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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
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Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff says the answers to his team\u2019s troubles \u201cmust come from within.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn\u2019t made a move beyond sending a few promising young skaters back to the farm, seemingly unwilling to disrupt the slow, aging lineup he assembled. A frustrated head coach Scott Arniel appears to have run out of fresh ideas. Underperforming players have few words to explain what\u2019s happening \u2014 and not happening \u2014 on the ice.<\/p>\n
And last, but certainly not least, fan disappointment and anger is threatening to morph into something even more troubling: apathy. Recent crowd sizes have shrunk. The downtown rink often has the atmosphere of the Millennium Library. And the product on the ice is anything but entertaining.<\/p>\n
It would be one thing if the Jets were bad but fun. Instead, they\u2019re bad and boring \u2014 as we were reminded again Wednesday when the Blues, who entered play as the worst defensive team in the NHL, held what was supposed to be a desperate, highly motivated Jets club to 24 shots and no goals in a 1-0 triumph.<\/p>\n
It marked the fourth time in 33 games Winnipeg has been blanked. The 15-16-2 Jets are a tough watch these days, to put it mildly. And just when it feels like they\u2019ve hit rock bottom, along comes an even deeper sinkhole.<\/p>\n
Next up is a Friday night clash with the Colorado Avalanche, who just so happen to sit atop the league standings with an incredible 24-2-7 record. Hide the children, folks. This one could get ugly.<\/p>\n
Cheveldayoff recently told the Free Press that the answers to his team\u2019s troubles \u201cmust come from within.\u201d Is that really still the mindset? Is he not seeing what has become painfully obvious to anyone who\u2019s watched this Jets club struggle on a near-nightly basis?<\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s time to start asking some different questions. Among them:<\/p>\n
1) Are there truly no better options available right now?<\/p>\n
The Manitoba Moose are off to a strong start, with plenty of players producing and likely champing at the bit for a chance to make an impact in Winnipeg. Why aren\u2019t any of them being given one?<\/p>\n
Go up and down the list: Younger pros like Brayden Yager, Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Danny Zhilkin, Parker Ford and Samuel Fagemo. More established skaters like David Gustafsson, Mason Shaw, Walker Duehr, Phil Di Giuseppe and Jaret Anderson-Dolan. All might have something to offer.<\/p>\n
Blues head coach Jim Montgomery, speaking prior to Wednesday\u2019s game, mentioned that two young players would be making their NHL debuts. He talked about how that could inject energy and excitement into a struggling veteran group in need of a jolt. His team went out and played that way, too.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Joe Puetz \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets forward Gustav Nyquist attempts to pressure St. Louis Blues defenceman Philip Broberg Wednesday night. Nyquist is yet to score a goal in 24 games this season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n There\u2019s been no such boost for the Jets, who continue to roll out largely the same tired lineup night after night. Are they really afraid of losing players like Gustav Nyquist (no goals in 24 games), Tanner Pearson (five points in 27 games) and Colin Miller (a healthy scratch for 23 games so far) who are all pending unrestricted free agents?<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth the risk. If they get claimed, so be it. If not, send them to the AHL and make room for hungry players who \u2014 at the very least \u2014 can\u2019t bring any less to the table.<\/p>\n An organization that prides itself on loyalty and patience now appears to be trapped by its own philosophy. It\u2019s starting to look like they\u2019re more worried about hurting feelings than winning hockey games.<\/p>\n 2) Speaking of which, how much longer can the Jonathan Toews experiment last?<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Darryl Dyck \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets centre Jonathan Toews.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n This once feel-good story is showing little sign of a happy ending. Toews\u2019 play continues to trend in the wrong direction, with just a single secondary assist over his past 17 games. His role has diminished, his ice time has been slashed, and he looks to have very little left in the tank.<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t it time, at the very least, to consider a healthy scratch or two? Call it load management if you want. It\u2019s hard to believe the fiercely proud Toews is enjoying this. And aside from winning some faceoffs, the 37-year-old is not helping his hometown team in any tangible way. That hoped-for playoff payoff now feels like a pipe dream.<\/p>\n Other than solid fourth-liner Cole Koepke, the summer signings \u2014 Toews, Nyquist and Pearson \u2014 have been a bust. And that lands squarely on Cheveldayoff, who didn\u2019t do enough to fill the holes left in his lineup following free agency.<\/p>\n 3) What are core members like Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey thinking?<\/p>\n You can\u2019t blame them. Along with Gabe Vilardi, they\u2019ve routinely been Winnipeg\u2019s best players. But it hasn\u2019t been nearly enough.<\/p>\n This was supposed to be a win-now team. Instead, the Jets look like a group whose wide-open window from a year ago may have slammed shut \u2014 with the only race they\u2019re truly competitive in being for the No. 1 overall draft pick. This wasn\u2019t what they had in mind when they put pen to paper and inked long-term extensions.<\/p>\n Shouldn\u2019t the organization be doing everything possible to pry that window back open? If not, what message are you sending to your core?<\/p>\n 4) What\u2019s next for Arniel?<\/p>\n We\u2019ve lost count of how many times the coach has stressed the need for better starts, discipline and puck management \u2014 only to watch his team do the exact opposite.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Head Coach Scott Arniel.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Arniel tried one-on-one meetings last month in California. He publicly called out his team in Carolina. He fell on the sword after a closed-door players\u2019 meeting in Buffalo. And now, here in Denver, perhaps he\u2019s trying to kill them with kindness by gifting an unexpected day off.<\/p>\n Some might suggest he\u2019s lost, or losing, the room. But it\u2019s important to remember he\u2019s just a season removed from taking this group to new heights, and it was just last Saturday the Jets came out with their most complete game of the year, a dominant 5-1 victory over Washington.<\/p>\n Making that the norm, rather than the exception, has been the challenge. If his message is getting stale, that might just be more of an indictment of the players rather than the head coach.<\/p>\n What\u2019s left in his bag of tricks? Splitting up Scheifele and Connor to see if they can each drive a line would be dramatic, but he seems unwilling, or unable, to do it. With Cheveldayoff offering no reinforcements from the Moose, the waiver wire or the trade market, Arniel is left rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.<\/p>\n 5) Where have the high standards gone?<\/p>\n For years, this group has talked about accountability and pushing each other to be better. That\u2019s hard to find now, with so many players struggling mightily, including several key returnees.<\/p>\n Vlad Namestnikov has one assist in 22 games. You might soon spot his face on a milk carton. Linemate Nino Niederreiter has no points in nine games. Cole Perfetti \u2014 in what was supposed to be a breakout season \u2014 has regressed significantly with just two goals in 19 games, not helped by the high-ankle sprain suffered in the pre-season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Joe Puetz \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets centre Adam Lowry (17) hasn\u2019t looked like himself since returning from hip surgery. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dylan DeMelo, skating on the top pair with Morrissey, has been prone to costly turnovers \u2014including the one that led to the Blues\u2019 goal Wednesday \u2014 and unnecessary penalties. Dylan Samberg doesn\u2019t look like himself following a broken wrist in camp. Neither does captain Adam Lowry as he works his way back from hip surgery.<\/p>\n This ship is taking on water, and it has far too many passengers.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t 6) What\u2019s left to salvage at this point?<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the Jets, this season is teetering perilously close to being lost. Catching Colorado, Dallas or Minnesota for a top-three spot in the Central appears unrealistic. That leaves a desperate scratch-and-claw attempt for a wild card berth that would likely end in a first-round meeting with a powerhouse.<\/p>\n Cheveldayoff must tread carefully. Sacrificing top prospects or high picks for a short-term patch would be reckless. It may be time to take a deep breath, accept that this isn\u2019t the year, and look toward a retool.<\/p>\n Sell whatever spare parts you can. Create opportunity. And finally, start getting a glimpse of what the future might look like \u2014 because the present isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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