PR Wars- Kane Awakens
Forget the return on what the Jets might get for Evander Kane when they trade him. Don’t worry about how the team will play to finish out the season without him. Concern yourself not with understanding ‘inside the room’ we’re long past those points or not close enough to worry yet.
What has happened now is, at least in my opinion, a PR war that is unlike anything seen since the lockout. This one got nasty quick and two sides are in damage control mode now. But did it have to be this way?
After the story from Chris Johnston broke open the real reasons prompting the Kane scratching in Vancouver by head coach Paul Maurice, I have struggled to understand how he came to be the sole media member to possess these details. Before going any further; to discuss this point is not a shot at the stalwart members of the Winnipeg media. They do what they do and most times I believe they do a good job, regardless of whether I agree or not.
This is a fabulous case study of how or how not to manage the public relations of a team and player- and it’s still on-going. PR, or public relations, is a necessary and important strategy for any high profile business especially ones such as professional sports teams with athletes under intense scrutiny. The general purpose of PR is to manage the message, information and understanding by the public so that the brand is seen in a positive way. Sounds simple, yet often it is screwed up.
Take the Jets and Evander Kane- who is doing a better job managing PR right now?
If you listened to Kane’s agent Craig Oster while doing the media rounds on Friday he seemed to understand the seriousness of misinformation. He played it like a lawyer, non-committal and right to the facts that are known to everyone. If you listened to the Jets you heard…*crickets* In fact what have the Jets said about Kane other than what Maurice has said? Oh this:
For media confused over what #NHLJets Paul Maurice said today about "handled things terribly" http://t.co/mCbtHmn8kZ #selectivehearing
— Winnipeg Jets PR (@WpgJetsPR) February 6, 2015Notice the hashtag? Something strange is going on here and it’s not looking good, at least on the Jets at the moment. In fairness one could say Paul Maurice was a bit confusing at one point in his media session, but why the petty attack from the club?
The club has said nothing to help keep the facts from being part of wild speculation nor has it tried to protect the player- one that is under contract to them and hopefully going to fetch a big return if traded.
So who leaked out the details to Johnston? This part I find fascinating as each time I think it makes sense more questions appear.
The Jets leaked out the full story.
-This is because they need to have support in any action they may make in regards to Kane. He is already enigmatic in the city and many fans don’t care for him, rightly or wrong, taking that risk seems silly for this reason.
-The team has had it with his antics, alleged or otherwise and needed to start providing evidence to their decisions. Again, does this help the team? If so how?
-There’s some one on the team who does not agree with the process used with Kane in Vancouver and feels a cover up helps no one. That’s a bit of a vigilante or whistle-blower style and if caught what does that say? No one likes a rat.
-Some one from the team leaked it to force management’s hand to finally deal with a problem that will not go away. This is a risky move too because it could pit players against players. That being said, it’s not surprising that the leadership core could consider this move based on how former head coach Claude Noel may have been treated at times.
Kane’s camp leaked the full story.
-This event with Buff was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Enough was enough and it was time to force the team to do something. This makes perfect sense because if there was an agreement that Kane was going to get moved, had Chevy actually been stalling?
-Kane was going to be smeared and to protect his client Oster let it slip out. He is a GTA based agent and Johnston a GTA based reporter. The interesting point here- Oster is protecting his client’s reputation and that helps the Jets as surely they would want the maximum possible return for Kane in a trade.
-Kane’s camp knew that he was likely going to have shoulder surgery before this event and wanted to make sure his client was not the only one culpable for the breakdown. Sure it works but also to the Jets advantage too as it helps preserve Kane’s value and integrity.
This is the part that confuses me the most- other than Maurice who has defended Kane if not praised him throughout the season? If the relationship was this strained within the team, and it’s believed to be with management to some degree, why not protect your asset? If he is going to be shipped out is it not the job of GM to ensure maximum value? That starts long before looking for return from other teams on a trade. The player has to be in a position to get the most value when the deal is made and that’s not the case for Kane, unless you listened to and believe Craig Oster.
The winner in this scenario is a long ways from being determined and it might take years after Kane is moved before any definitive conclusion can be made. That might be okay for Kevin Cheveldayoff but for the fans looking at the first legitimate chance of the post season it’s a tough pill to swallow. If the Jets make the post season and create some noise while there, this could all be water under the bridge but…
…if they fizzle out down the stretch again, and Chevy does nothing at the trade deadline agai,n there are going to be more questions that some one has to answer eventually. As some outside of Winnipeg are suggesting- will it even be Cheveldayoff doing the answering?