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Jets GM Summit: Chevaldayoff Opens Up! |
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Last night Jets GM, Kevin Chevaldayoff sat down with TSN Radio for a 2-hour summit to discuss the season and all the remarkable events that came along with it. While Chevy has never been shy or awkward with the media or broadcast partners, this event let fans hear what he is really like in his manner and demeanor.
Chevy is a careful calculated man and one interesting piece of character information he revealed was how he keeps his emotions in check during and after games. He explained that he is immensely competitive and often has to balance his emotional expressions from his competitive nature.. This should be of importance to Jets fans because any organization should want the competitive fire and drive to start near the top. The best business managers tend to be ones who can foster and nurture entrepreneurial vision in their organizations while making tough decisions and a professional sports general manager is no different. They have to keep the competitive drive alive and relevant throughout the whole organization.
A few of the more notable points Chevy made revolved around his experiences with the Blackhawks organization and particularly with cap space risk management and personnel structure. He provided a relatively detailed scenario about the decision process the Blackhawks went through in their cup winning year and how they took the risk to go into ‘cap hell’ (as he described it) for a shot to win the cup. The most compelling reason for the risk, the players and personalities in the room made the risk worth taking.
The best take from this candid bit of information is that the Jets’ GM knows what it means to be a part of very serious risk management and has the experience to understand when and how to judge that risk. That point in time has not arrived, but each year it will get closer should the Jets keep ascending in their development plan.
Chevy made an interesting statement when he said “The coach has to be a guy who can develop as well,” during the interview, it’s even more interesting when looking back at one of Claude Noel’s final end of season comments. The coach mentioned that “he was patient this year but next year less so,” when referring to his team and probably the learning and development cycle.
Where that fits in with the future of the Jets is interesting but consider Shane Hnidy’s comments after Chevy spoke about his experience in Chicago with players knowing their role. “Knowing your role is important and has to be felt as a group,” Hnidy said, he continued about how players have to “play for one another,” when they hit the ice.
Taking into account the above to comments what do they say about the Jets and their future as a roster and development? I think the first conclusion to make is management is looking towards a level of harmony and camaraderie in the locker room that transcends into dying on the ice for your teammate. It’s what Chevy talked about with salary cap risk-management, when a team has that harmony and commitment with each other the management group is prepared to take cap risks.
Other key aspects of the summit included talking about what certain players did in their development away from the ice. One specific reference was Zach Bogosian who Chevy acknowledged he loved seeing “how they become a pro,” and the work ethic needed, “it becomes part of their daily regime,” were his words. Once again speaking to where the strategic and tactical management of player assets is being utilized. The Jets are a young raw team and their future success will be determined by the progression of youth and Chevy and his team knows this.
Look at how he cited Evander Kane. What was notable in his comments on Kane was acknowledging, as well as setting the standard for, progression. “He went from 14-19-30 goals, that’s progression.” Indeed it is but progression needs to happen with more than one player for the Jets to improve their post-season fortunes and the summit gave no evidence that Chevy was unaware of this reality.
Kane’s name also came up again as it relates to social media and Twitter. Although Chevy did mention he lurks on Twitter but rarely participates, he did have some thoughts. “The hardest part is trying to filter what is true, what is not,” he said. This view is the most basic approach to social media, just because some one can broadcast it does not make them accurate. More importantly Chevy confirmed and acknowledged that Kane had matured, as Brian Munz had suggested to him, away from the ice in his game and attitude.
The summit captured the essence of what is guiding the Winnipeg Jets in an easy yet direct examination of various issues, players and coaches. Did it illuminate where the team is heading in this important off-season? Not entirely but why should he tip his hand? What Jets fans can sleep easy about is that the team is in capable hands with a manager who has a intelligent, pragmatic approach to the game of hockey. By this writer’s estimation Chevy has earned the trust and respect of fans and media alike, but like business, good earnings in one quarter only hold until the end of the next one. The next reporting period happens to be after the draft and UFA period and that’s when the fans and critical eyes in the media will be looking to see how the GM has positioned himself for the rest of the year.
Playoff pool? Yes please so go to www.poolcrazy.com and join the Bigshow pool from TSN 1290 set up by @Jay_Richardson. Pool name is BIGSHOW and password is bigshow.
Thanks for reading!
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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