This person's comment on this article sums it up nicely:
"You media hacks can't have it both ways... Hundreds of articles written about how no free agents would ever sign in Winnipeg and that the stars all want out, but when two more star players commit long-term to the team and the community, it is a missed opportunity to jettison a core that hasn't delivered a cup. Chevy is a very capable GM and played this offseason brilliantly. He waited until the estimated cap increase for next season was announced to make fair offers to Hellebuyck and Scheifele. Unless you know of any other #1 centres or Vezina goaltenders that were lining up to sign with the Jets next offseason, give credit where credit is due."
There is going to be lots of back pedalling by media because their predictions on these two players turned out to be wrong.
Dailyfaceoff is junk articles, IMO
Probably one of the best posts on this thread. I’ll be honest in general I don’t like long term deals for players in their 30’s as a rule. However, there are always exceptions to the rule.
The Jets are in one of the toughest, if not the toughest, spots in this league. Starting with Trouba, Buff, Laine, Maurice, and finally PLD and there was this trend of players and even coaches wanting out for their own set of reasons. Had Scheifele and Bucky followed suit there is a chance the brand gets permanently damaged.
The signings were an important turning point where two high end players that want to win dedicated the rest of their careers to Winnipeg. Even though I don’t like long term deals for 30 year olds I think this organization needed this day and this press conference to stop the bleeding. I am on the record for what approach I would like in Whileee’s thread but that is just fun fantacy GM crap that has nothing to do with the real world and the Jets organization doing everything they can to keep this team relevant now while demand has taken a pounding is as real as it gets.
I don’t want to throw only the media under the bus for fanning the flames. I did my share of complaining on some of the similar topics. Yes this would be a good time to eat crow or at least just give out credit where credit is due. Maybe some of the narrative was overblown, especially with Schiefele wanting out. I was way wrong on that one. Also heavy is the head that wears the crown so TNSE needs to stop feeling sorry for themselves about the rough ride they have been getting. Business ownership is not easy and customers aren’t always going to like you, that comes with the territory so make adjustments and keep working harder at connecting.
The main thing now is for me personally to figure out my path forward. Love it or not they will be an organization that tries their hardest every year to be competitive. I don’t believe that is a pathway to a cup but maybe thats ok or hell maybe I’m wrong. For now I am going to try to modify my expectations, buy tickets, and try to not get ahead of myself. I am going to just try to embrace the ups and downs and highs and lows of the journey and stop thinking about the destination so much. Not sure I will be able to transition but i’m going to try. One think I know is I have always liked watching games live so I need to get back to doing more of that.