Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will take a leave of absence from the team after his wife Judy suffered a seizure on Sunday.
Judy is in the hospital undergoing further testing and Bowness will be absent from the Jets for the near future to be with his wife.
Associate coach Scott Arniel will be the interim coach for the foreseeable future.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Judy and Rick,” Arniel said Monday.
“Very serious and tough time for them right now. We’re just waiting day to day with this and see how she progresses and see how Rick’s doing.
“Everybody is certainly feeling it. It’s family here. It’s part of what we talk about all of the time. It really hits everyone hard.”
Heritage Blues are the best kind of blues ¯_(ツ)_/¯@QCWinnipeg | #GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/I8w69HcAAd
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 24, 2023
Winnipeg host the St. Louis Blues at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, heading in with a 2-3-0 record following their 3-2 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
“It’s scary, obviously,” Jets forward Mark Scheifele said.
“All we can do is hope and pray for them (until) obviously they figure it out and get her healthy again. That’s all we can do is pray for them and their family and wish them the best.
“Just amazing people. First and foremost they’re amazing human beings, and that always comes first. Obviously, it’s a hockey game, but they’re amazing people, amazing human beings, and all you can do is keep praying for them. But they are two amazing people.”
Bowness is in the midst of his second season with the Jets following four years with the Dallas Stars. He boasts a 48-36-3 record in Winnipeg.
At 68-years-old, Bowness has coached over 700 NHL games in 14 seasons in the league. He originally started out as an assistant with the Jets in the 1980s.
He’s spent more games behind an NHL bench as a coach or assistant than anyone in league history and everyone is praying for his wife’s good health.
