Scott Arniel is expected to be named the fifth head coach in Winnipeg Jets 2.0 history, an NHL source confirmed Friday. An announcement is expected early next week. TSN’s Darren Dreger first reported the news.
Winnipeg hired Arniel, 61, as an associate coach to work under Rick Bowness in 2022 after he first interviewed for the head coaching position.
Arniel has been responsible for Winnipeg’s defencemen and penalty kill over two seasons, while being called into interim head coaching duties on multiple occasions: First, during Bowness’ COVID-19 illness in 2022-23, then again when Bowness left the Jets to be with his wife, Judy, following a seizure in October and finally in March when Bowness left the team for a minor medical procedure. Arniel’s 10-5-2 head coaching record in 2023-24 gave him a playoff-worthy .647 points percentage.
In a lot of ways, this was always his job to lose. His associate coaching position was decided before Bowness’ hiring, with a sense that the Jets were considering a succession plan when Bowness eventually moved on. Arniel’s work in spot duty gave players a sense of confidence, while his media work following the death of Adam Johnson likely showed management that he was ready for the ambassadorial duties that come with being a head coach in a market as passionate as Winnipeg.
Scott Arniel on the #NHLJets organization taking care of its people, chartering players to Adam Johnson’s funeral:
“We’re never ever going to cut corners when it comes to stuff like that. It just shows the passion and how much we care about family and we care about the players.”
— Murat Ates (@WPGMurat) November 10, 2023
It’s also important to note that True North Sports and Entertainment has hired the former Jets 1.0 and Manitoba Moose (the Jets’ AHL affiliate) forward three times: Once as a Moose assistant coach, then as Moose head coach and again as an associate coach for the Jets in 2022. Arniel was among the coaches whose growth True North’s executive chairman Mark Chipman cited to The Athletic in a look at coaching longevity. The relationship between Chipman, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and Arniel is a strong one.
“Scott had interviewed really well for the head coaching position as well,” Cheveldayoff told The Athletic in 2022.
When asked about his plans to name a new coach following Bowness’ retirement announcement, Cheveldayoff pointed to the foundation he had built.
“There’s no question that you’re not replacing Rick Bowness. There’s one of him,” Cheveldayoff said. “Every time you get into a situation like this, you want to make sure that the next person can be their own selves as well. This isn’t following Rick Bowness and all of the great work that he did. This is establishing, whoever that next person is, from that day moving forward. But it does take a special acknowledgment to understand the different levels of foundations that have been put in place here.”
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One of the hallmarks of Bowness’ coaching tenure was a willingness to elevate his assistants. Arniel spoke to reporters with more frequency than previous Jets associate coaches, even when he was not temporarily performing head coaching duties. He ran drills, diagrammed plays and received steady encouragement from Bowness toward taking the next steps in his career.
Bowness was an assistant coach for much of his NHL career. At his retirement news conference, he discussed the importance of elevating and promoting the work of his assistant coaches, including Arniel.
“The staff was outstanding,” Bowness said. “They had my respect and they had my trust. If we didn’t like something, we would always talk about it as a staff after. Again, being an assistant coach and an associate coach for a long time, you want to feel valued and you want to feel that your opinion matters. There may be different opinions and then the head coach ultimately has to make that final call. But you have to get their opinion. I wouldn’t have hired them if they weren’t respected (for) their coaching and their communication skills and those guys did a fantastic job.
“Again, when I have to take a month off, it’s smooth,” Bowness said. “They just took over. I missed a couple of games with some things, it’s smooth. They just took over. They’re good hockey people. They’re good hockey coaches and they’re very, very good people.”
It’s noteworthy that Arniel and Jets captain Adam Lowry addressed reporters shortly after Bowness and Cheveldayoff spoke on the day of Bowness’ retirement announcement. While this could be interpreted as a thorough commitment to the media, with the Jets giving access to Bowness’ next in command and his captain to help further contextualize his legacy, it’s also fair to look at it as an endorsement of Arniel — that is, Bowness’ next-in-command.
“This is Rick’s day so I’m not going to go too far into this,” Arniel said when asked if he hoped to become Winnipeg’s next coach. “Chevy, Mark, they know my intentions, they know what I want, they know what I’d like. We’ll talk more.”
Hiring Arniel is a bet on Winnipeg’s past
When the Jets hired Bowness, they spoke to coaches like Barry Trotz, Rick Tocchet, John Tortorella and Jim Montgomery, conveying a deep commitment to finding the best candidate. Even the coaches who did not receive job offers became valuable sources of information about the Jets’ needs, their lack of unity, and their strengths and weaknesses on the ice.
Winnipeg hired Bowness — and admitted he wasn’t the team’s first choice — and has a stronger dressing room and two consecutive playoff spots to show for it. Arniel was a big part of that, earning appreciation from his players, but at first glance, it seems as though the Jets’ 2024 search was not as thorough as the one that preceded it.
The Jets interviewed Craig Berube prior to Berube being hired by Toronto. They also spoke to Todd McLellan. I am not sure beyond that, other than that they had not interviewed a Manitoba product, Dean Evason, prior to his departure for the World Championships. It seems likely that Cheveldayoff has spoken to more coaches than I’m aware of but Arniel’s promotion sends the message that Winnipeg is content with what it already has in store.
More of the same is underwhelming, particularly at first glance. Last year’s Jets won 52 games and their coach finished third in Jack Adams voting as coach of the year, suggesting that non-shiny signings can also lead to success — to some extent, at least.
Did the Jets leave quality on the table?
Arniel is an exceptionally “Winnipeg” hire and not just because he keeps his home here. Hiring him is a bet on a high floor and the Jets’ ability to punch above their weight. He’s not a blockbuster signing. He won’t command the salary of a Trotz, a Tortorella or a Sheldon Keefe.
Meanwhile, free-agent coaches continue to include McLellan, Evason, Jay Woodcroft, Gerard Gallant and Dave Hakstol, among others. AHL coach of the year Todd Nelson is still in action in the Calder Cup playoffs, with the chance to win back-to-back championships. There are less famous alternatives available, too.
Winnipeg is betting that Arniel was a big enough piece of its two consecutive steps forward to keep the momentum going.
That’s not automatic. It can be easier to be the “good cop” as an associate coach than as a head coach, while Winnipeg will need to balance the departures of key veterans with the integration of youth. The remaining Jets core — Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey at the top of the list — will need to show their former No. 2 the respect owing to a coach at the helm. Arniel will face the same deployment challenges as his predecessors, trying to get the most out of Scheifele and Connor’s offense while maintaining Winnipeg’s regular season defensive excellence.
He’ll also need to figure out how to get the Jets past the first round of the playoffs. To do so might require a more modern or different approach than what Winnipeg put together against Vegas last season or Colorado in 2024.
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