So should fans start to call the them Dr. Jettly and Mr. Slyde? Because after the disaster on Donald from Wednesday night against the Canadiens who knows what this team is capable of doing.
That loss could trigger the eventual slide that some fans believe is coming, and perhaps overdue, this season. It could also be the point that brings the team together and finally puts them all on the same page playing as a unit not as individuals.
It could mean nothing.
Waiving Burmistrov and taking his freewheeling play out of the roster seems to have done little good but still it's far too short a time frame to measure much that could be meaningful.
Today the Jets have placed Patrik Laine on IR and called up tall defence man Julian Melchiori. This is a curious move as with waiving Burmistrov and losing Laine is there not room for another forward as Mark Stuart looks longingly at the ice? Perhaps the tipping point with the bottom pairing of Chiarot and Postma has come and Melchiori becomes a viable option to do something to shore up the depth on the blue line.
It's a bit of guessing game for the Jets, most particularly their fans, as many struggle to get a grip on what exactly is being built, or in a more cynical view, not being built.
Look at the team this way, injuries have affected it, and at one point the team was tops in man games lost and call-ups inserted. That was Montreal on Wednesday icing six minor league players who took it to Winnipeg. The Jets are doing what? Guessing, reeling, hoping, or developing? Anyone? Bueller?
This is where the disconnect divide happens with a segment of the fan base, they simply do not understand what is being built or how the team is arriving at their roster decisions. In fact some are actually questioning whether this franchise has the depth many have stated it does. It's better, but it's not great.
Now Montreal may have caught lighting in a bottle on Wednesday as they got pumped in St. Paul last night 7-1, so using that game against them might be not be the best point to draw conclusions. However, it does not change one key aspect to the Jets, that game was another example of their wildly inconsistent state of play so far this season.
So what happens tonight in Glendale? What team shows up? It's anybodies guess but Paul Maurice gave a good quote yesterday when asked why there was no punishment or bag skate yesterday at practice before they left for warmer climates. "I didn't want them to have an excuse if they don't play well".
That is an interesting response and perhaps a point where the coach is clearly saying that this lies on them, not me/us. If there is an excuse it's something the players have to identify and own and if Maurice has the backing of his GM and owner then times surely could get interesting in Winnipeg if another egg or to is laid in the same fashion as Wednesday
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There's some interesting news that came to light yesterday about a very cool thing Patrik Laine did to a young fan: rather than recap it I'll link you to the HF Boards post that the happy father and fan did.
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Elliotte Friedman also reported on radio that Jacob Trouba's name is always in the discussions as Chris Nichols tweeted out today. I don't think anyone who is close to the TRouba situation ever thought it was over but given the way he is playing the price is only getting higher and that's the right move for Chevy. In fact blowing this situation/trade could seal his fate in some ways if the return is less that fair and not a fit for the team he has.
