great job" Bowness and his staff did this season.

"I'm not putting any timetable on anything," the GM said. "It's an emotional time for everybody here. An emotional time for them. We'll have those conversations and we'll update from there."

In tying a team record with 52 wins, the Jets were the NHL's stingiest team this season.

Bowness says the big step forward is due to players taking more ownership compared to last year.

"That's a huge, huge step," the coach said. "We're not going to win until they all take ownership of what's going on here. It's easier for us to give them the Xs and Os. To get them to do it is the challenge. And to get them committed to do it is the challenge that they have to face from within."

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Asked about the makeup of his team and whether or not it's built to have success in the playoffs, Bowness says it's up to the coaches to get more from the players.

"The roster is what the roster is," he said. "I take full responsibility for that playoff performance. Our team did not play well. The standards that I had set for the team and myself, we didn't reach that standard. I put the onus on me to make sure that doesn't happen again. I have to get more out of the players. It's my responsibility to get those guys to the next level."

A dozen players also spoke to the media one last time.

The theme: they missed an opportunity.

"This one stings the most out of my four years here of our playoff losses," defenceman Dylan DeMelo said. "Still just trying to comprehend why. Why it all happened. We had a great team, really thought we had the makings of a long playoff run. Clearly we under-performed."

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Not finding their best game and a higher level of intensity against Colorado was a common thread, particularly since they were healthy and went into the postseason on a roll.

"Their intensity was really high," DeMelo said of the Avalanche. "They went to the net harder than us, special teams were better than us, they were on the puck faster, they were just better in all aspects. There needs to be some time to evaluate everything. Everything's on the table."

Mark Scheifele says there's no better team to learn from than Colorado.

"Those guys are a great lesson," Scheifele said. "They've won, they've experienced that, we saw how great they played against us. We all have to look ourselves in the mirror and see, what am I doing to improve?"

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Goalie Connor Hellebuyck says he can always get better, too, even if he feels he was as sharp as ever in the series.

"You're probably not going to believe when I say, I was playing the best hockey of my career," Hellebuyck said. "But that's truly how I was feeling. Not only was I playing some of my best hockey but I was in that zone where you're not thinking, you're just playing. That's a dangerous thing in sports and to not be able to keep four goals off the board is heartbreaking. It really is heartbreaking.

"You've got to give them some kudos for what they did, but looking back I don't know if I even saw half of the pucks that went into the net."

After winning the Jennings Trophy for being the goalie on the stingiest team, Hellebuyck gave up an average of more than five goals per game to Colorado.

"Since I've got here, we're always making sure we're trying to improve the defensive play in front of him to help him out, which we have done over the two years," Bowness said. "What matters now is we didn't do it when it counts most, and that's when he's putting a lot of pressure on himself."

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