Dallas Stars interim coach Rick Bowness has his team one victory from the Western Conference finals, holding a 3-1 series lead over the Colorado Avalanche heading into Monday’s Game 5. But he’s not prepared to discuss whether this run has changed his status for next season.
Speaking about his future for the first time in the NHL’s restarted season, Bowness said he has “absolutely not” considered whether the Stars’ success might earn him the job on a permanent basis.
“That never enters into it,” Bowness said. “[General manager] Jim Nill and I have an agreement. We’ll talk about it at the end of the year, and that’s all that matters. I haven’t even given that any thought. There’s no time for that. I tell our players [that] we stay in the moment. I want our coaches to stay in the moment as well.”
Bowness took over the Stars on an interim basis on Dec. 10 after they fired coach Jim Montgomery for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.” Montgomery entered an inpatient residential program for alcohol abuse in January.
“When they asked me to finish the season, that was the agreement we had right then. We’ll talk about the future after the season. That’s what we’ll do,” Bowness said.
At 65 years old, Bowness is the NHL’s oldest head coach. His promotion in Dallas marked the first time he had been a head coach since 2003-04 with the Phoenix Coyotes. This postseason is the first time he has coached in the playoffs since 1992.