They Hired the Wrong Guy!

Hey there, all you Jet critics out there. Apparently Mark Chipman hired the wrong guy as GM. There seems to be a great deal of criticism for virtually every move Kevin Cheveldayoff has made since getting the big job. The bickering and sniping, especially when free agency started, has been breathtaking. Already these people who’ve been clamoring for an NHL team for 15 years, the whined and threatened if they weren’t called ‘The Jets’ also want to make all the trades and free agent acquisitions on behalf of the team. It seems they know better how to move forward stocking the roster of this team.

It seems that Cheveldayoff was expected to go out and immediately spend money to take the franchise right up to the ceiling of the salary cap. Not sure if everyone’s aware or not, but you don’t have to spend the maximum. Spending the most possible doesn’t ensure your team is going to be competitive (see Calgary and New Jersey). Winnipeg management played it the way they should have, cautiously and with patience. Remember you’re not going to build a serious cup contender in a year or two. The fact is there weren’t very many free agents available that were going to make a huge impact. It’s also a fact that you’re inevitably going to have to overpay in the free agency market. Nice players like Tim Connolly and Sean Bergenheim were available but were paid more than could be justified.

The Jets decided to make and handful of trades and free agency acquisitions to fill out the roster with the type of players skill and character wise they feel they need to be competitive. They still have plenty of cap space left to use to make possible trades or free agent signings down the road as they become available.

Let’s be patient people. Remember, if they manage to squeak into the playoffs they’ll already have managed to do something the original franchise did only 4 times in 17 seasons in the NHL.