Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers

Note:  The Jets kick off their season with the Arizona Coyotes tonight in Glendale.  Game starts at 9 pm and be sure to stay tuned throughout the day for the latest Jets news.  Be sure to stick to @illegalcurve for all the latest news.

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press:  Maurice has praise, high expectations for Pavelec.  You cannot really expect a coach in the NHL to say anything else about his declared number one goalie.  He is clearly trying to motivate him and show confidence prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Wheeler- ‘focus on smaller goals’.  Taking a little vs. big picture approach probably makes a lot of sense to the players.  No point in worrying about a stretch of games you have in November when you have more immediate concerns.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Quick fix unlikely for Jets.  The argument against draft and develop is that there are many other teams doing the exact same thing and if that is all you’re doing is it sufficient in today’s NHL?  Gary writes about the Jets GM sticking to his guns in a path that he believes will see this team have success, maybe not immediately, but long term.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Mo knows hockey.  Ed has 10 things/questions/issues/concerns to monitor as the Jets open their fourth season in Winnipeg including: 1)  Playoffs or epic failure? 2) Pav the pin cushion. 3) the Maurice effect. 4) the Maurice effect part deux.  5) Room to move? 6) Big Buff – a forward, a defenceman, a hybrid or both? 7) New faces, new results? 8) the root of that evil. 9) About that power play.  10) the bonus round.

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets say they are stronger team than prognosticators believe.  That is probably important to have belief in yourself and in your teammates because the reality is that your finish at the end of the NHL season is not determined by the pundits prior to the start.  They are simply educated guesses.  I spoke with a number of local media members to get their opinions as to where they expect the Jets to finish in the central this season which you can read here.

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets will be hard-pressed to finish higher than sixth in ultra-tough Central Division.  Ken breaks down the Jets competition in the uber competitive Central and makes the case for his sixth place position for this squad.

Winnipeg Sun:  The sprint is on … Winnipeg Jets can’t afford to get off to a bad start.  Well the “good” news is you only have to play three games on the road against Arizona, L.A. and San Jose to kick off the season.  As has been said a million times before, the teams in the playoff hunt by November 1st are usually the ones who end up in the post season so the Jets certainly need success early on if they would like to be in the big dance.

Winnipeg Sun:  Coach Maurice likes starting the season on the road.  Probably because he knows his team isn’t trying to impress a rowdy crowd at the MTS Centre which may put undue pressure on the team to try too hard.

CBC:  In the Room (video).  Mitch talks hockey, golf with Winnipeg Jets’ Anthony Peluso.

CBC:  5 predictions for the 2014-15 season.  Jeff put on his prognostication hat and came up with these five predictions for the season including: 1) 30 goal man 2) Pav-ing the way 3) Group of death 4) Sophomore jinx and 5) Missing link.

Illegal Curve:  Prognosticating the Jets 2014-15 central division finish.  I spoke to a number of local media folks and gleaned the national responses from articles to find out where most pundits felt this team would finish the season.  Sadly for Jets fans the vast majority were picking a bottom of the division finish.  The good news for fans is that predictions aren’t always accurate.  Today is also the final day to vote in our poll asking fans where they predict the Jets will finish in the Western Conference which is a dead tie between 5-8 (37%) to 9-11 (37%).

Globe and Mail:  Canada’s captains reveal truths of life and hockey.  Eric Duhatschek spoke to four of the seven captains of Canada’s NHL teams (although all seven are featured in this article) as part of their season preview including the Jets Andrew Ladd.

TSN 1290 Winnipeg:  Hustler and Lawless (audio).  TSN 1290 analyst JP Vigier joins Hustler & Lawless to discuss the changes to the way the Winnipeg Jets play under Paul Maurice. Vigier says Mathieu Perreault adds production to the Jets bottom 2 lines and serves as a vital role on the power play. Vigier also discusses how an improved Jets defense will improve Ondrej Pavelec.

TSN 1290 Winnipeg:  Rona Roundtable (audio).  Shane Hnidy joined Rick Ralph on the Rona Roundtable to preview what the lines might look like in the Winnipeg Jets season opener vs. Arizona. The Jets will use a rotation of Chris Thorburn, Anthony Peluso, TJ Galiardi and Matt Halischuk on the fourth line which is centred by Jim Slater.

Illegal Curve:  Coach Maurice scrum (audio).  Has he made a decision regarding the 4th line?  Is there an ideal way to prepare players for the regular season?  Pros/cons starting on the road?  Might it be best to start on the road with all the learning curves?  What does he feel has improved about this team?  How important is it to win early to maintain belief?  What’s it like to have so many options with players who have versatility?  Is it harder to define roles on this team?  What does he expect from Arizona?  Is it more about his team than who they are facing?  Is there a concern with the defence of the Kane/Scheifele/Wheeler line?  On the “sheltering” of Scheifele in terms of faceoffs?  How much of a makeover did Pavelec’s confidence require?  On the comments Corey Hirsch made about Pavelec being stubborn and tough to coach?  Is it the Winnipeg Jets against the world (based on the prognostications of the media)?

Illegal Curve:  Players (audio).   Hear from Andrew Ladd, Grant Clitsome, Jacob Trouba and Blake Wheeler.

NHL Mid-Week:

Replay:  0:00 – Jets finalize 23 man roster, acquire Goalie Peter Budaj, open season vs. Arizona tomorrow.  15:20 – Winnipeg Jets Over/Under.  27:42 – Interview with Tyson Nash, Arizona Coyotes Analyst.  39:24 – Western Conference Season Predictions.  50:27 – Interview with Arthur Staple, New York Islanders Beat Writer for Newsday.  1:05:19 – Transactions around the NHL.  1:17:24 – Eastern Conference Season Predictions. 1:28:55 – Individual Award Winners.