Four more years, four more years!

 

Next season started today for the Winnipeg Jets as GM Kevin Cheveldayoff accomplished the #1 item on his to-do list, hire a coach. Of course this wasn't a lengthy search and interview process as the man he wanted was already in house. Today he got the news he wanted to hear, Paul Maurice (and more importantly his family) was on board.

Mark Stuart re-ups for 4 years with the Winnipeg Jets

 

Yesterday, as predicted by many, the Winnipeg Jets made no moves at the trade deadline. For once I will not criticize GM Kevin Cheveldayoff for his lack of activity because it was the correct course of action. What they did accomplish yesterday was better than any trade they could have made, they signed pending unrestricted free agent Mark Stuart to a very reasonable deal.

This years trade deadline, what will the Jets do?

So we didn't see this coming, the Jets go into the NHL trade competing for a playoff position. Winnipeg has gone on a historic run under new coach Paul Maurice and as a result, are close to the dance. Which brings us to the new problem, what to do with all those unrestricted free agents who can walk and do they have the depth to add anything this Wednesday? 

So where were we?

Thursday night the Jets drop the puck hosting Phoenix, one of the teams directly in front of them in the standings. The last games played in the NHL was on Feb 8th, and I'll be honest, I haven't looked at the standing once in that time. The good news, they are only two points out of the last spot. The bad news... 

A closer look at the Western Conference playoff chase

Here is today's look at the playoff odds updated after last nights near perfect evening as far as the Winnipeg Jets are concerned. I say near perfect only because Minnesota won. Everyone else who mattered lost with the exception of Dallas, but someone had to win that game with Phoenix. Thankfully it was decided without the Bettman point. So what is number today you ask? 18.9%, up 4.9% from the previous day. You can find the link here http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html

Updated playoff odds as of February 3rd

With this wonderful 8-2 run over the last 10 games, the Winnipeg Jets have finally made up some ground on the teams in front of them. They still are in 12th place in the Western Conference, only now they sit only 4 points behind Vancouver for the last playoff spot! Exciting times indeed, but there is still a large mountain to climb.

Ben Scrivens, thank you!

 

In what has been a disaster of a season with very little to cheer for, I for one would like to thank Ben Scrivens. As a season ticket holder its been especially tough to go to games this winter. More and more empty seats are showing up every night and last night was no different. Facing a wind-chill that seemed like it would peel the skin off your face, Oilers fans bundled up against the cold and filed into their seats yet again. Only this time they got to witness history. For the people that stayed away; sorry you missed a beauty. 

What will the Jets do at this years deadline...AGAIN

So last week I wrote about the upcoming UFA's and who the Jets may unload if they are not realistically in the playoff chase. This week there have been various reports from several sources claiming that Captain Andrew Ladd is now on the block, joining the likes of Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien. My question to all three of these rumours would be WHY? 

What will the Jets do at the deadline this year?

 For two years the Winnipeg Jets have done very little at the trade deadline... and by very little I mean one deal. Last year they were in the hunt so they didn't offload Ron Hainsey. Two years ago they traded Johnny Oduya for a 2nd and 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft. The 2nd round pick was traded on draft day to Washington for a 3rd and 4th round pick. The Jets selected Jimmy Lodge, JC Lipon,  and Jan Kostalek as a result. Where am I going with this? JC Lipon is having a decent rookie season for the St. John's IceCaps but he and the other two players are at best "maybes". Trading Mark Stuart and not resigning him is a BAD idea... 

Jets playoff chances - Real or Mirage?

So the Winnipeg Jets are now 4-0 under new coach Paul Maurice and the team feels good about themselves again. The real question is who are the Jets, the team that won four games in a row, or the one that lost five in a row before that? The obvious answer is both because outside of moving Dustin Byfuglien to forward, there have been no roster moves. The biggest single reason for the four game winning streak has been the improved play of Ondrej Pavelec.

In enemy territory, again

 

Tonight the Winnipeg Jets make their return to Alberta for the 4th time this year (including preseason) and I will be in the house. Expectations are that there may in fact be as many Jets fans in attendance tonight as there is Flames fans. The reality of their situation has finally hit home and Flames fans are selling tickets in droves. Historically, it is a very quiet, corporate building in the first place, so if the Jets get off to a great start it could be a "home" game for the Jets in short order. 

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

 

Win game. Check. Improve the goals against average. Check. Score some goals. Check. Look better on the power play. Check. So far so good for new Head Coach Paul Maurice but I don't think he will be taking any credit for that one. That being said, the standing ovation that rained down on the new coach and his team in the third period had to feel very special.

Well that escalated quickly...

The Winnipeg Jet have fired Claude Noel. Not unexpected but a bit quicker than I thought Friday.

More to come on this later!

Dustin Byfuglien at forward? This won't end well...

 

How can you sense when a team or coach is desperate? Well in the case of the Winnipeg Jets, it's when you see arguably their best defenseman playing forward. Is he the most effective D man? No, that would be Zach Bogosian. Is he the best option for the future? No, that would be Jacob Trouba. So what is the problem then? Well, he can't really play forward... 

Who is on your Team Canada?

 

Tomorrow morning is the big announcement for Hockey Canada. Every four years hockey fans in Canada argue for months about who should and shouldn't be on the team. This guy is too old, too slow, not a big game player, etc. etc. are thrown around. I have decided to pick MY Team Canada as opposed to predicting what I think will happen. (For that you can look at the Dreger roster, it will probably be close) Canada made several mistakes in 2006, choosing a roster that was older, slower, and safer. It will be interesting to see if they learn from those mistakes. I'm going to vote "no" to that one and assume they will make several "safe" picks and leave too much offence at home.

Is this rock bottom? Sadly, I don't think so...

When I started this blog I had intended to write about the Oilers, Jets, and hockey topics in general. I have posted exactly one article on the Oilers and other topics, and primarily about the Jets. I'm not sure exactly why that is, some of it is time constraints, but mostly I believe I haven't wanted to write about the Oilers. They have been bad, incredibly bad, discouraging bad. They haven't taken a step back this year, they have fallen off a cliff. I wrote in the pre-season they were in big trouble because of their lack of depth at center, turns out that problem is repeated throughout the ENTIRE roster. 

Olympic snub? Not really

 

Much is being made about the supposed snub of Dustin Byfuglien and the inclusion of Blake Wheeler. Truth is, both were in tough to make the team and the fact that they are in the conversation is a positive about the value of both player. Wheeler is exactly the kind of player you want for international ice. Big, fast, and can score. His problem is and has always been consistency. In a small tournament of 6-8 games, he could score 7 or 8 goals and make you look like a hero. He also could put up donuts and that is the fear that usually keeps decision makers like Brian Burke to look away. These gents are very risk adverse... If Wheeler doesn't produce early, he will be an extra forward before the tournament is over, but great for him that he was included in the first place. 

Happy New Year

Another year has come and gone, and they seem to steam roll faster as you get older. I have made a point of not "wishing for the weekend" anymore because I realise those days behind you are spent. It's very similar to the NHL schedule when you think about it. Players can't wait for the long road trip to end, they can't wait for the Xmas break, or the Olympic break, always looking forward. The problem with parity (three point games) is that all those losses in November, December, and January are killer in March and April. 

Happy B Day Andrew Ladd

If Andrew Ladd was enjoying the same production as he was last season he would be in serious discussion for Team Canada in Sochi. Of course that production was a career high in regards of point per game production so it unrealistic to bet on that again. That being said, his 22 points in 32 games is still good production and 8 goals are second best on the team. There happens to be 5 players tied with 7 goals though so if he wants to keep that spot he needs to heat up. Ladd is the captain and unquestionably the leader of this team, they need him to take the team by the throat soon or the playoffs will be a pipe dream. 

Game day in Florida

 

How bad do you wish you were in Sunshine Florida right now? You could spend the day at the beach or whatever your pursuit is. Then you could go to the big mall by the rink and grab a bite to eat. Leave your car illegally parked because its free at the mall, and $20 at the rink. The funny thing is that there will be 6,000 to 8,000 tickets available tonight, and all will be cheaper than the parking...

The Jets had better be properly focused on tonight's game. These two points are huge, every bit as important as Tuesday was. The only difference is the opponent is taking on water and the season is already lost. The Jets cannot slip on the banana peel tonight, that would be a disaster. Look for Michael Frolik to have a big game tonight, returning home to Florida where he was drafted.