Worst Jets GM

[Royale With Cheese]

Again, the main difference was money. Smith didn't have it. He also managed to find some gems in Nik Khabibulin, Alexei Zhamnov, Evgeny Davydov and Igor Korolev (picked up on waivers). Igor Ulanov was an adventure but ended up having a pretty good nhl career.

Also, I think Smith might have done ok in the 1988 draft as the Jets diectpr of scouting
View attachment 497199

Had no idea Chevy was drafted that high as a player!

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Can you imagine if Winnipeg has any kind of decent owner and we don't hand the reigns over to Smith. We don't lose Hawerchuk. We don't draft Ward,Bautin and Lindgren and maybe we draft Forsberg, Jason Smith and Jason Allison instead. We don't trade Selanne,Marchment,Draper or Elyniuk. We likely have a great young team with really solid Vets and maybe a Cup or 2

 

[Jet]

Had no idea Chevy was drafted that high as a player!

Me neither, had a chuckle

 

[Jet]

Can you imagine if Winnipeg has any kind of decent owner and we don't hand the reigns over to Smith. We don't lose Hawerchuk. We don't draft Ward,Bautin and Lindgren and maybe we draft Forsberg, Jason Smith and Jason Allison instead. We don't trade Selanne,Marchment,Draper or Elyniuk. We likely have a great young team with really solid Vets and maybe a Cup or 2

I mean or a decent owner and Smith didn't have to fire sale every year? I'm not saying he was brilliant but he did have his hands severely tied and he did do some good things.

 

[scelaton]

...............
Almost every trade Smith made weakened the depth of the team. He had a different method than Ferguson for drafting talent, and I don't know who was worse at scouting, or trades, to be honest. I'd say Smith's trades are egregiously worse. The worst Ferguson trade at least was made from a position of strength, as the Jets had Ellett and Carlyle when they traded Babych. Drafting Jimmy Mann with his first ever pick was bad, but he did get guys like Steen and Selanne, so that's worth something.

I also don't know which was more unlikeable. Bobby Hull hated Ferguson. Hawerchuk hated Smith. I am just glad those days are bygone.

Nice detailed summary....but the bolded tells me a lot.

Whose judgement are you going to trust, and whose is questionable at best?

 

[Guardian17]

For me, it had to be Smith for running Hawerchuk out of town.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

I mean or a decent owner and Smith didn't have to fire sale every year? I'm not saying he was brilliant but he did have his hands severely tied and he did do some good things.

True but people told me Smith was a tyrant when it came to scouting. He made a lot of decisions with out any input

 

[Jet]

True but people told me Smith was a tyrant when it came to scouting. He made a lot of decisions with out any input

Oh yeah, not saying the guy was perfect - there was a lot not to like about him but I think people are forgetting the good things he did and the impossible environment he had to do business under.

 

[WolfHouse]

Oh yeah, not saying the guy was perfect - there was a lot not to like about him but I think people are forgetting the good things he did and the impossible environment he had to do business under.

The good doesn’t even
Come close to all the trades of legit NHL for garbage picks or borderline nhlers - he took a competitive team and continually dismantled it

 

[Jet]

The good doesn’t even
Come close to all the trades of legit NHL for garbage picks or borderline nhlers - he took a competitive team and continually dismantled it

Again. He had no money. He had no leverage. Why are people ignoring this critical piece of information?

People also talked about Hawerchuk but there's no way Teemu Selanne scores 76 goals without Housely. The Jets also got Scott Arniel and swapped first round picks with Buffalo. Buffalo picked Brad May abs the Jets selected Keith Tkachuk.

Oh and there's the fact that Smith also pulled off this deal under duress as Hawerchuk requested a trade that was publicly known which weakened his bargaining power.

I'm all for disliking Smith but people have to get their facts straight.

 

[Jet]

Nah, it's still Mike Smith. He chased Hawerchuk out, and drafted nothing but Russians for the sake of drafting Russians.

He absolutely did not chase Hawerchuk out. Hawerchuk wanted out because Bob Murdoch severely reduced his icetime. Dale asked for a trade because of that, and he's on the record for saying it.

Man - there are a lot of fallacies running around in this thread.

 

[WolfHouse]

He absolutely did not chase Hawerchuk out. Hawerchuk wanted out because Bob Murdoch severely reduced his icetime. Dale asked for a trade because of that, and he's on the record for saying it.

Man - there are a lot of fallacies running around in this thread.

Smith chose to retain Bob Murdoch and trade one of the beat players in the league - don’t act like his hands were tied

 

[cbcwpg]

STARTING OVER: SABRES' HAWERCHUK NO LONGER THE CENTER OF ATTENTION HIGH-SCORING VET HAD HOCKEY IN MIND SINCE HE WAS A BOY | Latest Headlines | buffalonews.com

"He came in with a completely new system," Hawerchuk said. "And it worked. We had a pretty good year last year (85 points), but he reduced my ice time significantly. I went from 30 minutes a game to 15-16. I wasn't ready for that role at the age of 27. Maybe if I was 32. I didn't want to cause any waves, but I thought it was time to move on."

The Jets say Hawerchuk averaged 19.5 minutes of ice time last season, the most in Murdoch's balanced attack. Whatever the case, it was a lot less than usual. Hawerchuk slipped to a career-low 81 points, and he admits his loss of desire for the game had something to do with it.

"I didn't feel we were going about it the right way," he said. "So something had to give. I felt I was beating my head against the wall at times."

***

I'm all for saying Smith was the worst GM ( * unless Chevy goes out and signs EK ) , but we have to keep the facts. Coaching style is what lead Ducky to want out, and sure you can blame Smith because he hired the coach, but even Ducky admitted the team had a decent season. Just didn't want reduced ice time.

 

[Jet]

Smith chose to retain Bob Murdoch and trade one of the beat players in the league - don’t act like his hands were tied

Lol so changing the narrative to support your argument. Got it.

PS Murdoch was a new hire and it led to the Jets turning things around. Also, he won the Jack Adams. I don't think a 'good GM' would fire that coach.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Lol so changing the narrative to support your argument. Got it.

PS Murdoch was a new hire and it led to the Jets turning things around. Also, he won the Jack Adams. I don't think a 'good GM' would fire that coach.

Look here Jet, it is not that you are wrong. You are being too factually accurate and reasonable. I choose to remember Smith as being the worst for all the bad things he did, like trading Hawerchuk. I like it that way. Stop confusing me with facts.

 

[Scheifele55]

I know that Phil Housley demanded a trade from Winnipeg which handcuffed the team. I am not sure if Bob Essensa did the same or Detroit was looking for an upgrade in net but Smith did well dealing Essensa and Bautin for Cheveldae and Dallas Drake. Crazy how the following season Detroit signed Mike Vernon which led to Essensa having to play 2 years in the minors.

John Ferguson made how many trades that benefitted the team? Here is the teams history: History of NHL trades by the Winnipeg Jets - NHL Trade Tracker

The good:

St. Louis Blues acquire	Date	Winnipeg Jets acquire
Scott Campbell John Markell [TBODY] [/TBODY]	July 3, 1981	Paul MacLean Bryan Maxwell Ed Staniowski [TBODY] [/TBODY]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Trading Scott Campbell who the Jets protected in the Expansion draft and John Markell who played about a dozen games in the NHL for Paul MacLean who was the teams 2nd best player, Bryan Maxwell who played 100 games with the team, and Ed Staniowski who had a good 1981-82 season was a definite WIN.

Edmonton Oilers acquire	Date	Winnipeg Jets acquire
Willy Lindstrom [TBODY] [/TBODY]	March 7, 1983	Laurie Boschman [TBODY] [/TBODY]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Willy Lindstrom was 32 years old and his career went on a decline after this trade. Laurie Boschman was 23 and his career was on the incline. In his first full season with the team he had 74 points in 61 games and for 3 seasons he average 1PPG. Another win.

9 years as GM and 2 good trades. I went through his worst trades and he had a knack for making moves that were downgrades... Mike Smith didn't make a lot of those moves. Dealing Stu Barnes and Kris Draper were his worst, however, Draper was 22 and had 2 NHL goals, and Barnes was almost 23 and had 9 points in 18 games. Definite flubs.

 

[Scheifele55]

Oh and before John Ferguson became GM of the Jets he lured Nilsson and Hedberg away from the WHA Jets by signing them with the Rangers.

 

[Edgar Halliwax]

Since my other threat about Iain Duncan turned into a discussion about GM's I am moving the topic here.

There are only 4 options:

John Furguson
Mike SMith
John Paddock
Kevin Cheveldayoff

For worst GM there is one option and one option only: Mike Smith

 

[Scheifele55]

For worst GM there is one option and one option only: Mike Smith

How is John Ferguson better? What did he do better than Mike Smith?

 

[Jets 31]

Again. He had no money. He had no leverage. Why are people ignoring this critical piece of information?

People also talked about Hawerchuk but there's no way Teemu Selanne scores 76 goals without Housely. The Jets also got Scott Arniel and swapped first round picks with Buffalo. Buffalo picked Brad May abs the Jets selected Keith Tkachuk.

Oh and there's the fact that Smith also pulled off this deal under duress as Hawerchuk requested a trade that was publicly known which weakened his bargaining power.

I'm all for disliking Smith but people have to get their facts straight.

Selanne on the wing with Hawerchuk would have been unreal. I agree Housley was great here but Hawerchuk was and always will be the Winnipeg Jets so Smith trading him always pissed me off. You are also correct about our owner Barry Shenkarow though he didn't have enough money to be a owner and we couldn't compete with the other teams for signing guys.

 

[Jet]

For worst GM there is one option and one option only: Mike Smith

Now, use facts to support your opinion.

 

[Jet]

Selanne on the wing with Hawerchuk would have been unreal. I agree Housley was great here but Hawerchuk was and always will be the Winnipeg Jets so Smith trading him always pissed me off. You are also correct about our owner Barry Shenkarow though he didn't have enough money to be a owner and we couldn't compete with the other teams for signing guys.

But Hawerchuk wanted out. We got Housley, Arniel and Tkachuk essentially for Hawerchuk who wanted to leave, and Brad May. I'd do that deal any day especially knowing the chemistry Selanne had with Housley and Tkachuk.

 

[Jets4Life]

I just found another reason why John Ferguson was the worst GM not only in Winnipeg Jets history, but NHL history. Picture it, 1980, Winnipeg Jets took Dave Babych 2nd overall instead of Denis Savard (3rd), Larry Murphy (4th), or Paul Coffey (6th) and then come the 6th round, he had the choice of taking one of the most durable players of the 1980s who almost broke Doug Jarvis' record and averaged over 1 PPG or a local goaltender who played 1 NHL game and 1 AHL game. He sets the NHL record (I am quite sure) for worst NHL debut allowing 10 goals which is better than his AHL career allowing 5 goals in 29 minutes. Ferguson took the goaltender (Ron Loustel) whereas the Blackhawks took the yearly all-star (Steve Larmer).

Worst GM in NHL history? What are you smoking? lol.

In fairness to Fergie during the 1980 draft, Montreal had 1st pick, and drafted Doug Wichenheiser. It's easy to go back in hindsight and say we should ahve picked a different defenseman, but the fact is Babych had a storied career, playing nearly 20 seasons, and being a key defenseman for Winnipeg and Harford.

 

[Jets4Life]

Ferguson was handed Hawerchuk on a platter, Babych was also given to him. The rest were great draft choices. Sadly Christian and Mullen he dealt after 1 good year with the Jets for lesser talent.

Dave Christian hated playing in Winnipeg and demanded a trade, so it's not like Fergie just decided to give up on him. He wasn't going to play for the Jets after 1983.

 

[WolfHouse]

Worst GM in NHL history? What are you smoking? lol.

In fairness to Fergie during the 1980 draft, Montreal had 1st pick, and drafted Doug Wichenheiser. It's easy to go back in hindsight and say we should ahve picked a different defenseman, but the fact is Babych had a storied career, playing nearly 20 seasons, and being a key defenseman for Winnipeg and Harford.

The reasoning for the Babych trade cancelled out any good moves Fergy had made... 'Hartford would ONLY accept Babych for Neufeld - nothing less'... I mean what was he smoking.