A former NHLer who played under Scott Arniel, the newly appointed head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, says his arrogance got him fired from his last head coaching gig
As soon as former Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness stepped down, it seemed fairly obvious that Scott Arniel would be the person to take over behind the bench. While the Jets did interview other candidates, it was ultimately Arniel getting promoted to the head coaching position, with support from his colleagues and players. Not everyone thinks he's a good coach, though.
Arniel has had one other head coaching gig in the NHL, which was with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2010 to 2012. He was fired halfway through his second season after amassing a 45-60-18 record in 123 games. Former NHL defenseman Mike Commodore played under him during that time, and says the Jets have made a huge error in judgement.
Commodore, who played just under 500 games in the league with the Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, and Tampa Bay Lightning, is known for his hot takes on people he doesn't like. He has been particularly critical of former NHL coach Mike Babcock on several occasions. He once said that no one who's ever met Babcock has liked him.
Commodore didn't go into any further detail on what has led him to his opinion on Arniel. Despite his lack of success in Columbus, Arniel held assistant coaching positions with three NHL teams after he was fired, including the Jets.
