What did Winnipeg do differently from us?

[nsleaf]

Here they are headed to the WCF having beat some pretty good teams. They look legit.

When they inherited Atlanta’s roster it wasn’t anything special and they were a bottom feeder, just like Toronto. Yet they appear to be in a much better position than us. Why?

Hard to say other than, they ALL are playing very well at the moment. Hard to believe they were not in the playoffs last year given how good they currently look. I guess good teams suffer setbacks. Look at Washington, Cup favorite for several years, but never got there, and now unexpectedly, when few expect it... ...NHL Hockey's a funny game

 

[ITM]

Their GM for years did nothing but draft and keep to himself. It was only recently that he's made bold moves to push his team over the edge. Got to give Cheveldayoff credit. I don't think the Jets are where they are if they don't trade for Stastny and get that extra depth.

Got to have the same patience that Cheveldayoff had.

Entirely. It's patience and timing...Obviously the foundation of sound drafting makes it feasible to target certain trade assets. But when the time was right and the asset made sense, the cache of assets to maximize the Jets' situation were ready and waiting.

 

[LeafFever]

The true distinction between Winnipeg and us, noting that our drafting has improved dramatically, which is also the most important part of what contributed to the Jets' turnaround is the one thing, most of our fanbase appears to have absolutely none of and absolutely no desire for:

Patience.

There's a signing or two and a trade here and there that also contributed to the Jets' success, but the overarching principal has been time maturing the parts into the cohesive whole we see approaching the Stanley Cup Final, seven years after their move from Atlanta.

That's...seven...years. Again:

Patience.

This board is ridiculous. They panic over not getting out of the 1st round after the team was dead last 2 years ago.

 

[ShaneFalco]

This board is ridiculous. They panic over not getting out of the 1st round after the team was dead last 2 years ago.

Who is panicking?

 

[LeafFever]

Who is panicking?

A lot of people.

 

[egd27]

Who is panicking?

Perhaps panic is the wrong word, but there are very many here that seem upset we are not more successful than we are presently.

 

[Gary Nylund]

The game 7 loss was the only issue really. People over evaluation of a series that turned into a winner take all one game series is flawed.

Nah, it was pretty clear who the better team was both times we lost to Boston in the playoffs. Leading after two periods in game 7, sure that sounds great. But in both 3rd periods when all the chips were in ... we all know how that turned out. We couldn't even compete with them, that's how badly we were outclassed.

Simple they started drafting smart back in 2011 landing Mark Schilefle , Leafs thought Tyler biggs was worth a 1st round. They have better homegrown defence . Give the leafs a year or two and you'll see an improvement.

I hope so. However, some improvement will be required to make up for no Bozak/JVR on the roster next season. If nothing else, those two were a big part of an excellent powerplay, no guarantee that we don't take a step back next season.

 

[i1]

They never had Dave Nonis

 

[LeafingTheWay]

The biggest reason? I don't even know what happened to our system. It looked like Carlyle run-and-gun hockey again for some-reason (probably a hyperbole but still).

We have to stay true to the system we played last year. You look at all the top teams whether it be Winnipeg, Nashville, Washington, Pittsburgh, etc. They all have skilled players, but they play to the system first and foremost.

 

[DanM]

They started rebuilding before us, end of story.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Played against a team with a terrible goaltender and no offence?

 

[Territory]

They started rebuilding before us, end of story.

This. Won't be long till the Leafs are at the same level.

 

[DaJackal]

Jets fan coming in peace. Most important things, IMO:

*Our 1C is entering his prime. Your 1C is 20 years old. Considering how Scheifele looked like a bambi on ice at that age, this is not a thing you should be worried about.
*We have a veteran in Wheeler playing best hockey of his career. While Marleau is still great, he is not at his best anymore. (And that's why you have him now instead of SJ.)
*Offesive Adventures of Big Buff have been succesful in the playoffs. This might change any given time, though.
*Our defense is better as it is and we have 3-4 ok D prospects in the pipeline. This is the thing you should focus on improving. (I don't know how your D prospect pool looks like, will the problem be solved internally or do you need to do trades.)
*The Stastny trade worked like a charm. I wish we could keep him but I'm afraid it's not possible.
*The obligatory Laine comment: while he hasn't played great, having him on the PP opens up space for others. This was especially visible in the Minnesota series.

If I were you I wouldn't panic at all. You have a legit playoff team for years to come and your best players keep on improving.

 

[Bluelines]

Hard to say other than, they ALL are playing very well at the moment. Hard to believe they were not in the playoffs last year given how good they currently look. I guess good teams suffer setbacks. Look at Washington, Cup favorite for several years, but never got there, and now unexpectedly, when few expect it... ...NHL Hockey's a funny game

Last year was a case of too many stupid penalties and no ability to kill them off. In a nutshell that is the difference.

 

[Bluelines]

Jets fan coming in peace. Most important things, IMO:

*Our 1C is entering his prime. Your 1C is 20 years old. Considering how Scheifele looked like a bambi on ice at that age, this is not a thing you should be worried about.
*We have a veteran in Wheeler playing best hockey of his career. While Marleau is still great, he is not at his best anymore. (And that's why you have him now instead of SJ.)
*Offesive Adventures of Big Buff have been succesful in the playoffs. This might change any given time, though.
*Our defense is better as it is and we have 3-4 ok D prospects in the pipeline. This is the thing you should focus on improving. (I don't know how your D prospect pool looks like, will the problem be solved internally or do you need to do trades.)
*The Stastny trade worked like a charm. I wish we could keep him but I'm afraid it's not possible.
*The obligatory Laine comment: while he hasn't played great, having him on the PP opens up space for others. This was especially visible in the Minnesota series.

If I were you I wouldn't panic at all. You have a legit playoff team for years to come and your best players keep on improving.

Typical Jets fan, being all level headed and reasonable, saying nice things about the Leafs, Jets fans are the worst ...

 

[Pookie]

Jets’ players performed better than Leafs’ players.

Jets’ players didn’t get themselves suspended.

Jets’ players battle for the puck and play with the confidence knowing teammates will stick up for them if needed. They are not soft.

That’s the answer in a nutshell.

 

[Bluelines]

Jets’ players performed better than Leafs’ players.

Jets’ players didn’t get themselves suspended.

Jets’ players battle for the puck and play with the confidence knowing teammates will stick up for them if needed. They are not soft.

That’s the answer in a nutshell.

You have to wonder if the guy who scored 65% (21 goals) of his 32 goals at home would have been the difference maker in that @Home loss? Yep that April 19th, 3-1 loss at home was really the difference in the series. The guy who had 5 points in 4 regular season games vs Boston, might have made a difference in those 3 games he missed.

You watch these highlights ,and you see the Marleau- suspended - Marner line on fire, you wonder if they had a center with more skill (21 goals at home), if a few of those grade A chances might have been in the back of the net.

I guess some players play for the crest on the front of the jersey and sometimes you throw that out the window and play for the name on your back?

Oh well, coulda shoulda woulda ...

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

They let their core develop for 5 + years without making a change, and staying patient. Now Laine is a support player, with Schieffle and Wheeler running the show

 

[Gary Nylund]

I guess some players play for the crest on the front of the jersey and sometimes you throw that out the window and play for the name on your back?

This nonsense again, really?

It's gonna be a long summer ...[/QUOTE]

 

[Bluelines]

This nonsense again, really?

It's gonna be a long summer ...

 

[Pookie]

Gary’s right. It’s nonsense.

To speculate that this player would have made a difference is fruitless. I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned it.

Plekanec took his spot. He got benched. He couldn’t break through his “sheltered” minutes.

We even have @IPS, one of this player’s most vocal backers, acknowledging that if he relies so much on his wingers for production, there really isn’t much of a point in considering him key.

And who knows? We saw a massive slump for a 1/4 of the season that looked like a blip at the time. I could have been wrong in calling it at blip. Maybe it’s a trend?

In the end, Winnipeg doesn’t have a player like this.

 

[Gallagbi]

Jets’ players performed better than Leafs’ players.

Jets’ players didn’t get themselves suspended.

Jets’ players battle for the puck and play with the confidence knowing teammates will stick up for them if needed. They are not soft.

That’s the answer in a nutshell.

Wasn't Morrisey suspended in the first round?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Wasn't Morrisey suspended in the first round?

Indeed he was!

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/josh-morrissey-nhl-hearing-staal-1.4625166

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

*Our defense is better as it is and we have 3-4 ok D prospects in the pipeline. This is the thing you should focus on improving. (I don't know how your D prospect pool looks like, will the problem be solved internally or do you need to do trades.)


If I were you I wouldn't panic at all. You have a legit playoff team for years to come and your best players keep on improving.

Dermott, Borgman, Rosen, Liljegren, Nielsen, Rasanen. So...good. And internally.

 

[Leafs87]

Defence, size and veteran players that actually contribute