Biggest difference between this year's Jets and last year's Jets?

[Board Bard]

Or you just can't stand the fact that maybe our players are the problem.

Players, GM, coach, owner.

Do you feel better?

 

[cbcwpg]

Well one thing I hope this team takes away from this season is that ...THERE IS NO f***ING SWITCH.

If you suck for 2-3 months going into the playoffs your going to golfing before you know it. Some people will even call the regular season a practice for the real season, the playoffs. So the old expression ... you play like you practice... is pretty appropriate.

 

[Adam da bomb]

Well one thing I hope this team takes away from this season is that ...THERE IS NO ****ING SWITCH.

If you suck for 2-3 months going into the playoffs your going to golfing before you know it. Some people will even call the regular season a practice for the real season, the playoffs. So the old expression ... you play like you practice... is pretty appropriate.

Colorado turned on switch. They were a mediocre team all regular season. They showed place in standings don't matter much so you have room to experiment. I'd have rather lost breaking up Schief and Wheeler before playoffs or tried other things than worry bout 1st place.

 

[AWSAA]

Or you just can't stand the fact that maybe our players are the problem.

That's on Chevy then. He half-assed a 6 year "rebuild" and failed to secure a quality 2C.

 

[slurpee addict]

Last year they had a consistent effort night in night out. This year - and I mean all year they rarely put in a 60 minute effort. Add to that a coach that has some flaws and you get what you deserve. We really don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes and in the room, but my eyes registered the lack of solid commitment on too many nights.

 

[Channelcat]

Helly was unreal last year. That disguises alot of problems.

 

[KingBogo]

Well one thing I hope this team takes away from this season is that ...THERE IS NO ****ING SWITCH.

If you suck for 2-3 months going into the playoffs your going to golfing before you know it. Some people will even call the regular season a practice for the real season, the playoffs. So the old expression ... you play like you practice... is pretty appropriate.

Actually this playoffs is showing that doing well in the regular season isn't all that important and just getting to the playoffs is what counts. Lower seeds are having their way for the most part.

 

[AKAChip]

Helly was unreal last year. That disguises alot of problems.

The Jets will probably be "good" as long as Hellebuyck stays at minimum as good as he was this season. The real danger is the front office looking at the previous four or so seasons and seeing last season as the reality and all the other seasons as anomalies.

 

[Guffman]

Honestly, a big difference in the playoffs anyways was puck luck. Series easily could’ve been 4-2 for the jets instead of the other way around when you look at the scores and the way most of the games ended. That’s hockey tho! Puck luck plays a big role in tight series.

A more performance-related answer is this: Hayes did not produce like Stastny did - big difference in terms of 2nd line productivity. In fact, Hayes didn’t even end up on the 2nd line in the end. As for the Jets’ regular season performance, Laine & Ehlers both didn’t have good years this season, and that hurt and made an impact.

It’s a game of inches and there’s so much parity in this league now. I don’t really buy into this whole theory of a “3-5 year window and then you’re done”. Washington was predicted to lose against Pittsburgh last year, they instead won the Cup. The Blues didn’t even make the playoffs last year, now suddenly they’re contenders. Colorado defeats the Flames this year. Blue Jackets beat the Lightning. The islanders, despite losing Tavares, are a force this year. Etc etc. There isn’t NEARLY as much predictability in the NHL as people think. If you make the playoffs, you have a chance. This whole “3 to 5 year window and then you’re out” theory doesn’t really hold true anymore.

I agree that thinking your window is when you have skilled players in their ELC. That’s a pretty small window! Sure, the salary cap means we can’t keep everyone but for the young guys that remain, I would expect them to improve.

I also agree about the Blues series. Of the first 5 games, we could have won any of them, and arguably, the Blues could have won any of them besides Game 3. This series could have been over in 5 games for either team.

 

[Guffman]

Toxic fanbases, impatient fans and media over-analysis of slumps etc aren't helping much. 30 years ago we were ecstatic if the Jets made the playoffs 2 years in a row.

Further to that point, this is the first time EVER that the Jets 1.0 and 2.0 teams have posted successive second place finishes.

Maybe that’s a dubious record but at least that’s positive progress.

 

[Andy6]

The first difference was that Laine shut down almost completely after November. The second was that Hellebuyck believed his own hype (and paycheque) a bit too much. The third was that they played a much better team in Round One of the playoffs. Beyond that, not much difference.

 

[Guffman]

When their team loses, it's due to bad luck. The Blues were better than us. For large stretches, we didn't show up.

There definitely were large momentum swings in many of the games. There were times where the Jets dominated the play and time where the Blues dominated the play. It would be silly to float an idea that the Blues dominated this series.

As close as it was (other than games 3 and 6), props to the team that actually won. But it was close!

 

[Guffman]

Hellebuyck played better than Binnington in the series.

Looking at the series as a whole... ehhh, I’d say it was a draw.

 

[Guffman]

Still amounts to a team under achieving in the playoffs for a decade before finding their way to a cup. Will you feel better about the Jets if the Blues go onto win the cup?

I’d feel a little sick because we were close to winning the series and it could have been us hoisting the Cup!

 

[AKAChip]

I’d feel a little sick because we were close to winning the series and it could have been us hoisting the Cup!

Only short by 14 wins. So close I could taste it.

 

[ryerockarola]

Further to that point, this is the first time EVER that the Jets 1.0 and 2.0 teams have posted successive second place finishes.

Maybe that’s a dubious record but at least that’s positive progress.

Just noting it should've been a first-place finish without blowing any one of those 3rd period leads and getting a single point in a game instead of nothing.

 

[Guffman]

Well one thing I hope this team takes away from this season is that ...THERE IS NO ****ING SWITCH.

If you suck for 2-3 months going into the playoffs your going to golfing before you know it. Some people will even call the regular season a practice for the real season, the playoffs. So the old expression ... you play like you practice... is pretty appropriate.

Explain Colorado. Explain Columbus. Explain Dallas.

Explain regular season champ Tampa Bay and Calgary going 1-8 in the playoffs.

Seriously, dude. You don’t need to be regular season heroes to succeed in the playoffs.

 

[AKAChip]

Explain Colorado. Explain Columbus. Explain Dallas.

Explain regular season champ Tampa Bay and Calgary going 1-8 in the playoffs.

Seriously, dude. You don’t need to be regular season heroes to succeed in the playoffs.

So the Jets were neither. What's the point?

 

[Guffman]

Just noting it should've been a first-place finish without blowing any one of those 3rd period leads and getting a single point in a game instead of nothing.

If we didn’t have Crazy Eyes Comrie playing, maybe we would have gotten that point!

If we got first place, we’d be playing Dallas, who is giving Nashville a run. Whether that’s easier or not, it just delays a Blues matchup by one round. Really, seeding was not a big deal this year.

 

[Guffman]

So the Jets were neither. What's the point?

I just don’t think how you play 2-3 months before the playoffs means anything to your team for the playoffs. That was clearly proved in Round 1 by multiple teams.

 

[AKAChip]

I just don’t think how you play 2-3 months before the playoffs means anything to your team for the playoffs. That was clearly proved in Round 1 by multiple teams.

I don't disagree with that sentiment in general, but the Avs and Vegas, the two teams that currently look like the best teams in the West, went into the playoffs hot. As for the Isles and especially the Jackets? I'll admit I, as well as most of the world, didn't see much hope for them and they didn't exactly set the regular season on fire but there are exceptions to every rule. At least as far as the Jackets go, they gained a number of new faces in the weeks prior to the playoffs, the argument could be made that it took them awhile to gel. You absolutely can get hot right as the playoffs start but I think most people would feel more comfortable going into the playoffs on at least some semblance of a roll.

 

[ryerockarola]

I just don’t think how you play 2-3 months before the playoffs means anything to your team for the playoffs. That was clearly proved in Round 1 by multiple teams.

Travis Yost disagreed with your opinion before the playoffs started.
https://www.tsn.ca/the-jets-appear-fundamentally-broken-1.1285071

 

[cbcwpg]

Explain Colorado. Explain Columbus. Explain Dallas.

Explain regular season champ Tampa Bay and Calgary going 1-8 in the playoffs.

Seriously, dude. You don’t need to be regular season heroes to succeed in the playoffs.

Just looking at the last 10 games Colorado, Columbus, and Dallas were all playing well and winning...Jets were below .500. Calgary and Tampa were all set and coasting into the playoffs and got caught by hot teams going in.

And no you don’t need to be great in the regular season, but you need to be playing the right way going into the playoffs. Look at the Kings when they won. They had a bad season, barely got in, but they were playing playoff hockey a month before everyone else just to get in. And they just continued it on.

And IMO the Jets were all sitting there telling each other they were going to flip the switch and play better ... then the first game happened and they all went “ oh shit “

 

[bustamente]

When you lose every game against the Wild, that might be an indication that your not as good as the previous year, but it all come down to paying the price game in game out, and this years version did not or were not capable of doing that, it is very possible that we have over rated this roster

 

[KingBogo]

Just looking at the last 10 games Colorado, Columbus, and Dallas were all playing well and winning...Jets were below .500. Calgary and Tampa were all set and coasting into the playoffs and got caught by hot teams going in.

And no you don’t need to be great in the regular season, but you need to be playing the right way going into the playoffs. Look at the Kings when they won. They had a bad season, barely got in, but they were playing playoff hockey a month before everyone else just to get in. And they just continued it on.

And IMO the Jets were all sitting there telling each other they were going to flip the switch and play better ... then the first game happened and they all went “ oh **** “

Other than game 6 every game was pretty much a coin flip by 2 teams that were tied in points.