No Press Allowed

JETS GM takes questions after JETS booed off ice at home

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA- The JETS were booed off the ice last night in the finale to their latest homestand and the GM of the franchise locked reporters out of the locker room and opted to take all questions rather than expose the roster and coach to considerable scrutiny. Why such a harsh move for a GM that used to be so media friendly, indeed, he remains the majority owner of LoneStar Enterprises (the parent company of the Lone Star Puck).

“It all starts with accountability.”

Before we get into what that means, let us dive past the cliché into some hard facts about this WINNIPEG roster that is only two, yes TWO, seasons removed from winning the DCHL championship:

First, the team cannot win at home. They hold a 4-9-5 record at home in the first half and while a chunk of those games was handed to Cal Petersen in net, he is 3-3-1 this year so we cannot blame all those losses on him.

Secondly, this team cannot score, but has the talent to score. These JETS have only scored 4 or more goals in a game 7 times this season which is not a good statistic given the quality of netminders in net.

Third, the GOALTENDING HAS ACTUALLY BEEN JUST OKAY! Jonathan Quick had a .900+ save percentage and sub-3 GAA going into the finale vs. BOSTON, and CAL PETERSEN recently stole a game versus the competent LA KINGS. The problem is that in too many games, the team collectively could not get the win and nobody expects this tandem to steal a large swath of games.

Fourth, various metrics suggest luck is a factor, such as PDO (31^st), Power Play (32^nd), Shots against (10^th) vs. Goals Against (29^th), and of course BROCK BOESER’s abysmal shooting percentage 1.45%. Going into the season, no DCHL armchair expert or talking head (bald or otherwise) would presume this team would have trouble scoring. Indeed, when the top 6 features multiple 30+ goal scorers from the NHL, scoring droughts were not the issue as much as inadequate scoring volume. Additionally, a relative metric of note is that the JETS do not have a league leader candidate for scoring meaning that no player is stepping up regularly or taking a leadership role. TYLER MYERS won a handful of fights sure, but the team doesn’t need him in the box when the blue line consists of swiss cheese with bite marks along the sides.

But Fifth, luck is when you miss the playoffs on a few lucky bounces or because of discrete events. Luck is not THE reason when your team puts together a stretch of play as horrid as these first 32 games have been.

So accountability?

“Yes, we’ve been unlucky but that is not the whole story here.”

Go on.

“We started off the season on a positive footing unlike last year, but in November, we just couldn’t win a game and when we finally broke through, I think it just sort of impacted the confidence of the team. But also, some of that is on us because we didn’t aggressively pursue certain candidates in UFA and thought that some of our mid-career talents would be able to assume larger roles. We failed to get the right talent to enable these players to weather that type of stretch and you see that in the product we iced here in the first half.”

The GM made an interesting mea culpa but other went further to address why he hasn’t moved one of his talents to get the talent he thinks he needs.

“I suppose we could move a player or two and shake things up, but in the NHL-verse, almost all of the core players are putting up excellent numbers and we just haven’t received the offers that we value these guys at. Some were respectable offers, but we were not going to argue unless we really thought a deal could materialize and NHL performance trumped that.”

Of course, the GM is talking about the rediscovered talents of NHL Brock Boeser who many attempted to buy low on last season, only for the GM’s faith to be rewarded by his resurgence. Indeed, KYLE CONNOR and GABE VILARDI were also scouted by other GMs in trade talks particularly given recent injuries, but the JETS GM stayed deliberate and kept faith and in VILARDI’s case, the NHL version looks exceptional. These situations created a situation where as the GM says “we are too good in the mid and long term to tank, and too proud to sit these players.”

Ironically, sitting them might do more harm than good given the fact the JETS are on track for a top 5 lottery pick in the standings. But perhaps that led to the JETS fans frustration booing the team off the ice. The team has not had a top 10 draft pick in quite awhile and long ago, they were quite fond of NOLAN PATRICK but that was one of the old GM’s tragic misses. Luckily, the prospect cupboard is stocked and a steady stream of talent is likely on the way. But if JETS fans really want to accept a gap year in competitiveness, shouldn’t they see efforts by the team to really aim for the top of the draft rather than fight for enough points to land a 12-15 overall pick? Especially when playoff chances are this bleak?

“I think it is clear to everyone, we are not gonna move a player(s) unless it is for a long term franchise quality asset like we did with Heiskanen. Indeed, that move might contribute to where we are now and that is why I say accountability matters. But we care deeply about the future of the franchise and the old GM left us with a lot of long-term tools to achieve some great things here. We also have focused heavily on finding good talents in all rounds of the drafts, but especially our recent 1^sts and 2^nd round selections. You can look at the 2024 WJC rosters and see the promise in our approach for the future. But right now, in the present, some things haven’t worked out, and we will continue to experiment and seek ways to win until the last whistle blows.”

Interesting feedback from the GM of the JETS who resemble the shadow of prior championships build by the previous GM. “We are not going to blow this team up and that’s why you are all out here tonight. Our hope is for most of this team to play together for a long time, and if we can’t fight through it to win now, maybe as a team, those young players will learn from this as a team and amount to something later. But the entire front office believes in our core and the capabilities of the whole roster to field a competent product.”

Sounds great, but for how long?