Last night
Paul Maurice made his head coaching debut behind the Winnipeg Jets bench and
the Jets had an impressive win over the Phoenix Coyotes 5-1. This prompted every Jets fan on Twitter to
suddenly think all the problems the Jets have are magically gone. I wanted to start #TheCupIsOurs in hopes it
would trend, but I was too busy watching Archer (that was more important). Now did the Jets play well last night and is
Maurice a better coach than Claude Noel?
Yes on both accounts. Even so,
some things need to be factored in.
They beat
the friggin’ Coyotes. Phoenix is a
terrible team. Since the New Year the
‘Yotes have gone 1-5-0. On their current
three game losing streak they’ve been outscored 14-5. Even worse, undeserving Olympian, Mike Smith
hasn’t won a game since December 31st (0-5-0). Over that span he has a GAA of 3.39 and Sv% of
.885 (Canada better pray they don’t need him between the pipes in Sochi). That’s embarrassing. So while a victory in Maurice’s first game is
nice, it’s not exactly like they beat the Blues, Blackhawks, or Sharks.
This team is
flawed on many levels. Evander Kane is a
world-class talent but has the maturity of a seven year-old girl. This obviously effects his focus. Dustin Byfuglien is playing forward, but wants to be on the blue line (his natural position). I get the fact he’s built like a power
forward, but the Jets need a big guy on defense. Adam Pardy has some size, but come on. He’s Adam Pardy. I’m a big Andrew Ladd fan and think he’s a
good captain, but he’s spending too much time addressing trade rumors about him
and his teammates. It’s effecting his
play. He has one point over his last
five games.
What’s really
concerning is between the pipes. Ondrej
Pavelec is just bad. Not Devan Dubnyk
bad, but pretty damn close. Prior to
last night’s game, the last time he had a good game was on December 22nd,
when he allowed only two goals in a 2-1 loss to the Canucks. Since that outing he’s had two games where he
allowed six goals, and a game where he allowed three goals over seven minutes. I know he will make a highlight save almost
nightly, but the reason for that is because he’s rarely in position. He forgets where the goal posts are and is
forced to dive or sprawl to make the save.
Jets fans, he’s not good.
Now with
that being said, a lot of the issues can be fixed. Maurice will work with his players and the
team should improve. I don’t support the
theory the Jets should blow the team up and start a rebuild. If they dealt Kane or Byfuglien it would be
stupid. If you look around the league,
contending teams have a franchise forward, franchise defenseman, and franchise
goalie. The Jets have two of those three
covered. This club would take a step
back by parting with either one of them.
Trades indeed need to happen, especially if it upgrades the goaltending
disaster. The tandem of Pavlec/Al
Montoya will NEVER win a Jennings Trophy.
Forget the Jennings Trophy they’ll never take the Jets to the playoffs. If it the Jets need to deal some young players
and draft picks to make the goaltending at least respectable it needs to be
done. I just wouldn’t move the core of
the team.
It might not
sound like it, but I don’t think this is a terrible team. They have some superstars, and players like
Jacob Trouba and Mark Scheifele are only going to get better. They just need to fix some things before
anyone takes them seriously.
And before I
start getting hate mail from Jets fans, you all should know that TSR! has
supported the NHL in Winnipeg before Atlanta lost their second NHL franchise
(that place is the worst). I’m just
calling it how I see it. I’d rather see
good hockey in Winnipeg, then a celebration of a victory over a garbage team. As an Oilers fan, I know how it is
Winnipeg. I know how it is.
I still want
to hear your thoughts. Hit me up at gimmeasign@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @JayPlatt. #TheCupIsOurs
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