An emotional Rick Bowness announces his retirement

In case you missed it earlier today, Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness has officially announced his retirement from coaching.

The man they call 'Bones' walks away from the NHL after 38 years, with zero regrets. Sure, Bowness never captured a Stanley Cup victory but that hardly defines his career. An emotional Bowness spoke today about what drives him and what he hopes his lasting legacy will be in the hockey world.

Check it out:

Atta boy, Bonesy! All the best to you and your family in retirement!

Read below for our earlier report, published before the news was official.

I have some sad news to share today.

On Monday morning, Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness announced that he was stepping away from the sport that he loves so dearly, retiring as a head coach after a whopping 38 seasons in the National Hockey League.

Normally announcements of this nature are a cause for celebration after an amazing career, but unfortunately the circumstances under which Bowness has made this decision I fear are less than ideal.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding how difficult this year has been on Bowness and his family. Bowness' wife Judy suffered a seizure towards the start of the regular season, one that was severe enough that it forced Bowness to take a leave of absence from the team to care for his wife. Bowness himself has described the incident as a "life changing moment" for both he and his wife, and I can't even begin to imagine what Bowness has had to go through this year while still trying to do his job as a head coach at a high level.

Bowness of course deserves to be remembered for the incredible legacy that he leaves behind in the sport of hockey, having touched the lives of countless hockey players along the way. Bowness worked in a coaching role, either as an associate coach or head coach, with 8 different NHL teams and will officialy retire with more games under his belt than any other coach in the history of the NHL with a staggering 2726 games as an NHL coach.

I would like to wish Rick, and more importantly the Bowness family, all of the best as they embark on this next chapter of their lives.