The Winnipeg Jets fell to the much more regular season-like Ottawa Senators 3-1 Sunday night in preseason action. The Senators played a better game almost from the start and with Spezza, Ryan, Michalek, Karlsson, Methot and Lehner in net they iced a better line up to achieve the result.
For Winnipeg fans that's not the story at the moment. A pre-season loss is one thing when the team puts the second of three designating playing units from the full camp roster out, but should there not be something to see?
Therein lies the concern for the discriminating fan- which players wanted to compete and battle for a job? In all honesty it seems few did and that should be troubling for fans, and certainly the coach and management. Guys like Pardy, Sutter, Postma, O'Dell, and Cormier, all have reasons to battle and compete yet few did.
Where was the effort to grind the Sens down and make them work? It didn't happen from enough players and subsequently far too often ground was given up due to passive efforts.
It boils down to a buzzword that seems to pop up season after season withe Jets, identity.
The Jets are a team in need of an identity. Whether it be a mission statement, an attitude or a simple philosophy there needs to be a unifying perspective for all players. I don't see it and based on who I follow and talk with about the Jets on
Twitter they don't see an identity either.
The fact that this term came up only two games into the pre-season, thanks to
Mitch Kaspick is a bit of a surprise. It seems to early to talk about this re-occurring theme but here we are.
Sometimes I wonder if how Claude Noel can be vague, guarded and cautious in his approach to discussing specifics also comes across that way towards players. Or could it be a deeper problem with Noel and his team, do they know what he wants them to be or does he know what he wants them to be?
I wouldn't lay blame on the coach yet, this is still preseason after all. But why are players, on a team where there are spots up for grabs, not fighting to earn those spots? That was the story tonight at the MTS centre, there was hardly any fight in the dog.
The old saying goes "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog". I agree wholeheartedly with that expression but right now as this pertains to the Jets is it clear to the players what kind dog they are?
Peluso knows though, he's a boxer as he stopped a fight with one punch tonight. For the rest, I'd answer "no". Tonight it was clear that many players were not ready to show any fight as any breed of dog. That's not too concerning right now but if these questions persist 10 games into the regular season there's some questions for the head dog handler that will need answering.
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