Bones is back.
The Stars officially announced Thursday that Rick Bowness will return as head coach, after he led the team to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2000. Bowness was the interim coach since Dec. 10, when the Stars fired Jim Montgomery due to unprofessional conduct.
"My wife Judy and I are thrilled to have this opportunity to continue our work here in Dallas," Bowness said in a statement. "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."
Bowness went 20-13-5 in the regular season as the Stars finished fourth in the Western Conference. After the coronavirus pandemic-induced break from March to July, Bowness tweaked the offense to involve the defensemen more in the rush and the offensive zone, resulting in added offensive punch during the postseason.
The Stars averaged 3.5 goals in a series win over Calgary, and 4.0 per game against Colorado after scoring just 2.58 goals per game in the regular season. Dallas lost in the Cup Final to Tampa Bay in six games.
Bringing Bowness back wasn't a surprise for the Stars, and general manager Jim Nill previously said the team was moving forward with the plan in place that Bowness would remain the coach. The Stars and Bowness hadn't made it official with a new contract, but the plan was in place.
"I'm very comfortable with Rick Bowness being our coach," Nill said on Oct. 8. "These are his players now. That's the type of relationship he has and as far as I know, he wants to come back, and we'll move forward with that."
Bowness, 65, is the most experienced coach in NHL history. He has been behind the bench for more games (either as an assistant coach or the head coach) than anyone else in league history. He is one of three coaches to be a head coach in five different decades.
Bowness has never won a Stanley Cup, and losing the Cup Final against Tampa Bay was his third close call. With Vancouver in 2011, Bowness lost to Boston in the Cup Final as an assistant. With Tampa Bay in 2015, Bowness lost to Chicago as an assistant.
The entire coaching staff will return for Dallas next season, which includes John Stevens, Todd Nelson, Derek Laxdal, Jeff Reese and Kelly Forbes. Laxdal was promoted from the AHL when Montgomery was fired and Bowness took the reins.
Bowness' return means the Stars group that won the West will largely remain in Victory Green. Anton Khudobin and Andrej Sekera were unrestricted free agents who re-signed in Dallas. Radek Faksa was a restricted free agent who inked a long-term deal, and Denis Gurianov signed a two-year pact. The team will only lose Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry this offseason.
