Scott Arniel named next head coach of the Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets have named Scott Arniel as the next head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He is moving up from associate coach to head coach.  Darren Dreger would drop the news on us this afternoon on X. Arniel has been the front runner for the job since former head coach Rick Bowness announced his retirement on May 6th.

Over the last two seasons Arniel has stepped in as bench boss when Bowness would have to step away due to illnesses and personal matters. Arniel had a record of 15-7-3 as interim head coach for the Jets.

This Arniel’s second stint as a head coach he previously coached the Columbus Blue Jackets for two seasons with a 45-60-18 record and no post season games.

Arniel played in the professional hockey until 1999. He retired he joined the coaching staff of the Manitoba Moose as an assistant. He was with Manitoba as an assistant coach for three seasons after he would leave for Buffalo as an assistant coach.

After four years with the Sabres, Arniel returned to the Moose as their new head coach. Arniel led the team to the league’s best regular season record in 2008–09 and a berth in the Calder Cup finals but fell short of the championship. He would earn the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year.

Arniel returned to the NHL in 2010 joining the Blue Jackets in 2010 he would be fired in January of 2012 after just a season and a half.

In his coaching career Arniel has been an assistant coach for Lindy Ruff in Buffalo, and  Todd Reirden in Washington after the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup. He was an associtate coach of the New York Rangers from 2013-2018 under Alain Vigneault. They Made the finals in 2014 and lost.

Arniel had a 730 game playing career in the NHL, he played with the Jets, Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins scoring 149 goals and 338 points.

As of right no other changes have happened to the Jets coaching staff.