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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Scott Arniel believes overcoming the lowest point in his career will help him reach higher aspirations with the Winnipeg Jets.

Arniel was named the new head coach of the Jets on Friday, 12 years after his only other time as a head coach ended with him being fired by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“One of the darkest times for me in coaching — probably in hockey — was when I got fired in Columbus,” Arniel said at a media availability at Canada Life Centre on Monday. “I had never been through it. It took a long time to get over it.

“Whether it was anger or it was doubt. Whatever it was, it took a while. You can ask my wife, you can ask my kids, even some of my friends — I was a grumpy person.”

Arniel, 61, did not know if this day would ever come again.

“I’ve been sitting here for 12 years wondering, always wondering, ‘Am I ever going to get a second chance?'” he said. “And I’ll tell you what, there’s some great coaches in our league right now that got a second chance and a third chance, who are having great success, and I like to think I’ve learned a lot over these past few years that are going to help me move forward.”

Arniel, who had been the associate coach in Winnipeg over the past two seasons, takes over the reins after Rick Bowness retired.

He has come full circle since being drafted in the second round by the Jets in 1981, playing for the team for five years before being traded, then returning.

Bowness and Arniel had led the Jets to a franchise-tying record 52 wins while earning the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed last season. But, after going 52-24-6, the Jets bowed out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight year.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff believed that Arniel had a good enough handle on the team to hire him after interviewing only two other candidates.

“He’s sitting here today because he’s earned this opportunity,” Cheveldayoff, who liked the way Arniel communicated with the players and handled the team under duress, said. “The reality is, you’re going to build upon something that the foundation has been laid.”

Arniel, who posted a 45-60-18 record over a year and a half with the Blue Jackets, admitted that he was pretty green when he was hired by Columbus, but has since learned from his mistakes. He has a 15-7-3 record over three stints when he was pressed into duty when Bowness was out.

“It helped me to build confidence in myself and what I can do as a coach,” Arniel said. “In my coaching career, this is the greatest personal chapter to become the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.”

The Jets have parted ways with assistant coach Brad Lauer, but will keep assistant coach Marty Johnston and goalie coach Wade Flaherty. Arniel started to interview assistant coach candidates on Monday.

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Draisaitl, Hellebuyck, Kucherov are Hart finalists

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Draisaitl, Hellebuyck, Kucherov are Hart finalists

Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay Lightning standout Nikita Kucherov were named finalists for the 2024-25 Hart Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

The award is presented “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team” and voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Draisaitl, 29, led the NHL in goals (52), tied for third in points (106) and was a career-best plus-32 in 71 games this season. He won the award in 2019-20 and is a two-time finalist.

Hellebuyck, 31, led the league in wins (47), goals-against average (2.00) and shutouts (eight) and was second in save percentage (.925) among goalies to play at least 25 games. The Vezina Trophy finalist as the best goaltender in the NHL is a first-time Hart finalist.

Kucherov, 31, led the NHL in scoring for the second consecutive season with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists). He won the Hart Trophy in 2018-19 and is a three-time finalist.

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Sources: Rangers close to hiring Sullivan as coach

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Sources: Rangers close to hiring Sullivan as coach

The New York Rangers are in advanced contract talks to make former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes on Thursday.

The deal is expected to be one of the richest coaching contracts in NHL history, the sources said.

Sullivan would head to New York in a move that is coming together three days after he left his job with Pittsburgh, where he coached for 10 seasons and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

The Penguins have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons amid a retooling of the roster.

David Quinn, Sullivan’s top assistant in Pittsburgh, is not expected to join him in New York. Quinn will be a candidate for other head coaching vacancies, including Pittsburgh’s, according to sources.

John Tortorella is a strong possibility to rejoin the Rangers organization. Sullivan, Quinn and Tortorella were on the coaching staff for Team USA at Four Nations.

In New York, Sullivan would replace Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers didn’t make the postseason for the first time since 2021.

Sullivan was selected by the Rangers in the 1987 draft but never played for New York, choosing to stay in college at Boston University before going on to an 11-year NHL playing career with four teams.

Sullivan, 57, previously served as a Rangers assistant coach from 2009 to 2013 on Tortorella’s staff. He also was the head coach of the Boston Bruins for the 2003-04 and 2005-06 seasons.

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Injured Scheifele won’t travel with Jets for G6

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Injured Scheifele won't travel with Jets for G6

Winnipeg Jets coach Scott Arniel said Thursday that star center Mark Scheifele will not travel with team ahead of Game 6 against the St. Louis Blues.

Scheifele will remain in Winnipeg after he missed the second and third periods of his team’s 5-3 victory Wednesday against the Blues in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

“You’re hoping for the best that maybe he wakes up today and things are better,” Arniel told reporters before the team flight to St. Louis. “But right now, he won’t be making the trip, and we’ll just go day-to-day moving forward.”

With 13:51 remaining in the opening period, the Jets were in the Blues’ zone when Scheifele had just played the puck along the half wall. That’s when he was instantly checked by Blues captain Brayden Schenn. Scheifele appeared to be concentrating on the puck and looked as if he did not see Schenn, who connected with the top half of Scheifele’s chest and knocked him down to the ice.

Schenn was given a two-minute minor for interference and another two-minute minor for roughing.

A little more than 10 minutes later, Scheifele was involved in another physical sequence. He was just about to reach the Blues’ zone when forward Radek Faksa also checked him and appeared to have struck Scheifele in the same area as the previous hit from Schenn.

Scheifele finished the first period, but Arniel spoke to the officials as both teams were entering the dressing room before first intermission. Blues coach Jim Montgomery confirmed with reporters after the game that Arniel spoke to the officials about the Schenn hit before sharing his thoughts.

“Let’s make it clear: Fifty-five got hurt from the Faksa hit,” Montgomery said. “He played six minutes after the Schenn hit. He didn’t come back after he got rocked by Faksa.”

Upon hearing Montgomery’s comments, Arniel had some thoughts of his own.

“I didn’t know Monty got his medical degree and can say how our player got hurt. He’s way off base and should not make that comment,” Arniel told reporters. “There’s some things that have been going on in this series and that was a repeat of what we’ve seen before: A player leaving his feet and then hitting a player in a very unprotected spot. Like hitting him in the sense, almost blindsiding him. Not happy with how the call was made. A two-minute minor. Not even looking at it is what I was upset about.

“It is something we have talked to the league about for five games.”

On Thursday, Arniel was asked if Scheifele was in concussion protocol.

“I’m not going down that road,” Arniel said.

It’s possible that the Jets could once again turn to Vladislav Namestnikov like they did in Game 5 and elevate him to the top line. The second-line center would take Scheifele’s place on the first line alongside Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi.

Namestnikov, who had 11 goals and 38 points in 78 regular-season games, had his strongest game of the postseason in Game 5. He finished with a goal and two points while logging 17:15 of ice time.

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