Paul Maurice Resigns as Jets Head Coach; Dave Lowry Named Interim HC

The Winnipeg Jets announced Friday that Paul Maurice has resigned as the team's head coach:

Dave Lowry will be the Jets' interim head coach.

Darren Dreger of TSN noted "there's nothing sinister" to the surprising decision, which was a personal choice.

Maurice was in his ninth year as coach of the Jets, entering the day in fifth place in the Central Division with a 13-10-5 record.

The Jets have made the playoffs in each of the last four years, reaching the conference final in 2018.

Over nine seasons with Winnipeg, Maurice has led the team to 315 wins in 600 regular-season games.

The 54-year-old has been a head coach for four different organizations in his NHL career, spanning 24 seasons. His 775 career regular-season wins are the sixth-most in league history and the most of any coach without a Stanley Cup title.

Winnipeg will need to regroup after losing its veteran coach, hoping to also turn things around after back-to-back losses.

Lowry will take over for his first head-coaching job in the NHL after joining the team as an assistant last year. He spent 19 years in the league as a player from 1985 to 2004, totaling 351 points for five different organizations.

The 56-year-old has experience as a head coach in the Western Hockey League.

Winnipeg is scheduled to host the Washington Capitals on Friday.