Kevin Cheveldayoff’s patient management style is not going to win a Stanley Cup in Winnipeg. Winnipeg Jets management thinks loyalty and the benefit of the doubt are what is going to fuel a long championship run. News flash, guess what happened to that loyalty they showed Paul Maurice and Pierre-Luc Dubois? Maurice went to a Stanley Cup Final in his first season with the Florida Panthers and Dubois wants out of Winnipeg immediately. They need to go back to the drawing board and be aggressive in how they operate.
In a league where most NHL clubs are publicly apologizing to their fans and saying they weren’t good enough, Cheveldayoff is about to enter his 13th season as general manager (GM) of the Jets and he’s happy with just making the playoffs. To compact this frustration, they are constantly choosing aging veterans to play top-line minutes over up-and-coming stars (an aging Blake Wheeler playing over Nikolaj Ehlers and former Jet Patrik Laine), while the Vegas Golden Knights are trading fan favourites Marc-Andre Fleury and top prospects like Peyton Krebs to bring in elite players like Jack Eichel. The difference in philosophy is glaringly evident and the success with Vegas and the failure in Winnipeg further proves this.
Severe Lack of Innovation
The Jets need to stop trying to drive a square peg into a round hole. Cheveldayoff’s current approach may work for a hockey hotbed like the Toronto Maple Leafs or an American state like the Tampa Bay Lightning with lower taxes, but it is not working for Winnipeg. True North Sports & Entertainment (TNSE) is currently using the market disadvantages as a crutch to cling to as an excuse when they should be using it as a challenge to motivate themselves to innovate and find success in underdeveloped areas.
Trade & Free Agency Debacle
No-trade (NTC) and no-movement clauses (NMC) are only allowed to be given to players when they are eligible for unrestricted free agency. Meaning the Jets need to trade for players below the age of 26 (considering the way athletes age, this is probably the right decision without even adding NTCs/NMCs into the discussion). Furthermore, they should not be going after these players unless they are the final piece of the puzzle to win a Stanley Cup. On the other hand, the vast majority of players entering unrestricted free agency are coveted players who get paid for what they have done so far in their career, not what they will do for the length of their next contract. This leads to many players being overpaid and not worth signing.
Related: Winnipeg Jets Offseason: Who’s Going & Who’s Staying?
An easy example of the opportunity for innovation from last season was the Chicago Blackhawks deciding not to re-sign second-line centre Dylan Strome, who was a pending restricted free agent, and eventually releasing him. Winnipeg could’ve easily tossed the Blackhawks a mid-round pick for him instead of Chicago losing him for nothing. He has since signed two separate contracts with the Washington Capitals and scored 65 points last season. Heading into an offseason where the Jets’ two best centres are likely on the way out, wouldn’t it have been nice to have acquired a 26-year-old centre for basically nothing? This is just one example of how a small market team like Winnipeg could have taken advantage of an underappreciated asset.
Great Place to Live, Not So Great To Visit
Nearly every player that has played for Winnipeg has shared this sentiment. Whether it be former Jets or current mainstays such as Kyle Connor, Ehlers, or Josh Morrissey, it’s very easy for players to see the value in playing here. Even trade acquisitions share the same opinion, as Nino Niederreiter recently said he would like to re-sign in Winnipeg. This further stresses the importance of bringing in players who are young or have term left on their deals to show them there’s value in spending the prime years of their life in Winnipeg.
The Need to Actually Draft and Develop
Developing in-house talent from draft picks is the very best way to avoid having to trade for players with trade protection and convince coveted players to sign with the Jets in free agency. They used to be the definition of draft-and-develop, producing numerous stars such as Ehlers, Morrissey, Connor, Mark Scheifele, Laine, Jacob Trouba and Connor Hellebuyck.
However, recently, besides Cole Perfetti, the Jets’ motto has been “draft and destroy”. Veterans like Wheeler and journeymen caliber defensemen like Luca Sbisa and Nathan Beaulieu have continuously blocked the development paths and potential ice time for younger players. Even budding star Perfetti routinely got benched in the third period of close games this season for far worse but taller players like Kevin Stenlund and Wheeler. The Jets need to start taking advantage of the seven years of team control that comes with homegrown players or else the future will just continue to be more of the same.
A Greater Need for Analytics
This is a controversial topic in the world of hockey right now with some people believing analytics is the be-all and end-all for statistics. While some people believe analytics isn’t useful at all. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Something Jets fans can agree on is that it is a way to innovate and invest in under-appreciated players. A small market like Winnipeg needs to invest more in its analytical staff to gain some sort of competitive advantage. This could lead to bringing in under-appreciated players and selling high on overrated players. Just imagine if those two second-round picks spent on Brenden Dillon were instead used to acquire an elite player like Devon Toews who was also traded for two second-round picks.
Toxicity Needs to Be Cleaned Out
This is current Winnipeg ICE head coach James Patrick talking so disgracefully about the Jets’ locker room last offseason.
Why would players want to come here in trades or free agency if the locker room is so toxic? The culture of the entire franchise from top-to-bottom needs to be cleaned out. Hiring Rick Bowness was a small step in the right direction but there is still a ton of cleaning out to be done; as evidenced in the end-of-season interviews, where Jets players still refused to take any accountability for their wrong-doing and putrid play in the playoffs (there is so much more that could be said on the topic of toxicity in the Jets locker room, but that’s probably a topic for its own article so I’ll leave it at that).
Current Pathway is Leading to Mediocrity
No matter what term the Jets use, retool, or renovation, this vision is leading the team towards an uncharted amount of sustained mediocrity. The type of mediocrity that has not been seen since the Detroit Red Wings’ playoff streak ended at 25 seasons in 2016. They kept running it back trying to stay competitive and they’ve been rebuilding ever since as a result. The only difference is the Red Wings have four Stanley Cup championships during that time to cling to, while the Jets since 2011 have only three series victories.
Change is Needed Badly
The day the Jets see success will be when TNSE realizes the Stanley Cup is an earned trophy and not a participation award. This team has had one good season in 12 years and the entire organization is still clinging to that one year. It is time to move forward and give Jets fans a direction to get behind. Does that mean competing or rebuilding? I don’t know, but if it were up to me, it’s probably time to rebuild. However, if Cheveldayoff can prove me wrong and pull a rabbit out of his hat by trading Scheifele, Dubois, Hellebuyck, and Wheeler, the Jets could probably compete.
Something that did not sit well with me at all this past season was that it was most likely the last chance to compete with this current core and Cheveldayoff stayed conservative at the trade deadline. He acquired some pieces, but not nearly enough. This approach even had current players fed up. Neiderreitter was a great “B-tier” addition and Vladislav Namestikov was a great “D-tier” addition. However, the Jets needed a certified game-changer like Timo Meier and another secondary piece like James van Riemsdyk (JVR). He could’ve been acquired for a measly fourth-round pick and Meier, even without team control past 2024, was guaranteed to be here for these past playoffs and next season. He could’ve been acquired for a first-round pick, a second-round pick, Ville Heinola, Dmitri Rashevsky, and David Gustafsson.
The Jets didn’t need to give up a top prospect for Meier such as Perfetti, Chaz Lucius, Rutger McGroarty or Brad Lambert. Plus the draft picks traded away could have easily been re-acquired in a Pierre-Luc Dubois trade this offseason. Even if the Jets were to be bottom-feeders next season, they could have traded Meier and re-couped 75 percent of the assets they used to acquire him. I’m not saying acquiring Meier and JVR wins the Jets the Stanley Cup this season, but it showcases Cheveldayoff going all out and giving the fanbase a direction to get behind. I’d much rather have competed last season with Meier and rebuilt in 2023-24. Instead, the Jets got throttled by the Golden Knights in Round 1 and are most likely rebuilding next season anyways.
Winning Solves Everything
If the Jets are looking for a one-size-fits-all solution to all the issues I mentioned above, it is winning hockey games. Winning will get players to waive their no-trade clauses or sign as free agents. The current regime has not put nearly enough effort into winning hockey games and it shows. Fans are slowly starting to lose interest in the team as the franchise completely lacks any direction. The fanbase in Winnipeg is smart and if they are treated badly, they will respond in the same manner. The Jets’ response to all this mediocrity was to launch a new season ticket campaign filled with threats about the team leaving if more tickets aren’t sold. Just like the last five years as a whole, could TNSE and the Jets be any more tone-deaf?