Assistant Coach Scott Arniel Leaves Capitals To Join Jets New Staff

The Washington Capitals now have a vacancy on their coaching staff, as assistant Scott Arniel has left to join the Winnipeg Jets.

Arniel will serve as an associate coach with the jets working under new bench boss Rick Bowness. Per reports, Arniel had been a finalist for Winnipeg’s head coaching gig.

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The 58-year-old joined the Capitals in 2018-19 when Todd Reirden brought him on board. Prior to that, he spent five seasons as an associate coach with the New York Rangers and also worked as the Columbus Blue Jackets head coach from 2010-12. Arniel has over 19 years of coaching experience, which also includes time with the Jets’ current AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose.

Over the last four seasons, Arniel was mainly responsible for the team’s penalty kill and worked closely with the forwards. Washington’s penalty kill ranks seventh in the league (81.2 percent). The Capitals PK finished 12th this past season (84 percent) and also didn’t allow a single power-play goal against in their first-round series with the Florida Panthers, who had the best power play in the 2021-22 campaign.

Arniel now sees his NHL career come full circle. Back in his playing days, Arniel was taken 22nd overall by Winnipeg in the 1981 NHL Draft. The left wing spent six years of his 11-year playing career with the Jets, dishing 80 goals and 112 assists in 406 games.