Guess the Chevy-Maurice contract extensions ain't look'in so bad now eh?!?

[CaptainChef]

I was going to ask this myself,...

I don't need fancy stats or anything else to tell me when it comes to our player choices for OT, Maurice is out to lunch. Buff adds excitement, no question, but he is a massive liability... just one example. Or at the very least take into account how someones game has gone... ie: Laine struggled today in all aspects of the game... don't use him in OT.

On the Vegas site, they wondered aloud what Buff was doing out there in OT. While most here I'm sure feel that he deserves to be out there a bit during OT, the coaches decisions to have Buff out there for over half and sometimes closer to 3/4 of the OT game in and game out is totally ridiculous.

Even if we are to believe that he could not get off for the first couple minutes of OT last night, seeing how dead-tired he was when he finally got off & then seeing him back on less than a minute later, is just another of those unexplainable/ridiculous/stupid/.... call it what you like.... moves that too many of us know are costing us points in the standings on a regular basis.

 

[DK59]

Sure, but 52 games and 13 regulation losses.... think about that. Missed two top-4 D for a stretch, then the #1 and #3 centers for a stretch, and the #1 and #4 D now. The team is near the top in shot metrics and special teams performance. Critiquing Maurice's coaching performance for this season is pretty weak. If another coach had come in and had the team performing at this level, I would bet that all of Maurice's critics would have been praising the new coach to the sky and lobbying for an Adams trophy nomination.

A coach's job is to put his players in a position to succeed and so far this year he has clearly been doing that. It is also interesting that he made some roster decisions that were initially questioned and looked on the surface to be suspect and his decisions to go with players like Tanev and Hendricks have been vindicated by their performance and the resulting team chemistry that we have been seeing. I also think that one of Maurice's strengths is his leadership and his ability to get a group of players to buy into his approach. The team now has a clear identity and it seems to fit in quite well with the group of players we have.

As far as eating crow about Maurice if the team continues to perform at this level I will have to include myself among the people that need to do this. I was never advocating replacing him after last year but I was not very enthused with his extension and I definitely had some concerns about his ability to take this group to the next level. So far he has allayed my concerns but you are right his performance will be judged over a period of time that goes beyond this year. If this year continues to be good it will be critical to maintain this positive momentum next year and beyond given the quality of roster we appear to have in place.

 

[Peggy]

Sure, but 52 games and 13 regulation losses.... think about that. Missed two top-4 D for a stretch, then the #1 and #3 centers for a stretch, and the #1 and #4 D now. The team is near the top in shot metrics and special teams performance. Critiquing Maurice's coaching performance for this season is pretty weak. If another coach had come in and had the team performing at this level, I would bet that all of Maurice's critics would have been praising the new coach to the sky and lobbying for an Adams trophy nomination.

I'm not sure what your point is
and I'm not trying to take a jab at you

what's wrong with criticizing Maurice this season?
this is a really good team regardless of the coach
this the coach does matter, but this is also just a solid roster

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

We have better players than Vegas. They have better overall team performance. Not saying that Maurice is not a good coach. But Gallant is better.

 

[Whileee]

I'm not sure what your point is
and I'm not trying to take a jab at you

what's wrong with criticizing Maurice this season?
this is a really good team regardless of the coach
this the coach does matter, but this is also just a solid roster

Nothing wrong with criticizing Maurice at any time, but the criticism should be rational. The roster isn't nearly as good when missing Scheifele, Lowry and Trouba, or earlier missing Enstrom and Buff. The Jets have continued to win with very key players out of the line-up.

If the criticism is that he has a great roster so he shouldn't get any credit, then please apply that same standard to any other coach, like Quenneville, Sutter, Babcock, etc. Applying it selectively to Maurice just seems biased.

The Jets have a very potent offensive team, but have a look at the graphic below. That is outstanding performance defensively in terms of preventing shots in dangerous areas. That doesn't just happen through young talented players alone. Does Maurice get no credit for that?

 

[DK59]

We have better players than Vegas. They have better overall team performance. Not saying that Maurice is not a good coach. But Gallant is better.

Gallant has been better this year then any coach in memory so what does that have to do with how we judge Maurice's performance? Other than we can clearly rule out coach of the year of course.

 

[Whileee]

It's easy to agree that the Pavelec signing was a big mistake, and Chevy took too long to figure it out or admit it.

I think it's good that they didn't compound the mistake by making rash trades or unwise free agent signings to try to remedy things when they had a very high-end prospect in Hellebuyck on the way. They also had some hopes for Hutchinson. I think they weren't is such a rush on the goaltending front, especially after Pavs threw up a 0.920 in 2014/15, leading the Jets to the playoffs. It was fool's gold, but bought another development year for Hellebuyck.

The point is that while everyone could see the mistake that Pavs was, some were less concerned about short-term fixes because the team still had a lot of other fundamental issues to address before they could really be a contender. Bringing in other goalies might have improved their results, but in my view it would have been like putting lipstick on a pig. My attention was more focused on how they were building up the talent and depth in the organization, realizing that at some point they would also need to address the goaltending situation when the rest of the roster was ready to be a true contender. It's not a coincidence that this was the season that the Jets jettisoned Thorbs and Stuart and splurged in UFA on their two weakest positions - LD and goal. They judged that they had the roster and depth to contend, and it was worth it to make that move.

One of the key aspects of a good GM is knowing your roster, and when to make a move. Chevy seems to have hit the right timing. Chayka, on the other hand, really whiffed by spending valuable future assets to fill gaps for the short term because he misjudged the strength of his roster.

 

[YWGinYYZ]

I'm just going to leave this here:

1) Flaming: Critique the opinion, not the person. Personal attacks against members are not permitted. Report flaming, do not respond to it. Counter-flaming is also prohibited.

Read the OP, and stay on topic. Here's the rest of the site rules for those participating in back and forth critique of each other:

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/help/terms

 

[PhilJets]

One time Maurice might be able to win coach of the year. Vegas showed up

 

[10Ducky10]

There's only one accolade I want this team to get this year and it has a parade attached to it.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

We have better players than Vegas. They have better overall team performance. Not saying that Maurice is not a good coach. But Gallant is better.

Same could be stated for 29/other teams and coaches in the league

 

[Puckatron 3000]

There's only one accolade I want this team to get this year and it has a parade attached to it.

You want Maurice to be Santa Claus?

 

[cbcwpg]

We have better players than Vegas. They have better overall team performance. Not saying that Maurice is not a good coach. But Gallant is better.

Would be an interesting study to have seen Vegas and Winnipeg switched coaches.... Potentially, Winnipeg would still be a playoff team and Vegas would be trying to decide who they are taking when they win the draft lottery.

I really believe that this whole season is about goaltending. If Helly was playing like past Jets goalies, we would be out of it, and we might even have a new coach by now.

Sometimes the coach makes the team.... and sometimes the player(s) makes the coach.

 

[DK59]

Would be an interesting study to have seen Vegas and Winnipeg switched coaches.... Potentially, Winnipeg would still be a playoff team and Vegas would be trying to decide who they are taking when they win the draft lottery.

I really believe that this whole season is about goaltending. If Helly was playing like past Jets goalies, we would be out of it, and we might even have a new coach by now.

Sometimes the coach makes the team.... and sometimes the player(s) makes the coach.

I think everyone agrees that Helle has been a big part of our success but to say it is all about goal tending is not doing justice at all to the positive things that are happening in front of him both defensively and offensively. We are a positive corsi team this year and this all happened after starting off quite poorly in this area but what is more illuminating is the shot chart that was posted above for the season that shows how well the team has defended against shots in the high danger zones. I also looked at the corsica site to see how we have been tracking in the area of Xgoals against and there we are 8th which is clearly an extension of what the above chart is showing. My conclusion is that our good defensive record is no accident and is sustainable. And then you couple that with this team's ability to score goals and what we are seeing from this team is far from being a function of having a hot goalie.

 

[KingBogo]

Would be an interesting study to have seen Vegas and Winnipeg switched coaches.... Potentially, Winnipeg would still be a playoff team and Vegas would be trying to decide who they are taking when they win the draft lottery.

I really believe that this whole season is about goaltending. If Helly was playing like past Jets goalies, we would be out of it, and we might even have a new coach by now.

Sometimes the coach makes the team.... and sometimes the player(s) makes the coach.

If they switch coaches there is a good chance both teams are in approx the same position they are now. Gallant and Maurice are very similar in that they are both players coaches and develop strong relationships with the core group. All teams only play slight variations on the same systems it is the players willingness to strictly adhere to responsibilities within those systems. As we saw from LV there is an across the board buy in. We are seeing they same thing from the Jets with a few exceptions. Buff can easily slip into bad Buff mode, and some of the kids are still learning despite immense talent. With experience the Jets will become better and better where LV is probably at the pinnacle of their potential.

 

[Jet]

I was ready to kick Chevy to the curb after the way he handled Ondrej Pavelec and Mark Stuart (even big supporters have to admit he wasn't smart with either of those players) BUT the other stuff he has done has really thrown the balance in his favor.

We aren't dealing with robots, everyone makes mistakes and I do think we are seeing some growth in Chevy's career. It is going to be extremely interesting to see what he does over the next 8 months, from a position of legitimate contender and deep organization. What will he do at TD? What will he do with our extra pieces? That will let us know just how far he has come.

 

[Georgetown Al]

I was ready to kick Chevy to the curb after the way he handled Ondrej Pavelec and Mark Stuart (even big supporters have to admit he wasn't smart with either of those players) BUT the other stuff he has done has really thrown the balance in his favor.

We aren't dealing with robots, everyone makes mistakes and I do think we are seeing some growth in Chevy's career. It is going to be extremely interesting to see what he does over the next 8 months, from a position of legitimate contender and deep organization. What will he do at TD? What will he do with our extra pieces? That will let us know just how far he has come.

I think Chevy has also been extremely interested in finally having the draft and develop continue but now he has the pieces to actually start to do some interesting things in continuing having our Jets as a legitimate contender using our deep organization to his advantage and what Chevy may do at TD well as far as I am concerned in Chevy and his management team I trust!

Go Jets Go

 

[10Ducky10]

I can not say enough about Maurice . With all the injuries this team has he has them rocking and rolling and they have spent 35 days this season in first place. He took Carolina all the way to the Stanley cup finals and I can hardly wait for the playoffs to begin.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

I can not say enough about Maurice . With all the injuries this team has he has them rocking and rolling and they have spent 35 days this season in first place. He took Carolina all the way to the Stanley cup finals and I can hardly wait for the playoffs to begin.

Maurice is an average NHL level coach with a lot of experience. He may be above average, but his record doesnt really tell that story. But being an about average NHL coach alone makes him one of the greatest hockey coaches around, even if he is not one of the greatest active NHL coaches. I'd feel a lot more comfortable and confident going into the playoffs with Babcock. It would probably be hard to find an active NHL coach that would not be having a good year with the Jets.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

I posted this in the Helle thread but believe it is relevant here.

Quick back of the envelope math on Helle's current sv% vs 0.906 that I used for Pav/past years. 25 less GA in 43 games. That's about 0.6 less goals against for Helle games this year compared to if we had Pav in those games. Seems like a really big number! Way to go Helle!

Just going by goal differential, ours would drop from +32 to +7 and on now we are on the bubble of a playoff spot. Not sure how much Maurice love would be thrown around if Helle didnt bring All Star keeping this year. Great job scouts for finding Helle. Great job Helle for whatever you did to work on your game away from Flaherty in the off season . Great job Maurice for having an All Star goaltender at your disposal.

 

[Lars65]

I for one would feel no more confident with Babcock. I find hockey coaches and successful records are like political leaders and the economy. Too much credit when times are good, too much criticism when things are bad.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

If you are still talking about Pavs and Stuart, as your examples of Chevy incompetence, you got nothing left then, fights over.

Chevy has done a masterful job of drafting and development, building what I believe will be a cup winner in the next five seasons.

Every GM has one or 23456 examples like those, it’s impossible not to build a team and completely avoid bad signings. At that, if these are the worst erroneous moves that Chevy has made it’s more of an example of how well he’s done than an example that’s negative.

Over the past seven seasons Chevy has been one of the best GMs in the league, we are extremely luck we have him.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

There were a lot of posters on here that were clamouring for Chevy to make big deals, trade assets for now players to make a run, frustrated that he remained patient, sat on his hands his some like to put it.

We now have all these assets and all this Cap space to make moves and improve on what is already a pretty damn good team. That doesn’t happen if we execute what some were suggesting to two or three years ago.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

I for one am happy about our scouting and also about Chevy for finally doing something about goaltending and LHD this past offseason. There is no way to know the Mason impact on Helle, but Chevy shares in the credit because for the first time in Jets 2.o, we have goaltending to be proud of and excited about. I still don't agree that he needed to wait so long to fix those two major roster issues. But he finally addressed them this year and it is working. Chevy deserves the credit. I have said this before - Kulikov was a great addition. May be a slight overpay but that's what it took, so way to go Chevy for getting it done.

 

[KingBogo]

I for one am happy about our scouting and also about Chevy for finally doing something about goaltending and LHD this past offseason. There is no way to know the Mason impact on Helle, but Chevy shares in the credit because for the first time in Jets 2.o, we have goaltending to be proud of and excited about. I still don't agree that he needed to wait so long to fix those two major roster issues. But he finally addressed them this year and it is working. Chevy deserves the credit. I have said this before - Kulikov was a great addition. May be a slight overpay but that's what it took, so way to go Chevy for getting it done.

Agreed on the addition of Mason as an important piece to give Helly the support and maybe the push he needed. But the biggest difference in our goaltending is Helly took the next step in his development going from a promising but inconsistent young goalie to a top level starter. This could only take time. To fix goaltending earlier would have meant replacing Helly with another goalie or relegating him to a backup role behind an established starter. Adding a good 5/6 LHD fixed a significant hole, but doesn't get us where we are without giving Morrissey the time to develop into a top pairing defenseman. Overall, while a few holes could have been filled earlier it maybe just gets closer to a bubble team. What needed to happen for us to truly contend was for this cohort of young drafted players time to develop into the top end players we see today. Considering how quickly they were inserted into the lineup and how much responsibility was given to them I don't know if that could have been rushed any more.