Tocchet, Bowness highlight 2024 All-Star coaches
The NHL unveiled the head coaches for the 2024 All-Star Weekend in Toronto on Sunday.
The coach of the team in each division with the highest points percentage through Jan. 13 received the honor: Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers' Peter Laviolette, Vancouver Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet, and Winnipeg Jets veteran Rick Bowness.
Montgomery is headed to the All-Star Game for the second straight year in his sophomore season behind the Bruins' bench. Boston's following up its Presidents' Trophy-winning season with another strong campaign, sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a 25-8-9 record and .702 points percentage.
This will mark Laviolette's fourth career All-Star appearance as a head coach. In his first season in the Big Apple, the Rangers have remained a dominant force in the Eastern Conference, leading the competitive Metropolitan Division thanks to a 26-13-2 record and .659 points percentage.
Tocchet is gearing up for his second All-Star foray during his first full season as the Canucks' head coach. Vancouver has been one of the NHL's most entertaining and surprising teams to watch all season long, so it's no wonder Tocchet will join five of his players (Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko, Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Elias Pettersson) at next month's festivities. At the midway mark of the campaign, Vancouver reigns supreme in the Pacific Division with a .709 points percentage and league-leading 29-11-3 record.
Finally, Bowness will make his All-Star debut as a head coach. After an up-and-down 2022-23 campaign, he's righted the ship halfway through his second season as the Jets' bench boss. Winnipeg set a new franchise record after winning eight straight games this winter, and the run propelled Bowness' squad to the top of the Central Division with a 28-10-4 record and a league-leading .714 points percentage.
All-Star Weekend will run from Feb. 1-3.