There are a few ways to look at hockey team and it's success or lack thereof. One is to say the success is a product of the collective efforts of the group, another is to present that success comes from the best player(s) with the rest filling the holes as needed.
Both models have merit but you have to know which one you are.
With the many teams that fans and observers have seen rebuild through the NHL one common element come true far more frequently than others: be bad and get the best possible collection of top prospects you can. Pittsburgh and Chicago are the pillars of that model. Toronto is trying that approach and Edmonton has been...well they look to be finally getting it right.
Other recent Cup winners like Boston and LA took a different approach and found success. What are the Jets doing.
Until last season they have never been so bad that they could win a top spot in the draft lottery, they've also never been so good that all were convinced their core group was like example 'B' above.
This is a group that has a potential star and some very solid surrounding players but they do not fall into the Peguins (Crosby Malkin) or Blackhawks (Toews Kane) model. They have to perform as a group and use their collective skill as their source for success.
It sounds rather silly but that's what the Jets are- a team that needs to execute as a team. They may have moments where a player can influence a game but it comes so rarely and when it does it's nothing that is completely consistent night in and out.
What we saw this weekend in two games against the Flames and Oilers is the breakdown of play, systems and ultimately execution. The players are missing assignments, making rudimentary mistakes and looking completely disjointed in their attempts at cohesive organized hockey. Who's fault is that? It might be the on the coaches but right now it seems that there is more freewheeling by the players than there needs to be.
Don't believe for a second that 'Maurice has been tuned out' he may be wearing thin but the way in which the Jets are losing games has as much effect on the team as the coach's message. The problems for this team can bus summed up pretty simply- far too many players trying to be too creative with their play.
A system is something that is used to prevent the problems the Jets so often exhibit. It's the guideline for players, the hand rail they have to stabilize play but far too often it appears some ignore it. Let's use names, here, Byfuglien, Perreault and Stafford have to be at the top of that list. That's a pretty significant group and what is the trickle down effect? What does it say to Laine, Tanev, Copp and others? Should they buck the system because others have?
Maurice tried to send a message with Perreault and Stafford on the fourth line against Calgary but the message has to come from somewhere else in another fashion. The Jets needs stability, they need to know how to navigate turbulence because the opposition is simply making it far to rough for the Jets. When that happens, systems go out the window and the Jets get lost, scrambling for anything and then bigger problems happen.
Right now, the players have to start working their way out of this; this being all the cumulative problems. This is a team that looks lost easily falls back to hoping some one can do something and then more chaos ensues.
Essentially the Jets players need to break their cycle, stop the bad habits and adhere to whatever system they are to be playing, no matter what. That's a players meeting, a team meeting or simply a leadership meeting and message through the roster.
Far too often there's a 'deer caught in the headlights' feel to the team on the ice and it's almost like the opposition waits of it to happen. Look at Laine last night, he took a play that could have simply could have been to dump the puck in the corner or make a turn to the left with it and instead tried to fire it wide and high past or over his own net. He missed. With the way the Jets had been playing he easily could have been so turned around and that he simply saw open net and fired it.
Stuff like that happens. But right now with the Jets it happens far too often. Not just own goals, but risky, overly complicated plays instead of the smart simple one. Is it fatigue, is it lack of understanding, is it coaching?
It might be all of those things but in this case it's all too familiar to tough years of the past. A group that slowly plays itself out of games and in my opinion that's on the players and the fix starts there. It will likely take more than that but what makes the most sense- firing the coach now? Making a reactionary trade?
It doesn't mean those are not viable options but they may not have much impact if the players are prepared to adjust either. It just might be that they don't see the same problem. That would be troubling because then it could be another case of the inmates running the jail and that's a whole different issue.