Hutch ousts Pavelec as #1 and is Maurice and early Jack Adams favourite?
Some might say it’s long overdue and that would include yours truly but the writing is on the wall, the Jets are better when Michael Hutchinson is in net. Surely there needs to be some evidence and for that you can look at Hutch’s stats HERE
What has quietly happened is that without saying it Winipeg Jets hea coach Paul Maurice has put his faith in Hutchinson. The rookie goalie has started 4 of the last 5 games for the Jets and is 4-1 in his last 5 starts. The fact that this is all happening with a patchwork quilt defense as the top 4 defense players for the Jets when the season started are currently injured is also rather shocking. The key tenet for coach Maurice before the season began, and said much earlier in the summer, was that he could ‘not evaluate his number one goalie until the defensive systems were fixed’. Those systems are in place and were deconstructed and rebuilt between the opening of training camp and now, just 2 games short of the mid-way point of the season. The evidence suggests that after 39 games no matter how the defense was constructed, put together, or assigned that Ondrej Pavelec did not improve based upon his career averages.
Here is his current season and career stats for comparison. He’s above but not by much, and not close to Hutchinson. In fact for the first time since Pavelec arrived in Winnipeg, it appears that the back-up that has outplayed him when comparing the first 10 starts for each goalie has pushed him to number two. That is simply what we are seeing based on what the coach is doing.
The change was never going to come with the fanfare of an Evander Kane instagram post but it came and it’s here now. Michael Hutchinson can now run with the starter’s role until Maurice sees reason to change and that is how a goalie loses his starting job.
Maurice deserves credit for how he has managed this situation. There is no drama, there is no statement, and there are no hurt feelings that anyone is aware of to date. More importantly, Maurice was true to his word about evaluating his goalie, the controversial starter at least, and simply made the switch once he had the evidence he needed. Ironically, the same situation is going to happen with Byfuglien once the defense returns to full health and that too will be an interesting scenario to watch.
Without diving too deep into the Byfuglien situation, (I have another piece ready to go soon on that) how Maurice has managed his goalies may be a key as to how he manages his best player. Right now there is a plethora of opinion on why Byfuglien is succeeding when a year ago he was public enemy number one on the blue line for many Jets fans and media. Without discussing those theories let’s just go so far as to say ‘structure and accountability’ are big reasons for his and the team defense success. It’s not all on Buff and it’s not all on the defense but what might be the biggest contributor of all is that Buff had to see how his defense was to play under Maurice before he could be a part of it. In fact, Maurice has all but said that directly as to how he wanted Buff to play.
Tonight though is the beginning of 7 games in 11 days, 5 of those games being road games too. Weather this run, which includes games vs SJ, LA, ANA, DAL and CHI with a .500 record or better and the Jets could be in their best position ever during a full season in mid January if they hope to make the postseason.
Joe Thornton is out tonight and that should make things a bit easier on the home team as covering Jumbo Joe and his passing can confound even the best defense. Keaton Ellerby has also been called up from St. John’s as Grant Clitsome is out in what has to be more disappointment for the defender. Evander Kane was retroactively placed on IR as well to make room for Ellerby.
The Jets are finally getting NHL level goaltending and they are winning with it, despite the decimated blue line, a key area that Maurice had said must be fixed when compared to previous seasons. It’s not easy being the guy who has to make these plans, let alone timing the decisions to promote the evolution of change, but Maurice has been masterful at it. It’s why he has to be a front-runner for the Jack Adams award as the NHL hits the mid-point of the season. Who else has faced this much adversity and had this level of success?