Is this the beginning of the laundry being aired or is it the player many think should be captain saying what needs to be said? If you haven't been under a rock in Winnipeg, or snowbank, you know by now that Blake Wheeler called out to his team to bring more emotion to the game.
Some would tell you that it's a call to certain players others would say it's echoing what coach Paul Maurice has said but using different words. I'll say something different, it's a last ditch effort to find anything that can turn this season around.
What was Tyler Myers playing with when he cross-checked Wingels? Surely that was emotion, perhaps too much of it. Isn't the emotional response to so much of what happens on the ice part of the biggest problem that ails the Jets, penalties?
Why would this team need emotion? It's a reactive overly-aggressive group that lacks some basic perspective on discipline within a game.
Emotion may have been the word Wheeler chose but I think if we go back a few seasons it's a different way of saying what one anonymous player said to some media one day about "giving an 'f'". Ask this, how many Jets night in and out look like they give an f?
That's the bigger point and one that has dogged this franchise since it arrived in Winnipeg- on any given night it's hard to know when the team that cares about it's fortunes will show up. Last year was an anomaly to that because the concept of emotion or attitude rarely came up- perhaps that's what winning does though.
This season the Jets are not winning as much and the questions of old have come right back to the forefront and like times before there is no obvious or simple answer. The players (some) are frustrated, the fans are frustrated and anxious, and as before management is in hiding or denial of the situation.
This won't be another rip Chevy apart blog- you get the picture now but is what fans are seeing now really part of the 'process'- they can only hope it's an aberration.
Tonight though does seem to be a bit critical though. 2 games into 7 out of 8 games at home for the rest of January the Jets have no points and nothing to show in terms of positives. Now they face Nashville, a team that has made a significant move by trading future defines stud Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen, as they try to hold onto a top 8 spot in the west. Nashville is no shoo-in for the post season as they too have had perilous season like the Jets the difference being 4 OT loses for Nashville and thus 4 points more than the Jets.
But that didn't stop the GM from making a bold aggressive move. What's stopping Chevy?
The hardest part about this scenario is finding reasons for the Jets to pursue that 8th spot. Sure fans want the team to win but with two huge UFA questions and 2 RFA questions should the Jets even consider that final spot? This is a four point game tonight and if the Preds stink it up and the Jets look competent then it could possibly lead to some rather foolish decision making.
Remember the Preds are not the only team the Jets are chasing for the playoffs- the Avalanche are ahead of them too. Heck the Oiler are only three points back now!
The point with emotion is that while it makes sense to try and fight down the stretch it might not be in anyone's best interest for the long term, even the signed player's interest. This year might simply be the step back before taking bigger strides forward if the right draft pick came in the spring, and the right roster moves made at the deadline or before. Those decisions can't be made with emotion, they have to use cold, hard logic with some ruthlessness. Frankly, the management has to start giving an 'f' about the situation rather than citing the corporate mantra of 'process'.
That's another issue altogether but if the Jets come out and look good do we even believe them? Fans have been emotional in the past, too emotional at times and for them too it's time to reign it in. Sure we want emotion on the ice but it has to be practical and appropriate. With the amount of large decisions facing this organization that same statement applies to fans and management too.