Scott Arniel will not return behind the bench with the Washington Capitals next season.
Monday, the Winnipeg Jets announced that the Caps’ assistant has been hired as an associate coach under Rick Bowness’ staff. Reports about Arniel leaving the Capitals began circulating in May.
Officially official.
Our new associate coach 🟰 Scott Arniel
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 4, 2022
“We’re fortunate enough to have Scotty Arniel sign on with us,” Bowness said in his introductory press conference with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. “Scotty will come in as the associate coach. I’ve played with Scotty a few years ago. Coached him here. Coached him in Boston. So me and him have always kept a good rapport over the years. We have Scotty on board now and there are a few other people we’ve touched based with (to fill out the coaching staff). There’s a lot of good coaches out there looking for work. Again, it goes to getting the right people and we’ll put the right people in place here.”
Arniel was a finalist for the head coaching position after Barry Trotz turned down the job late last month.
**Keep an eye 👁 on **
Sources tell me as of today the @NHLJets HC candidates are down to ; Scott Arniel, Rick Tocchet, Jim Montgomery, Jeff Blashill, and Pascal Vincent. @espn @NHL #HockeyTwitter— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) June 30, 2022
“Look if I’m in his chair [points to Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff], I’m going after Trotzy too,” Bowness said. “I am, it’s that simple. Trotzy is the perfect guy for this. I get that. With his resume, I would have done the same thing Chevy did. It didn’t work out and that’s fine. Do I feel bad about being the second choice, absolutely not. He would have been my first choice.”
The 59-year-old Arniel was in charge of the Capitals’ 12th-ranked penalty kill (80.4 percent) that did not give up a single power-play goal during the team’s first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers (0-18).
Arniel was first hired by the Capitals to join Todd Reirden’s staff in 2018-19 after spending five years as an associate coach with the New York Rangers. Arniel remained with the Capitals after Reirden was fired in 2020 and replaced by Peter Laviolette.
“I thought Scott Arniel did a terrific job with the penalty kill last year, assisting with the forwards, working with the skill level of the individual players from a forward standpoint and I didn’t see a need to make a change,” Laviolette said then per NBC Sports Washington. “He’s been a head coach, he has a lot of experience. I spoke with coaches that he worked with before and they all had good things to say about him. I knew Scott a little bit from when I played and I am really looking forward to working with him.”
Arniel has extensive ties to the Jets and the Winnipeg area. As a player, he played parts of six NHL seasons in Winnipeg. Later, he was hired as the head coach of their AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose where he stayed from 2006 to 2010. In those seasons coaching in the AHL, he helped the Moose win two division championships, one conference championship, and finish with the top record in the league for the 2008-09 season. He and his family live in Winnipeg over the offseason and have ties to the current Jets ownership.
Here’s the full press release from the Winnipeg Jets:
Scott Arniel appointed Winnipeg Jets associate coach
Arniel, 59, most recently served as assistant coach of the Washington Capitals for the past four seasons.WINNIPEG, July 3, 2022 – The Jets announced today that Scott Arniel has been appointed as the associate coach under new head coach Rick Bowness.
Arniel, 59, most recently served as assistant coach of the Washington Capitals for the past four seasons. The Kingston, Ont. native’s Capitals made the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of those four seasons.
Arniel was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round (22nd overall) in the 1981 NHL Draft. He played his first five seasons with the Jets and returned to Winnipeg for another stint in 1990-91. The left winger played 730 games for Winnipeg, the Buffalo Sabres, and Boston Bruins and recorded 338 points (149G, 189A) and 599 penalty minutes. Arniel also played 34 playoff games and posted six points (3G, 3A) and 39 PIMs. He spent the latter part of his career in the AHL and IHL, including playing his final three seasons for the Manitoba Moose where he recorded 171 points (67G, 104A) and 233 PIMs in 222 games.
Arniel’s playing career highlights included winning a pair of Memorial Cups (1980 and 1981) with the Cornwall Royals on a roster that also featured Winnipeg legend Dale Hawerchuk. He also played for Canada in the 1981 and 1982 World Junior Championships and won the gold medal in 1982. As a professional, his 1995-96 Utah Grizzlies won the IHL’s Turner Cup.
Arniel’s first experience in coaching was as a player/assistant coach with the Houston Aeros in 1995-96. After his 1999 retirement as a player, he served as an assistant coach for Manitoba for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres before returning to the Moose and serving as their head coach from 2006-10, including a trip to the Calder Cup Final in 2009. Arniel was hired as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 8/10 and was dismissed midway through his second season. He returned to the AHL as head coach of the Chicago Wolves in 2012-13 before serving as associate coach of the New York Rangers for five seasons (2013-18). Arniel’s NHL experience is highlighted by a trip to the Stanley Cup Final with the Rangers in 2014. He also made the Eastern Conference Final on two other occasions (Buffalo – 2006 New York Rangers – 2015) and the Rangers also won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2014-15.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
