Winnipeg Jets

[Biff]

So the Jets defence from last year to this year looks like:

Morrissey - Gone
Gone - Gone
Kulikov - Gone

extra....

Beaulieu

I don't know too many teams that have endured such an exodus on D.

[esquire]

It seems weird that a cornerstone piece of the team like Byfuglien would suddenly just up and retire without notice. I can't imagine what behind the scenes drama must have led to that.

...and it must have been sudden given that if the team saw this coming, they would have taken steps to start plugging the holes. One could argue the D was already gutted before this Byfuglien news, but now it's basically a large scale callup of the Moose defence plus whatever scraps Chevy can scare up on the eve of the regular season.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer and I'll eat my words in the spring with pleasure, but at this point it looks like the playoff window has just closed on the Jets.

[dmacc]

Looks like our right side will be full of newbs or players playing their off side.

Morrissey - Pionk?
Niku - Poolman?
Kulikov - Beaulieu?

That looks very concerning.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by dmacc

Morrissey - Pionk?
Niku - Poolman?
Kulikov - Beaulieu?

[bomberjet]

Need to make a major trade. Send a forward piece out for a young d man. Too bad trouba was a dink.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Need to make a major trade. Send a forward piece out for a young d man. Too bad trouba was a dink.

Maybe trade Laine? Perhaps get a good D man and a draft pick or two for him?

[lilwayne]

We're not winning cup this year Might aswell tank this year.. next season well have a lottery pick plus tons of cap space with buffielyn and kulikov coming off the books plus increase in cap... that would leave us 15 plus million to add free agents.. buffielyn retireing is a blessing we have tons of d prospects plus we can get top 5 pick next season... and sign high end free agents in off season

[esquire]

Originally Posted by lilwayne

buffielyn retireing is a blessing we have tons of d prospects

Not an unreasonable take but it's more about the way it has (apparently?) been done... there wasn't exactly any time given for a smooth transition.

[AJYBR]

Originally Posted by esquire

Not an unreasonable take but it's more about the way it has (apparently?) been done... there wasn't exactly any time given for a smooth transition.

I doubt this situation was a shock to the high ups in the organization. My guess is that it was in the back of their minds but wanted to give Buff some time to sort it out.

Tough injuries last year, did not play over the summer in Da Beauty League. I would hope they could see the writing on the wall.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by AJYBR

I doubt this situation was a shock to the high ups in the organization. My guess is that it was in the back of their minds but wanted to give Buff some time to sort it out.

Tough injuries last year, did not play over the summer in Da Beauty League. I would hope they could see the writing on the wall.

It sure didn't seem like they had any idea it was coming... wouldn't they have made some effort to restock the shelves in that case? I mean, all due respect to Neal Pionk and everything, but...

Seriously though, I wonder what's going on with Buff? Sure maybe he's slowed down a touch since his peak but he's still a major factor for the Jets to put it mildly. He still gets tons of minutes, and more to the point, he can still earn big dollars. What on earth is he going to do post hockey that will be remotely as satisfying? Professional fisherman? Or ???

[buzzg]

He's 34 years old. He's had a good career. It's no secret he places high value on his private time and family life – there's a good chance he had a good summer of fishing, looked at his bank account, and realized he never has to work again if he doesn't want to.

Can't say I blame the guy, or that I'm overly surprised.

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by buzzg

He's 34 years old. He's had a good career. It's no secret he places high value on his private time and family life – there's a good chance he had a good summer of fishing, looked at his bank account, and realized he never has to work again if he doesn't want to.

Can't say I blame the guy, or that I'm overly surprised.

I think what we're seeing is the results of a team that is completely disjointed. I think there are camps of players and the hold out of Laine and Connor has factored in a big way. I also think that PoMo has a huge part in all of this. If we assume the rumours to be true, PoMo has been accused of favouring his veterans like Wheeler and Scheifele over the younger players.

This all leads me to believe that things are not as rosy in Jetsland as we have been led to believe. This team fell way short of expectations in 2018-2019, lost key defensemen in the offseason and are in somewhat of a rebuild season. I can understand why he might want to reconsider his future. If he was truly happy playing hockey, this wouldn't even be an issue.

[Wpg_Guy]

There were also locker room issues between Wheeler and Buff last season when he returned from his injury, not surprised to see this playing out now.

[esquire]

^ There are so many pissed off guys that at the rate things are going, it'll soon be only Maurice, Wheeler, and the 2018-19 Manitoba Moose left

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by esquire

It sure didn't seem like they had any idea it was coming... wouldn't they have made some effort to restock the shelves in that case? I mean, all due respect to Neal Pionk and everything, but...

Seriously though, I wonder what's going on with Buff? Sure maybe he's slowed down a touch since his peak but he's still a major factor for the Jets to put it mildly. He still gets tons of minutes, and more to the point, he can still earn big dollars. What on earth is he going to do post hockey that will be remotely as satisfying? Professional fisherman? Or ???

Well for clarity, he hasn't retired, he has asked for time to figure out if he wants to retire. I find it hard to believe management had no idea. The second it was announced he was on LOA the initial talk I heard were rumours from last season about him considering it. Remember reading a reporter saying last season that he was sick of dealing with injuries.

[buzzg]

I find the comment about Maurice favouring veterans to be pretty hard to believe. He's known to be one of the better coaches for young players, which is why the Jets brought him in initially. He also moved Kyle Connor to the top line quite quickly, had Ehlers on the second line at worst and at times on the top line. Laine has yet to show he can play well enough to be on the top line – sure he can score, but you can't have such a defensive liability on your top line.

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I find the comment about Maurice favouring veterans to be pretty hard to believe. He's known to be one of the better coaches for young players, which is why the Jets brought him in initially. He also moved Kyle Connor to the top line quite quickly, had Ehlers on the second line at worst and at times on the top line. Laine has yet to show he can play well enough to be on the top line – sure he can score, but you can't have such a defensive liability on your top line.

I don't. I think we're seeing the fallout of a very unhappy team. And I believe it's a coaching issue through and through. And I believe that management is doing everything in their power from keeping this from blowing up. More than one young player has now called out coaching for the favourtism and we have yet to see the Wheeler/Scheifele combo broken up, despite poor play on both their ends last year. A coach doesn't go visit a player in Finland for no reason. This was about making amends and convincing him that there is a role for him this season.

I don't want to make PoMo the scapegoat, but from what I see, it's about a coaching staff that have a very unhappy team right now and a coach who does not adapt well. If this team starts off losing games, I think it will be a quick exit for PoMo.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by buzzg

He's 34 years old. He's had a good career. It's no secret he places high value on his private time and family life – there's a good chance he had a good summer of fishing, looked at his bank account, and realized he never has to work again if he doesn't want to.

Can't say I blame the guy, or that I'm overly surprised.

What's wrong with this is that unless he already told management he was thinking about retiring is telling the team a day before training camp that your thinking of packing it in and leaving the team with a huge hole to fill this late!

[esquire]

^ I know salary cap and everything so there's no chance we could have kept the whole core together. Still, it's a little breathtaking how quickly this team has declined from shortlist Stanley Cup contender with an all star lineup to "they'll be lucky to make the playoffs"

[CoryB]

In terms of Laine and Connor, I think the team is painted into a corner in terms of salary cap. They could easily pay one what they are wanting but not both. The team is holding out on both hoping to find some middle ground for this season. Just a gut feel I have.

In terms of Buff, his intention may have been to come and play one final season here before retiring. But when he got the the skating sessions he realized his body wasn't to the physical condition he thought it was or knows it needs to be at. As much as it would hurt the team on the ice to see him retire right now, the salary cap dollars it would free up could help solve the short term Laine/Connor issue.

That said continuing to sign players to huge payouts is only going to dig the team further into a hole. It is exactly why big dollar deals for older players like Little, Wheeler, and yes Buff, are actually starting to limit the teams potential. When there is serious discuss about trading Laine at this in his career so the team can continue to pay $4 million a year to Perreault for the next two seasons basically sums up what it wrong with this team.

Sure the team appears to have on ice issues this season but it has been brewing for a few years in the front office mismanaging player talent and it is really starting to come home now. You cannot keep every player you bring into your org for top dollar. You need to pick your best assets and trade for value. That also means you don't blow all your picks on rental players at the deadline and get nothing of value in return.

--

My take? Trade Laine, Connor and Ehlers right now for picks/prospects. Entertain trade offers for Hellebuyck. Use the next possible buyout to get rid of Perreault. And move the team much closer to the salary floor than the ceiling. Start a careful rebuild ASAP building and developing a team of prospects but moving on quickly from ones that aren't the top half of the team. Also don't have the fifth highest paid forward consistently be in your bottom six.

It is also serious time for Mark to sit down and given some honest though to if Chevy is the right fit for the organization for the next five-ten years.