Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness has retired after spending 38 seasons behind an NHL bench, the team announced Monday.

The 69-year-old Bowness is retiring after having one of the best seasons of his career. He guided the Jets to a 52-win campaign that saw them finish with 110 points before they lost in the Western Conference quarterfinal round to the Colorado Avalanche in five games.

Leading the Jets to one of the NHL's best records led to Bowness being named one of the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award which goes to the coach who is "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success."

Shortly before announcing his retirement, the Jets posted a video on X with the caption, "Hockey won't be the same without you, Bones."

Initially drafted in the NHL and the WHA, Bowness was a forward who scored 18 goals and 55 points in 173 NHL games with the Atlanta Flames, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and the original Jets.

He was a player-coach with the Jets' AHL affiliate in 1982-83 and became a Jets assistant once the 1983-84 season was finished.

That would send Bowness down a path that led to him spending an NHL record 2,726 games behind a bench either as a head coach or as an assistant. His first NHL job was an assistant for the original Jets franchise for three seasons before he was named head coach for 28 games during the 1988-89 season.

Bowness returned to the NHL during the 1991-92 season when he was the head coach of the Boston Bruins for one year. He led the Bruins to a 36-win season and guided them to the Eastern Conference final where they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Bruins did not bring Bowness back, but he was next named the first coach of the then-expansion franchise Ottawa Senators in 1992. Bowness coached the Sens for three-plus season and was fired 19 games into the 1995-96 season.

He was then hired as an associate coach for the New York Islanders and remained in that role until he was promoted to head coach as a midyear replacement in the 1996-97 season. The Isles went 16-18-3 in 37 games only to see Bowness get fired the next year after 63 games.

Bowness came back to the league in the 1999-2000 season as a Phoenix Coyotes assistant. He was with the franchise for six years which saw him serve as a caretaker during the 2003-04 season when they fired Bobby Francis.

He would then join the Canucks as an assistant in the 2006-07 season which saw him play an instrumental role in what proved to be one of the franchise's golden periods. Bowness spent seven seasons in Vancouver and was part of the staff that reached the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

In 2013-14, the Tampa Bay Lightning hired Bowness to serve as an associate head coach for then-first-year coach Jon Cooper. Bowness spent five years with the Lightning before the Dallas Stars hired him as an assistant in the 2018-19 season.

Bowness was later elevated to head coach in December 2019 after the Stars parted ways with Jim Montgomery. Bowness led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in the Edmonton bubble where they lost to the Lightning. The Stars would miss the playoffs a year later before returning to the postseason in the 2021-22 season.

What ultimately became his final season in Winnipeg saw Bowness lead the Jets to the sort of success that led to him being named a coach at the NHL All-Star Game for the first time in his career. Earlier this season, Bowness took a temporary leave of absence to be with his wife, Judy, after she had a seizure.

In March, Bowness took another brief leave to have what the Jets said at the time was "a minor medical procedure" which saw him return later that month.

Bowness finishes his career with a 310-408-48-37 record having made five playoff appearances.

BOSTON -- David Pastrnak scored on a feed from Hampus Lindholm 1:54 into overtime and the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday night to clinch their NHL first-round series and advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Jeremy Swayman finished with 30 saves and Lindholm had the tying goal in regulation to help the Bruins avoid losing their second straight first-round series after holding a 3-1 lead. They have now defeated the rival Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs three times in the past seven years.

After a loss in Game 6, Boston coach Jim Montgomery told reporters the club needed more from Pastrnak, and the right wing delivered. He ended up with four shots on net across 30 shifts and 21:21 of ice time.

"I thought he was dynamic tonight," Montgomery said. "I thought he had his most possession time, he was creating shots, he was taking what was available."

Boston will meet the Florida Panthers, who upset the Bruins in seven games in the first round last year and spoiled a season in which they posted records for the most wins and points in a season in NHL history. Game 1 is set for Monday night in Florida. The Panthers have been resting since Tuesday, when they eliminated Tampa Bay in five games.

William Nylander scored and Auston Matthews had an assist in his return from a two-game absence for the Maple Leafs, who are now 0-6 in Game 7s since the 2013 conference quarterfinals. They are 0-4 on the road in those games -- all in Boston. Matthews missed Games 5 and 6 with an undisclosed ailment.

Matthews opened the game on Toronto's third line before rejoining the first line in time for the Maple Leafs' lone goal. He finished with 24 shifts and 17:35 time on the ice.

Ilya Samsonov started in goal for the Leafs for the first time since Game 4 and finished with 29 saves.

"Obviously, not moving on, not getting the result we want is extremely difficult," Toronto captain John Tavares said. "With the type of team that we have, and the type of character that's in here, and just the belief in this locker room, I'm very proud. We stuck with it and gave ourselves a chance."

"Loved how our team fought to put us in the position to compete and play in this game, have a chance to be one shot away," he said. "Obviously, you reflect on the series, we don't love the hole we dug ourselves, and it's a big reason why we're here. Love the fight of our team."

Pastrnak ended with three goals in the series, and he will now face a second-round opponent against whom he scored five times last postseason.

"Huge moment, obviously," Pastrnak said of Saturday's winner. "You could say a little relief, as well."

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.

Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished with 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals in its second year.

But the Kraken failed to match expectations this season and spent most of the year trying to climb back into playoff contention after a terrible start, and failed to build on the success of that playoff run.

Seattle finished tied for fifth in the Pacific Division after going 34-35-13 with 81 points, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.

Hakstol went 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken.

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.

Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished with 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals in its second year.

But the Kraken failed to match expectations this season and spent most of the year trying to climb back into playoff contention after a terrible start, and failed to build on the success of that playoff run.

Seattle finished tied for fifth in the Pacific Division after going 34-35-13 with 81 points, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.

Hakstol went 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken.

TORONTO -- Star center Auston Matthews did not finish Saturday night's Game 4 because of an illness, as the Toronto Maple Leafs fell 3-1 to the Boston Bruins.

Toronto now finds itself on the brink of elimination in its first-round playoff series, with a must-win Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston.

Coach Sheldon Keefe previously confirmed Matthews played through an illness in Game 3, and Matthews had been absent from multiple team sessions while recovering. It was more of the same in Game 4 when Matthews logged 14:16 in ice time before not returning after the second intermission.

"It is all related to the illness he's dealing with," Keefe said, responding to a reporter's question on why Matthews didn't return for the third period. "The doctors pulled him."

Matthews was Toronto's hero in Game 2, scoring the game-winning goal and notching two assists to lift the Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory.

It was the Bruins again taking it to Toronto early Saturday. Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead off James van Riemsdyk's opening goal to enter the second period ahead 1-0, and it quickly added to its lead with a power-play goal from Brad Marchand. David Pastrnak collected another with 41 seconds left in the middle frame to afford Boston a 3-0 advantage going into the third.

Toronto has now lost six straight playoff games at home, a streak dating to the 1970s, and has been outscored 21-11 in that stretch of home contests. The Leafs have also scored three or fewer goals in 11 consecutive postseason tilts to date.

Emotions were visibly boiling over for Toronto on the bench in Saturday's loss, with cameras capturing Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander -- back in the lineup after missing the series' first three games with an undisclosed injury -- exchanging verbal barbs.

"We're grown men," Marner said of their exchange. "We're just talking about plays out there that we all want to make sure we're 100% on. Just a little off page there. We're not yelling at each other because we hate each other. We just all want to be on the same page and help each other out."

Marner was the lone goal scorer for Toronto when he broke through with his first of the playoffs to cut Boston's lead to 3-1 in the third period. That was all Toronto could muster, though, offensively.

The Leafs' power play continued to misfire and finished 0-for-3 in Game 4, to put them 1-for-14 on the man advantage in the series to date. Meanwhile, Boston has capitalized on its special teams' opportunities with another power-play goal on Saturday (6-for-13 in the playoffs).

The gravity of Toronto's situation now isn't lost on anyone.

"We're down 3-1," Nylander said. "It's not a great spot to be in."

Keefe opted to make a goaltender change for the final frame by inserting Joseph Woll for Ilya Samsonov, who had allowed three goals on 16 shots (.813 save percentage). The Leafs' coach declined to name a starter for Game 5.

"The reason for [the swap] is we're just trying to change things," Keefe said. "You get to get Joe involved. That's really it. You're trying to change the momentum. We've got some time here to talk it through [before Game 5]."

Montgomery had previously questioned if Swayman was "in [the Maple Leafs'] heads," given his success against them all season. Swayman is now 6-0-0 against Toronto and holds a .956 save percentage through three postseason games.

Keefe felt it wasn't for lack of trying that Toronto hadn't been able to crack Swayman.

"I don't sense any frustration," he said. "Guys are pushing one another, guys are competitive, guys want to win. It's all part of it."

Toronto can only turn the page now to Game 5 on Tuesday, where the Leafs will extend -- or end -- their season.

"There was nothing wrong with our effort level here tonight," Keefe said. "Guys are competing. It's physical hockey. Guys are trying. That's a good team over there. It's limiting us. You can question a lot of things, can't question the effort."