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Blame Game Starting in Winnipeg

October 20, 2014, 12:23 PM ET [32 Comments]
Peter Tessier
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Where do you stand now Jets fans? Is it the coach, is it the GM, is it the players, or is it part of everything?

There's no answer that can cover all the questions adequately and provide fans with a basic understanding of what ails the Jets. The same problems that have appeared year after year are back again and no one seems surprised but those people do seem angry and much more critical.

In the 4-1 loss to the Flames Sunday night, the game had the prototypical issues that Jets fans know so well. Solid effort to start, no continuous adherence to the game plan, and some questionable goaltending. So who's fault is that?

That's where fans' are moving to now- assigning blame. They want a head to roll down Portage avenue just to know that change can happen. It's all about 'blame-storming' trying to figure out who is at fault for another mess.

Last year it was Claude Noel, an easy fall guy as it was always going to be easier to say that it was the wrong coach for the group. Well now the team has a coach with a 4 year deal and fans know how much TNSE likes spending money to fix problems. (hint: it doesn't) What happens when you have the right coach but not the right players?

That may be the case right now in Winnipeg where a team may be unravelling, unable to make the necessary changes and having other teams pass them by. The right players may not always be based on playing skills either, they could be lacking the key leadership skills to get themselves out of a mess.

So where does the hand-wringing begin?

What exists now is a different debate than previous ones. The heart of the conversations no longer involve what players should be playing and where. Fans and media have moved on from discussing the methodology of the process employed by the Jets to build the team to simply ignoring it and asking the very simple question- when does actual change happen?

They changed the coach, they've changed the supporting cast, they changed the prospect pool and are changing the systems. There is really only one change left to make (two really but we'll discuss that later) and that is changing the core.

Patrick Williams summed up the Jets build by saying they want to develop current core group and one for the future. They (the Jets) want it both ways and it's doubtful that is a goal worth trying to achieve. Why? Because there are no guarantees of what players will turn into through the draft and develop process when they stake their mark in the NHL.

So what does that mean for the Jets?

It's about direction, or lack thereof, and how it seems the team is in a constant evaluation process. The current one is about Ondrej Pavelec, but only after the defense is fixed. At what point does the GM, Kevin Cheveldayoff, take his data, assessments, and reports to draw conclusions ultimately taking action? The fans sure have and now the media are starting to as well.

Whether you think it's the Atlanta Association or something else, the problems are plentiful but the options for solutions are not. Stripping down the team is an option but where do you start, with all the contracts and protections provided within them there are not a lot of options.

That leaves the other option for change, changing the GM. Is that even likely? The answer is no as where does that leave the team for this season? It would be much like last year where unless Mark Chipman has started talking to Mike GIllis the answer would be another hurried hire with options for later. That brings us back to the evaluation part again. Why was Chevy able to evaluate and conclude that Paul Maurice was the best option as coach for the next 4 years after 2 months but needed 2 seasons to draw conclusions about the core, and now even more time to understand Pavelec? The latter is more confusing considering the 5 year deal offered to him after 1 year.

Just like the Jets as a team on the ice it appears inconsistency runs deep within the operation of the team too and that's what should be most troubling for fans. A ship with no direction never finds the right port of call and this team, now in it's 4th season under this management group, is having a harder time leaving the terminal let alone getting in the air.

The focus is now about blame and more often than not the person being blamed is Chevy. That's fair but it's also fair to say he gets a shot to fix things. The problem is he may require another evaluation process to figure out the fix. Ownership might have patience for Chevy but the fans won't and with only one more season left of guaranteed sell-outs night after night just how patient can ownership be? The fans are going to need something to be optimistic about and that possibility seems rather uncertain and long gone, just like the feelings fans had about about this season a few short weeks ago in training camp.
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