Where does one go when trying to understand or predict the future of the Winnipeg Jets? As this season progresses into the second month and teams who fall further behind have less of a probability of catching up, the Jets could be staring at a bleak future. It’s one where many feel head coach Claude Noel loses his job and perhaps a roster shake up happens.
Firing a coach is almost every GM’s poison pill. They get to do it once or perhaps twice in their tenure and it varies on circumstance. When looking at the circumstances of the Wininpeg Jets and Kevin Chevaldayoff it appears there are a few questions which linger in regards to how some of the management team was formed.
Organizational management is far from an exciting topic but upon review the Jets may have a situation which begs some questions.
After last season and before the draft and UFA period Chevaldayoff was asked about moves and his roster, which had a combined 14 RFA and UFA players at the end of the season. He used phrases like ‘finished our review period’ or ‘assessment period’ and similar speak to clarify what has happened the past two years and how they would affect the inevitable forthcoming roster moves.
One question which was asked frequently by two people who are both fair and critical observers, Patrick Williams from NHL.com and Ryan Blight from Arctic Ice Hockey, was why did he need two years?
In all fairness to Ryan I challenged him more than a few times on Twitter about that sentiment, citing that with a clean sweep of the organization from Atlanta and the number of contracts coming due in 2013, two years was a logical point to complete assessments. I’m not sure I was right but I also feel Ryan wasn’t wrong, or at least I do now.
That being said, and discussed to death, another question keeps popping into my head: why did True North Sports and Entertainment need a new coach, one with little NHL pedigree, to guide the team over this assessment period?
I’d like to say that this question has been rattling around for some time but it hasn’t been. As we look to the future of this team, one where it may include Claude Noel, or not, did he need to be here in the first place?
This is not about his ability, or lack thereof, as a coach rather it’s about the poison pill. Why wasn’t Craig Ramsey kept on while they (TNSE and it’s eventual GM) completed their evaluation and assessment period?
Whether or not Ramsey was the coach they wanted or not seems irrelevant now as the coach they chose and have given a very modest one year extension too may not be the right one either. Did TNSE put the cart before the horse when they moved the Thrashers? If they weren’t going to dramatically overhaul the roster why change a coach?
If they had to do an assessment period wouldn’t part of that assessment draw conclusions about what kind of strategy and game the team should play and what personnel could best achieve that desired level of performance?
The latter question came through in another Twitter discussion yesterday with Tim Bonnar again from Arctic Ice Hockey. I give credit where credit is due even if they are part of the ‘competition’. Heck, you want to get even deeper into some of the finer points of the Jets play? Go see jetsnation.ca and read some of their pieces. For a small market team Winnipeg has a lot of smart hockey writers, yours truly included. *gag *
The premise of the conversation, albeit a difficult one in 140 character segments, was what did Chevy expect of this team and when do the results challenge the accuracy of the expectations if not the ability of the GM? If Tim reads this I hope he corrects me if he feels differently about what we were saying.
While it’s almost sacrilege in Winnipeg to challenge TNSE in any way, particularly when Winnipeg’s football team makes Phoenix look like a well-run organization, I think the ownership group of the Jets made a mistake.
When looking to the future of the team, near and long-term, there are some more ‘ifs’ that should be concerning.
What if…
Noel is fired, who takes over short term?
Noel rights the ship sooner yet the Jets falter again down the stretch and miss the playoffs?
There is not a suitable coach available for what Chevy has now built and locked in for a core group of players?
A new coach is brought in and the same results persist?
If any one or more of those scenarios play out there are some serious consequences to fulfilling a five-year plan to building a competitive team, one worthy of competing for a Stanley Cup. It’s why after thinking more and more, I don’t understand the need to fire Ramsey when everything was being assessed and evaluated. He was the free ‘fire a coach’ for any GM the Jets hired and he would get one more after most certainly.
As the Jets waddle to mediocrity again this season and the coach’s comments seem to show a separation at times between him and his player’s performance the simple yet hard truth appears. A group of players have been forced into an uneasy relationship with a coach, or the opposite. It’s like an arranged marriage that on paper some one thought we be a good idea.
One could say TNSE gave Noel a dowry that was worth very little once the union was consummated. Now entering their third year together the two sides look like they need a divorce due to irreconcilable differences and it’s not necessarily the fault of either of them.
Marriages are rarely perfect all the time; they have ups and downs over the course of their duration. However when a couple knows they are not happy and things are not working out they cut ties and move on. In the case of teams and a coach, put together by parents who aren’t even sure how well they know their own child, it takes the parents to intervene. Unless the Jets find a marriage counselor quick it looks like this relationship is destined to die a slow, miserable death.
Like most break-ups, it may be for the best but it’s always unfortunate. The Jets had a chance get to know their new kid and make find them a great partner. Instead they cast aside Ramsey, a guy who they could have grown to like, for some one they liked more. The problem is they had no idea if this forced arrangement would work out.
Anyone know of a good counsellor? I think Claude Noel is going to need some therapy when this all ends, and rightly so.