Former Leafs assistant Dean Chynoweth joins Winnipeg Jets’ staff
By Sam Nestler
10 days agoDean Chynoweth will be joining the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach, the team confirmed Monday. Chynoweth was relieved of his duties as Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach earlier this month.
“After a thorough interview process, I feel we’ve found two great individuals to help push our team forward,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said in a press release. “Both Dean and Davis (Payne) bring with them a great deal of enthusiasm as well as a tremendous amount of team success and experience on the development side of coaching, having worked with veterans and young players alike. Both have excelled in the area of specialty teams with top-10 power plays and penalty killing units. I am excited by what both can offer our staff and our players.”
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman previously confirmed Winnipeg’s interest in Chynoweth.
Winnipeg promoted associate coach Arniel on May 24, just a few weeks after a retirement announcement from former coach Rick Bowness. Bowness coached 38 seasons in the NHL, including two with the Jets from 2022 to 2024. He announced his retirement following the Jets’ elimination in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Chynoweth spent three seasons with the Maple Leafs after joining the organization in 2021. He specializes in team defense and penalty killing but only covered the latter in 2023-24. Toronto ranked 23rd on the penalty kill during the 2023-24 season with a 76.9 percent success rate.
Toronto also announced that assistant Guy Boucher would not be returning for the 2024-25 season. Boucher was primarily responsible for the team’s power play, which finished seventh during the regular season but faltered badly during the seven-game playoff loss to the Boston Bruins.
Prior to his time in Toronto, the 55-year-old served three seasons as an assistant coach for the Carolina Hurricanes under Rod Brind’Amour. He began coaching in the International Hockey League in 1998-99 and has coached 24 seasons across the Western Hockey League, American Hockey League and NHL.
As a player, Chynoweth spent 10 seasons in the NHL between the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He was drafted in the first round (No. 13 overall) of the 1987 NHL Draft.
After Toronto named former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube as its head coach in May, the Leafs also hired Lane Lambert as an associate coach.
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