A week from now, we will (mercifully) be discussing a real NHL game with points and everything, as the Winnipeg Jets open their season against the Dallas Stars.
Between now and then, there will be some players moving from the NHL to the AHL, and more discussion of Kyle Connor’s contract and Jonathan Toews’ leadership. But what hasn’t been discussed nearly enough is the transition that has occurred with this franchise — a change in culture, as it were — over the past three seasons that has made the Jets a formidable opponent in the NHL.
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For many, it’s easy to point the finger at former head coach Rick Bowness and the job he did, redirecting the energy and focus of this talented group of players. But not enough has been made of the job that Scott Arniel has done, both during the Bowness tenure and in the past 13 months since he was ordained the boss.
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Let’s remember, twice in Bowness’s term, Arniel took the helm of the Jets, seamlessly. And when Bowness decided not to return, and with the optics of a coach’s search, it was pretty obvious that Arniel had earned the head coach’s job. He deserved it.
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The change to Arniel has been amazingly smooth. From the outside, it appeared that the coach was born to handle this job. The 63-year-old coach acted and looked like a 43-year-old. He understood what the modern player needed to succeed. And he did it with confidence and empathy.
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It might have looked seamless, but tell that to Arniel or his family, who felt the embarrassment of those 123 games in Columbus as the head coach more than a decade ago, and another 10 years in New York and Washington as an assistant, wondering if he would get another chance to prove himself — to redeem himself. His patience, poise and professionalism have paid off.
Much has been made of the change in culture in Winnipeg in the last three seasons. Make no mistake about it, Arniel was one of the architects of that change. This is now his team.
And he has earned every ounce of our respect.
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