You have been given full control of the Winnipeg Jets: GO!

[DEANYOUNGBLOOD17]

What would I do................... I would Be patient and not have a knee jerk reaction to a uninspired start to the 2013/14 season and not react to a new fan base over reaction to a poor start to the season.

I would not fire Coach Noel at this time. If he can not "wright" the ship , there will be plenty of time to fire him later. Whos available to replace him at this time......... Mccambridge in St Johns......Hmmmm..... that would be like the Bombers firing Lapolice and promoting a person not ready or qualified to be head coach for the Job. I do see a new coach in the Jets future, but Noel has not lost the room, he just hit a speed bump.

If we Noel can not get us " wright" and were out of it by xmas, I see some vets traded for picks in Stuart,Slater,Settiguchi and possiblly Frolik ( his playoff expierience and play could return something good at the deadline.

I would also for sure trade Buff at the Deadline ......... for a boatload as he is our biggest trading chip.......as Bogo,Ladd,Trouba,and certain recent recent draft picks I would label as currently untouchable.

 

[meedle]

Coaching change - Fire Noel and hire Carbonneau or Boucher as head coach.

Send Scheifele Down - Scheifele goes down to the AHL. IMO he hasn't shown that he's ready yet. Let him grow his game on the rock and bring him back next year when Olli is gone.

Bring up O'Dell - Bring up O'Dell, put him as the 3rd line C to start, Olli being on the second line. Olli might have more chemistry with Ladd/Frolik than he did with Kane. Only one way to find out.

Shop for goalies - seriously start looking around trying to make a deal for a bona fide #1 netminder. The list of assets I wouldn't give for one is quite short (Kane, Ladd, Bogo, Trouba). AFAIC, EVERYONE else is fair game.

Thorburn waived, Stuart sold for anything

Kane, Bogo wear As, Ladd keeps the C

I like most of your plan except Bogo has definitely regressed this year. We all saw the problem signs in the preseason and some of that has translated to the regular season.

 

[BurnabyJo]

Glad I'm not the only one who wants Boucher as head coach.

I learned from the other thread that Peluso is a god so ya know, obviously he stays.

Halischuk gets into the lineup every game.

Thorburn goes. Stuart goes. Love the attitude but the skills, not so much.

Make some kind of goalie move: either replace Pavs or start making him work for it by playing Montoya more

....and are we 100% sure cloning Trouba is not an option?

 

[StronGeer]

I like most of your plan except Bogo has definitely regressed this year. We all saw the problem signs in the preseason and some of that has translated to the regular season.

He has certainly not played as well to start this season as he had last year and the year before. I look at sample size though. He's had 9 games where he sometimes looked like crap, but a season and a half of being good to excellent. His passion is also only matched by Kane in terms of leaving it all on the ice.

 

[allan5oh]

I would give Noel until the end of November to be at least one game above .500

The roster wouldn't change until closer to the deadline.

Before the deadline call up Odell see if he can plqy on the big show this year. If he can, trade Jokinen for whatever we can get. We need hungry youth.

Sell Stuart for picks and sign kulda after hiskhl contract expires.

Talk to anaheim about fasth and hiller. Hiller is a ufa and probably not in their long term plans since he will want a lot of cash. We may be able to pick him up fairly cheap.

Determine setoguchis value to the franchise and if he will re sign. We may be able to get more than a second for him.

If stuart, Jokinen, thorburn are still on the team past deadline do not re sign in the summer.

Sign burmi spring of 2015 after his khl contract expires.

 

[KingBogo]

He has certainly not played as well to start this season as he had last year and the year before. I look at sample size though. He's had 9 games where he sometimes looked like crap, but a season and a half of being good to excellent. His passion is also only matched by Kane in terms of leaving it all on the ice.

Bogo's play has been off, but to give up on a guy with his talent, size & passion can be crippling for an organization. First off I don't believe a player regresses at 23. Regression happens as we grow older and our skills diminish. IMO figuring out how to get his confidence to match his passion is the key. I don't know if he will ever become a franchise defenseman, he may level out as a high end 2nd pairing backbone of the team type of player. His passion is only matched by Kane's, and he truly seems to have almost unlimited leadership potential. Just about every young prospect (Scheifele, Trouba, Morrissey) have all singled out Bogo for welcoming them, taking them under his wing, making them feel part of the team. In 5-7 years down the line I see a cup contender with Trouba & Morrissey as their top pairing with Bogo and Enstrom as an amazing veteran 2nd pairing. Bogo will wear a letter for this team at some point, of that I have little doubt.

 

[Prot]

I don't think any one of us are happy with the Jets right meow. Instead of just complaining about what we think is wrong with the team, here is your opportunity to actually be an agent of change (in fantasyland )

Here are the rules:

1> I don't want this to be a complaining thread or a thread where we bash other's opinions.

2> Act as if you were actually in control of the team. Stay mindful of reality, the salary cap and the fact that you won't be able to go all NHL '95 on other GM's.

This is what I would do, ASAP, to right the ship:

I would remove Noel as head coach: Subject to his willingness to stay and the new HC desire to keep him on staff, I would retain him as a assistant coach. I think Noel is smart but not really strong enough to be a real motivator or leader.

Hire Jacques Martin (dependent on the Penguins releasing him from his A/C position): Jacques has experience coaching teams with an offensive mindset and players. He has had success at this level and has lots of experience.

Foster legitimate competition in the G position: I am not going to argue about Pavelec here. I do not think he is getting the #1 job done. I would sit him down, tell him that he needs to seriously commit to improving his mechanics and style. I would give Montoya starts and I would keep playing Montoya if he was playing well. Pavelec would have to earn his starts. If Montoya fails to push or usurp Pavelec, I would find a goaltender to replace Monty and challenge Pavelec.

Waive Chris Thorburn: I don't think he is an NHL'er. I think that he wastes a space a younger player could easily exceed his playing level at. Any of Wright, Halischuk, Peluso, heck even Cormier are better options. Get him off the team. Maybe he can mentor players on the Rock, and be a positive vet presence in the room.

Lock Mark Stuart in the pressbox: This guy is a 7th defenseman at his peak now. He should only be playing out of injury need. Pardy (though a very small sample size) showed that he can play Stuart's style but with better mobility hands and decision making.


Honestly, I think these few changes would do a LOT to turn the tides of the Winnipeg Jets. What would YOU do?

I really like this post, and I also agree with Sip'. Pardy might be a temporary solution with permanent possibilties.

The only thing I'd add is I would also try really hard to get Dale Hunter if he's willing to be persuaded. He's got a proven track record handling 'tardy' players (ala Ovie).

 

[YWGinYYZ]

Hunter has a part ownership in the Knights - he reluctantly left the team to coach the Caps. I doubt he'd be available - he's very happy doing what he's doing, from what I gather.

 

[meedle]

Bogo's play has been off, but to give up on a guy with his talent, size & passion can be crippling for an organization. First off I don't believe a player regresses at 23. Regression happens as we grow older and our skills diminish. IMO figuring out how to get his confidence to match his passion is the key. I don't know if he will ever become a franchise defenseman, he may level out as a high end 2nd pairing backbone of the team type of player. His passion is only matched by Kane's, and he truly seems to have almost unlimited leadership potential. Just about every young prospect (Scheifele, Trouba, Morrissey) have all singled out Bogo for welcoming them, taking them under his wing, making them feel part of the team. In 5-7 years down the line I see a cup contender with Trouba & Morrissey as their top pairing with Bogo and Enstrom as an amazing veteran 2nd pairing. Bogo will wear a letter for this team at some point, of that I have little doubt.

I agree that he probably isn't going to be a 1st line D. Probably a #3. You have to also take into account how he played in ATL. I'd say he is playing closer to how he played in ATL atm than the first 2 years in the peg. I also agree its way too early to give up on him. Look at Chara and how Ottawa handled that. Mind you, the coaching, systems and opportunity in Boston probably play a big part on how he became such a good #1.

 

[Prot]

Hunter has a part ownership in the Knights - he reluctantly left the team to coach the Caps. I doubt he'd be available - he's very happy doing what he's doing, from what I gather.

Yea I know, but I was thinking maybe the chance to work with a moldable, young, talented team.... yea okay, forget it.

 

[mondo3]

Switch up the lines:

Frolik, Setoguchi, Little
Scheifele, Tangradi, Ladd
Wright, Peluso, Kane
Slater, Wheeler, Halischuk

 

[pcanuck]

Great thread, I'm in!!!! And optimistic! We need a rebuild and immediately. The faster the reboot, the faster to Stanley. My 10 steps.

1. Fire Noel and his coaching staff ASAP. He never had the ability to motivate or coach this team. He's not a rookie coach anymore and he's been a detriment to the development of this team.

2. Hire Guy Carbonneau as head coach to ensure each player has a role. The team would have defencemen play defence and forwards play forward. All the nonsense would be over - no more of this rushing Dman garbage. It would be D first.

3. Hire Mike Keane as assistant head coach grooming him to take over in the offseason when I would then promote Guy Carbonneau to President of hockey operations and GM. Chevy would be fired. Chipman would be told he's an owner and would not make any more hockey related decisions. The Atlanta thrasher scouting staff would stay in place.

4. Kane is our only superstar and gets the C. He would be captain of this team with Ladd and Bogosian given the A's.

5. Yes. You're seeing this correctly. I would place Wright, Cormier, Jokinen, Byfuglien, Enstrom and Pavelec on waivers immediately with the hope that they would be taken and we would be given salary cap relief. Their contracts make them less likely to be traded. Peluso would take Wright's spot. Redmond and Postma could easily replace the two lackluster "forwards/defencemen" and I would bring up Pasquale to compete with Montoya.

6. The forward lines would look as follows:
Ladd-Scheifele-Kane
Tangradi-Little-Wheeler
Setoguchi-Slater-Peluso
Thorburn-O'Dell-Klingberg

7. The D lines would be:
Bogosian-Postma
Redmond-Clitsome (until Trouba comes back)
Stuart-Pardy (with Sol prepared to play in the pressbox)

8. The fire sale would begin. No young players under the age of 25 would be traded - veterans first.

9. Should the losers who I put on waivers not get taken, I would buyout the top two salaries before the end of the fiscal year.

10. The draft and develop strategy would begin with veterans with high salaries expendable with the exception of our superstar Kane and emerging studs Scheifele, Morrissey and Trouba being untouchable. Everyone else is trade bait. I'd have no problems moving Ladd for a first and second rounder. I'd have no problem moving Wheeler, Little, Setoguchi, etc for draft picks. We need to draft and develop. This is a losing hockey team (since 2005) - I'm not sure what TNSE expected with a rookie GM and a rookie coach.

This would be a good start,

 

[GoldenJet89]

My take on the situation:

- It's too early to tell how it will all play out. But this group looks a lot like the last few years... just not good enough

- as much as we love our jets, i think people are too unwilling to see them go simply because we like them and this is our team. We all seem to agree that our current roster isnt good enough, but yet arent willing to trade key pieces? If we want anything solid in return we have to give up good pieces.

- Kane, Trouba, Bogo (for now), and Ladd should be the only untouchable pieces IMO. I dont suggest we blow it all up. But for the right trade i think everyone else should be an option. We need to change the make up of this team and one piece at a time through the draft or waivers isnt going to do it

What i'd do?

- Talk to the struggling teams. See if we can swing value for value deals to shake up the group we have. Teams like Buffalo, Philly, Edmonton, etc are probably willing to talk already

- Give up almost anything ( not4 guys above) to get a #1 C... If that means packaging a 1st + a wheeler or a enstrom +a prospect = we have to do it

- move any older depth pieces for whatever we can get... if Jokinen could get us a 4th or a 5th id be happy. Stuart should be sat or waived also

 

[garret9]

Sol didn't make his AHL team.... for the 3rd year in a row....

I think that's a sign of never touching nor should be touching the NHL ever, ever, ever.


We'll ignore the whole losing assets for nothing because some of them have like 5-10% over league value...

 

[Yukon Joe]

It's official - I don't want any of you guys in charge of the Winnipeg Jets.

The kind of massive, wholesale changes just can not be done mid-season. Full stop. Teams are not looking to make big trades until, maybe, the trade deadline. And even then a lot of our core have no trade / no movement clauses.

You can't turn a hockey franchise on a dime. If you want to go "full rebuild" like a couple of people ave suggested you're looking at at least five years of utterly terrible play before you get back to the level our team has been at.

If I'm given full control of the Winnipeg Jets... I don't do much anything till the offseason.

 

[Stej]

I would wait until players drafted under this regime play more than 17 man-games before hitting the panic button.

To truly give an honest chance to the draft-and-develop mantra, we've got to wait another 4 or 5 years. Right now, we've got Schief and Trouba that have played a few games. That's it.

The Winnipeg media is doing a fantastic job of whipping everyone into a frenzy though, so that's exciting.

 

[Stej]

Oh, and I'd also sign Vinny Prospal for the 3LW hole like I suggested in the summer.

 

[JetsFan815]

I don't think any one of us are happy with the Jets right meow. Instead of just complaining about what we think is wrong with the team, here is your opportunity to actually be an agent of change (in fantasyland )

Here are the rules:

1> I don't want this to be a complaining thread or a thread where we bash other's opinions.

2> Act as if you were actually in control of the team. Stay mindful of reality, the salary cap and the fact that you won't be able to go all NHL '95 on other GM's.

This is what I would do, ASAP, to right the ship:

I would remove Noel as head coach: Subject to his willingness to stay and the new HC desire to keep him on staff, I would retain him as a assistant coach. I think Noel is smart but not really strong enough to be a real motivator or leader.

Hire Jacques Martin (dependent on the Penguins releasing him from his A/C position): Jacques has experience coaching teams with an offensive mindset and players. He has had success at this level and has lots of experience.

Foster legitimate competition in the G position: I am not going to argue about Pavelec here. I do not think he is getting the #1 job done. I would sit him down, tell him that he needs to seriously commit to improving his mechanics and style. I would give Montoya starts and I would keep playing Montoya if he was playing well. Pavelec would have to earn his starts. If Montoya fails to push or usurp Pavelec, I would find a goaltender to replace Monty and challenge Pavelec.

Waive Chris Thorburn: I don't think he is an NHL'er. I think that he wastes a space a younger player could easily exceed his playing level at. Any of Wright, Halischuk, Peluso, heck even Cormier are better options. Get him off the team. Maybe he can mentor players on the Rock, and be a positive vet presence in the room.

Lock Mark Stuart in the pressbox: This guy is a 7th defenseman at his peak now. He should only be playing out of injury need. Pardy (though a very small sample size) showed that he can play Stuart's style but with better mobility hands and decision making.


Honestly, I think these few changes would do a LOT to turn the tides of the Winnipeg Jets. What would YOU do?

Excellent post Jet. Here's my thoughts

1. If Noel is fired I'd like to see someone creative like Laviolette or Guy Boucher getting the job. Simply because I don't believe that another "details" coach is going to work again. Details coaches work on some teams but I don't think we have the roster for that kind of a coach. As others have pointed out we need someone a little off the cuff like Patrick Roy. Does anyone here thinks Patrick Roy cares about "details"? Yet look how he's turned the Avalanch franchise around from draft lottery winners to now what appears to be legitimate contenders in the West.

2. You make an excellent point about goalie competition. Even for the sake for argument if you assume that Pav is the legitimate #1 goalie for the Jets, there is still nothing wrong with a little competition. Even goalies who are thought to be better than Pavs don't get as many starts as Pavelec, heck many of them share starts like 60:40 or 65:35. To make Pavelec the undisputed #1 goalie is a huge mistake by the coaching staff.

3. Thorburn waiving meh. Thorburn in or out of the team is unlikely to have an impact on Jets playoff hopes. I say keep him up for the leadership and foster healthy competition between him, Peluso,Tangradi and Halischuck for those bottom slots.

In general I find it hard to say yes to any proposal to trade Buff. Part of this is selfish as Buff is probably the most entertaining Jets player to watch on the ice. If we were trading one of our big defenseman I'd part with Enstrom before Buff but I understand that organisational strength on RD might mean Buff being the defenseman to leave town.

 

[White Out 403*]

Wow this is a tough one because I want to play along with the intended guidelines and make realistic changes/moves.

1) Fire Noelle at the midway point of the season if improvement doesn't begin. How can I expect improvement?

1a) Trade a piece of our core right away. Little, Wheeler, Bogo, Buff, these players are all expendable. Trade them somewhere else for a change of scenery in exchange for another struggling player on a team underachieving. I can't ask Noelle to turn around this ship while giving him the same bullcrap to work with; he needs the room shaken up. 1 piece too, not all or some of them. 1 player, not a ridiculous dismantling of our core.

2) Talk with Chevy about Pavelec. I'd want to know how the Jets allowed themselves to get hitched to this guy the same year he got a DUI and kept it hidden. How did this get past us? I can't trade or buy out Pavelec right away, but someone with this utter lack of integrity and character cannot remain on my team. I'd insist Montoya get at least 30% of the work load, and if he can't handle it or does poorly, trade for someone who can push Pavelec. Then in the off season buy him out if that's an option or trade him for a bag of pucks.

3) Start looking for a replacement coach for next season if Noelle can't make our players perform.

 

[Mathmew Purrrr Oh]

Little and Enstrom are the 2 LEAST expendable pieces on the Jets strictly from a depth perspective

 

[Duke749]

Little and Enstrom are the 2 LEAST expendable pieces on the Jets strictly from a depth perspective

Get out of here with your common sense!!!

 

[Yukon Joe]

Wow this is a tough one because I want to play along with the intended guidelines and make realistic changes/moves.

1) Fire Noelle at the midway point of the season if improvement doesn't begin. How can I expect improvement?

1a) Trade a piece of our core right away. Little, Wheeler, Bogo, Buff, these players are all expendable. Trade them somewhere else for a change of scenery in exchange for another struggling player on a team underachieving. I can't ask Noelle to turn around this ship while giving him the same bullcrap to work with; he needs the room shaken up. 1 piece too, not all or some of them. 1 player, not a ridiculous dismantling of our core.

2) Talk with Chevy about Pavelec. I'd want to know how the Jets allowed themselves to get hitched to this guy the same year he got a DUI and kept it hidden. How did this get past us? I can't trade or buy out Pavelec right away, but someone with this utter lack of integrity and character cannot remain on my team. I'd insist Montoya get at least 30% of the work load, and if he can't handle it or does poorly, trade for someone who can push Pavelec. Then in the off season buy him out if that's an option or trade him for a bag of pucks.

3) Start looking for a replacement coach for next season if Noelle can't make our players perform.

I dunno if you've ever watched the old British classic "Yes, Minister". There's a really appropriate clip to what you're suggesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trw1PbQt_Yo

It says there is an old politicians (or hockey fan's ) logical fallacy that goes:

-we must do something
-trading a key player is something
-therefore we must trade a key player

Trading a piece of our core to "shake things up" is a terrible, terrible idea. You make a trade because when all things are considered, you're going to improve your hockey team as a result of the trade.

Anyways, "Yes, Minister" suggests that 'doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing'. You could fundamentally harm the makeup of this team for years to come by following advice like Resurrections.

Besides - all of the players you mentioned have no trade or no movement clauses...

 

[White Out 403*]

I dunno if you've ever watched the old British classic "Yes, Minister". There's a really appropriate clip to what you're suggesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trw1PbQt_Yo

It says there is an old politicians (or hockey fan's ) logical fallacy that goes:

-we must do something
-trading a key player is something
-therefore we must trade a key player

Trading a piece of our core to "shake things up" is a terrible, terrible idea. You make a trade because when all things are considered, you're going to improve your hockey team as a result of the trade.

Anyways, "Yes, Minister" suggests that 'doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing'. You could fundamentally harm the makeup of this team for years to come by following advice like Resurrections.

Besides - all of the players you mentioned have no trade or no movement clauses...

Ever heard of addition by subtraction?

Is there a witty British show you want to quote or link that could represent a course of action that encourages mediocrity to continue? Cuz I haven't seen a lick of improvement in 3 years now for this core, or frankly since they were Thrashers 4 years ago. We have a core that's sum should be greater than it is but for whatever reason they aren't attaining goals that should be achievable. The chemistry, the fit, whatever, is off.

 

[theamazingchris]

I would sit down, pour a drink, and relax for a few more weeks. If we drop several games back of .500 by that point, it will be time to make some changes, but I'd be willing to give this team a chance to shake off this sluggish start. We're not as bad as many suggest, our players are capable of more. Give it time.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Ever heard of addition by subtraction?

Is there a witty British show you want to quote or link that could represent a course of action that encourages mediocrity to continue? Cuz I haven't seen a lick of improvement in 3 years now for this core, or frankly since they were Thrashers 4 years ago. We have a core that's sum should be greater than it is but for whatever reason they aren't attaining goals that should be achievable. The chemistry, the fit, whatever, is off.

But you'd better be sure that by moving a key piece you're really getting "addition by subtraction".

The sad news is that, usually, by trading a key player, you usually get "subtraction by subtraction".

Look, if you really think that, say, Bryan Little is a lockerroom cancer that we'd be better off without, then by all means trade him for a bag of pucks.

But making a trade just for the sake of making a trade is the worst kind of GMing.