New Jets coach Rick Bowness tests positive for COVID-19, will miss season opener

Head coach Rick Bowness will have to wait a little longer to make his regular-season debut with the Winnipeg Jets.

The team announced a few hours before Friday's season opener against the New York Rangers that the 67-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19.

Bowness, a native of Moncton, N.B., was hired in the off-season as the eighth head coach in franchise history after Paul Maurice resigned in December and interim coach Dave Lowry wasn't brought back.

The Jets will hit the road for three games following Friday's matchup with New York, including a visit to Dallas, where Bowness coached the last three seasons and helped guide the Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup final.