Sunday, the Winnipeg Jets played their final game of the regular season. After the game players gave their thoughts on what went wrong this season, and why they finished in 19th place overall in the NHL standings.
There's been a lot of speculation of what went wrong in Winnipeg this season. They have one of the deepest forward groups in the league, along with a top 5 goaltender. When team captain Blake Wheeler was asked about what went wrong he stated that players weren't playing the Jets' «system». It also seemed like some players didn't want to buy in to Paul Maurice or now intern Head Coach Dave Lowry's style of play. The most damning quote was when both Blake Wheeler and Paul Stastny mentioned that teammates weren't playing for each other. Insinuating that some of the rumours are true and there are problems within the Jets locker room. Stastny said «when you don't care about the teammate next to you, potentially, and you just care about what you're doing or certain individual things, that starts bleeding into the game.» A quote that best sums up how the Jets players let this season slip away.
When the Jets moved from Atlanta to Winnipeg they named Kevin Cheveldayoff as the 1st General Manager in the new Jets history. He was hired by the Winnipeg Jets just before the 2011 draft and has also been with the organization since. Cheveldayoff is one of the leagues longest serving General Managers and there were questions about his future in Winnipeg as well after this season. It was reported Sunday night that Cheveldayoff has received a 3-year contract extension.
To some the Cheveldayoff extension was surprising, as it seems like their is constant dissension within the Jets locker room. The real question now becomes, what route will the Jets take going forward? Will they move forward or are they preparing to honour some of the many trade requests and rebuild?
