Bowness guides Stars to lead in Western Final against Golden Knights

Rick Bowness has learned a lot in his 45 years in the NHL, and maybe nothing more important than being true to himself.

"I just be me with the players," said Bowness, the Dallas Stars coach. "That's how I've always coached. I'm not one of those guys that labels [coaches] player coach, [or] not a player coach. I don't believe in all that stuff. I'm just me. I just do it my way."
His way is working. The Stars are in the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2008 and lead the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 after a 3-2 win in overtime in Game 3 on Thursday. Game 4 is Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS) at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final.
After seven years as a player and 38 as a coach, assistant or associate, Bowness' way is working during the most unlikely of opportunities. Hired as an assistant on coach Jim Montgomery's staff before the 2018-19 season, the 65-year-old, who has never won the Stanley Cup, suddenly found himself as coach of the Stars when Montgomery was fired for unprofessional conduct on Dec. 10. Dallas was 17-11-3 at the time.
"It's a huge shock for you and for all of us to come in here this morning and find this news," Bowness said that day. "Usually when a coach takes over a team, they are struggling or they are in the process of selling everyone for next year to finish as bottom of the league as they can, which I have been a part of too many times, but I'm in a fortunate position that [Montgomery] is an excellent coach and has the team playing very, very well."
Fortunately for the Stars, they had Bowness.
"I was trying to minimize as much of [the shock] as I could," general manager Jim Nill said. "In the end, I thought Rick was the right guy. You know Rick, he's respected by everybody."

The Stars went on a 20-9-3 run after Bowness became coach but were 0-4-2 in the final six games before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Though they were fourth in the Western Conference at the time, the sudden halt to the season gave Bowness a chance to make the team his.
With his coaching staff, he determined that Dallas needed to maximize its talented defensemen by having them engage more with the offense, and demanded its forwards be part of that, with awareness and support to back them up.
Training camp following the pause focused on those things and dividends have come in the form of 49 points from Stars defensemen in 19 playoff games. Dallas had 34 points from defensemen in its final 19 regular-season games.
"I think we're living that now," Nill said. "He's had a chance to put his stamp on the team."
That stamp has always been about building bridges. His constants have been passion, positivity and people skills, leaving impressions on his players and rivals alike throughout his career.
"Probably one of the best coaches I had," said Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault, who played 47 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2014-16 when Bowness was an associate. "The way he handled himself, how professional he is, how awesome he is off the ice as well, I mean, I really enjoyed my time around him, and he's a great coach, and I'm not surprised that the Stars are in the top four right now."
In his five seasons with Tampa Bay (2013-18), Bowness mentored many players, including Victor Hedman, the winner of the 2017-18 Norris Trophy, awarded to the player voted best defenseman in the NHL.
"Just a great human being, been in the game a very long time," Hedman told Sportsnet. "He has made me believe in myself and believe that I could be a good player in this League. I remember some of the first conversations we had was that he told me, 'I believe you could be the best one in this League.' I was like, 'Well, I don't think so,' but he made me believe in myself and he put me in situations to succeed. He trusted me from the start.
"I'm so happy that our paths crossed and he got to help me, to mold me into the player that I am today."

Bowness is 143-302-8 with 48 ties in 501 regular-season games as an NHL coach with the Winnipeg Jets (1988-89), Boston Bruins (1991-92), Ottawa Senators (1992-96), New York Islanders (1996-98), Phoenix Coyotes (2003-04) and Stars (2019-20). He is 19-15 in 34 Stanley Cup Playoff games, also reaching the conference finals with the Bruins in 1992.
Called Bones by most, he also was on the staff of the Coyotes, Islanders, Jets, Lightning, Stars and Vancouver Canucks at times from 1984-2019.
His stints as coach, associate and assistant amount to 2,634 games behind the bench (2,424 regular-season and 210 playoff), more than any coach in League history.
Bowness has connections everywhere and a wisdom to provide the right message at the right moment, Stars forward Tyler Seguin said.
"It's all about staying in that moment and Bones has done a great job at keeping us all grounded, keeping us in those days, not getting too high, too low," said Seguin, who has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 18 postseason games. "The typical conversations at these times of the year, he's the best at it, he's been around the longest. He's one of those guys that you want to win for."
Washington Capitals assistant Scott Arniel played with Bowness in Winnipeg, for Bowness when he coached the Jets and Bruins and coached with Bowness when they were with the Canucks.
"He's a rah-rah guy and the players love him, guys like to play for him," Arniel said. "He's got a lot of passion in his coaching and there's nothing fake about him. He wears everything on his sleeve. We've talked lots and he's done a marvelous job of pushing the right buttons in Dallas. He was so nervous when this started, taking over, but getting another chance has been great for him."
Craig Heisinger, assistant general manager of the Jets, knew Bowness when he was an assistant with the original Jets (1984-87), his first NHL coaching job.
He said Bowness's longevity is rooted in a belief in himself and consistent ability to make people around him better.
"And people skills," Heisinger said. "Hard work and people skills, those get you everywhere in the real world."
That hard work has long been a Bowness strength. As a rugged forward, he had 55 points (18 goals, 37 assists) in 173 games over seven NHL seasons (1975-82) for the Atlanta Flames, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Jets.
One of the reasons Nill turned to Bowness this season was that they share a long history.
"We've gone from playing against each other, to him coaching me, to working with him in the Ottawa organization, to then competing against him as a coach on other teams and now together [in Dallas]," Nill said. "We've done the whole gamut.
"As a player he was hard-nosed, a tough guy that played the game the right way. And he was all about team, and that's never changed. As a coach ... once again, it's team-first. Anybody who's met Rick Bowness respects him as a person. I think that's the same in the dressing room. He doesn't change from Rick Bowness the person in the world to Rick Bowness the coach. It's a great attribute."
It's one of the reasons why colleagues and rivals have voiced their support during this playoff run, including Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer, who admits to having little history with Bowness.
"He's one of those guys you always look forward to seeing because you enjoy the conversations," DeBoer said. "He's an easy guy to talk to. You can see why players play so hard for him. I'm amazed at some of the tributes to him around League from players on other teams. He's a hockey lifer. He loves the game, has made a great impression on everybody he's come in contact with. He's going to leave that legacy behind, which is really rare."