Three Potential Winnipeg Jets Head Coaches Next Season

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Randy Carlyle #8, Winnipeg Jets (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice shocked the hockey world on Friday when he resigned as head coach. Who are the Jets considering as his replacement?

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was quick to confirm that Dave Lowry would be the interim coach for the Winnipeg Jets for the remainder of the current season. Cheveldayoff cited stability for the team and a belief in Lowry’s potential as a head coach but did also confirm that all options will be considered in the offseason.

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Unfortunately for Dave Lowry, his first game as head coach ended in a 5 – 2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Both Paul Maurice and Kevin Cheveldayoff confirmed that they believe in the talent of this team, that the team has underachieved this season, and that a different voice is needed in the dressing room.

Dave Lowry has a chance to be that different voice, but if the Winnipeg Jets do not show any improvement from now until the end of the season they will be looking at other options.

Here are three potential candidates to take over as head coach next season for the Jets.

3. Randy Carlyle

Winnipeg Jets fans are very familiar with the 1981 Norris Trophy winning Carlyle as he played for the Jets from 1984 – 1993 after being traded to the team from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Carlyle was a popular player in Winnipeg and was named captain of the team from 1989 – 1991.

Following his retirement as a player, Carlyle became an assistant coach with the Jets for three seasons under head coach Terry Simpson. He also got his first head coaching experience in Winnipeg as well with the Manitoba Moose first as part of the IHL and then the AHL.

Carlyle found his greatest success as an NHL head coach with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks where his teams made the playoffs five out of six seasons, including a Stanley Cup victory over the Ottawa Senators in 2007.

Carlyle was fired from his last two head coaching jobs with the Toronto Maple Leafs and in a return to Anaheim ending in 2019. His strong ties to Winnipeg, the Jets ownership group, and a Stanley Cup winning pedigree would make him a very strong candidate to replace Dave Lowry.

Winnipeg Jets, Pascal Vincent, (Mandatory credit Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

2. The return of the former Manitoba Moose coach Pascal Vincent

Pascal Vincent is another name very familiar to Jets fans as he was an assistant coach with the Jets from 2011 – 2016, and head coach of the AHL Manitoba Moose from 2016 – 2021.

In his time with the Moose Vincent coached many of the Jets’ young star players, and was viewed in the hockey world as a coach who was excellent at developing young talent. In 2018 Vincent won the most outstanding coach award in the AHL.

Given his success at the AHL level, Jets fans knew that Vincent would be considered for other coaching vacancies in the NHL. That opportunity came this past offseason when Vincent was interviewed for the head coaching role with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The head coaching job went to Blue Jackets then assistant coach Brad Larsen. However, Vincent impressed the Blue Jackets management team and was offered the role of associate coach with the team.

Vincent would likely leave the Blue Jackets for a head coaching opportunity and would be a great fit in Winnipeg with a roster including many of the players he previously coached at the AHL level.

New York Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz looks on during the third period against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Manitoba born Barry Trotz

Barry Trotz has strong ties to the province of Manitoba. He was born in Dauphin, Manitoba where he played junior hockey. He began his coaching career with the University of Manitoba and his home town Dauphin Kings.

After spending some time as a head coach in the AHL, general manager David Poile chose Trotz to be the first head coach of the expansion Nashville Predators. Trotz coached the Predators for 1196 NHL regular season games, and made the playoffs seven times.

His greatest NHL success came at his next stop as head coach with the Washington Capitals for four seasons. In his final season with that team in 2018 Trotz won a Stanley Cup over the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, the team that defeated the Jets in the Western Conference Final.

The Stanley Cup win made Trotz a hot coaching commodity and he ended signing with the New York Islanders where he has been head coach since 2018. Trotz’s seat is warming up as the Islanders are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division after making it to the conference finals last season.

Trotz would be considered a long shot candidate to coach the Jets as his reputation may buy him some time with the Islanders despite their struggles, and he is more of a high priced head coach than the Jets typically consider.

However, if the Islanders fired Trotz, the appeal for both sides might be strong. A Stanley Cup winning, two-time Jack Adam’s Award winning, Manitoba born coach who returns home to coach the Jets would be a great story.