Note: The Jets held an extensive round of media availabilities this weekend. Saturday was a busy day with 14 players speaking and unexpectedly head coach Rick Bowness based on what his players had to say. That was followed by Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff who spoke for 40+ minutes on Sunday. Most notably Cheveldayoff did confirm that Rick Bowness would be back as head coach next season.
Note II: The Moose and Admirals played a much different game in the second game of their series yesterday afternoon than the one we saw three days ago in game 1. It was a much tighter game overall which was likely because both teams had worked 12 days of rest/rust from their games since the regular season had concluded to their game on Friday evening to open the series. This game required a last minute 3rd period, goalie pulled game tying goal and then an OT game-winning goal by Jansen Harkins in the first ever playoff overtime game for the Moose 2.0. The series shifts to Milwaukee for game 3. The team is off today.
Note III: The Ice were off on Sunday. They head to Saskatoon up 2-0 over the Blades. Game 3 goes Tuesday night.
Note IV: It looked like Jets prospect Brad Lambert and his Thunderbirds were going to lose their first game of the playoffs down 3-1 to the Blazers but they did not. His goal tied it. And he assisted on the OT GWG to give his club a 2-0 series edge over Kamloops and helps them improve to 10-0 in post-season. He has 8GP 3G 16A for 19 points. He is tied for the WHL post-season lead in assists with 16 (although he’s done it in four fewer games than the Ice’s Ben Zloty who also has 16). He’s also tied for 7th in WHL playoff scoring with 19 points. Sure seems like a Winnipeg and Seattle battle is inevitable.
Note V: Over in the OHL, Jets prospect goalie Dom DiVincentiis and his North Bay Battalion evened their series with a 3-1 win over the Petes. He stopped 26 of 27 shots he faced. Series shifts to Peterborough for game 3 on Tuesday.
Note VI: Former Jets bench boss Paul Maurice said see ya later to the first round after his 8th place Panthers concluded a historic comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and a game 7 deficit which saw them tie it late and then win in OT. They knock off the 1st place Bruins who had the best regular season in NHL history.
Jets news:
Global News: Jets show disappointing lack of accountability. Kelly gives his two cents on what took place inside Canada Life Centre this past weekend.
Sportsnet: Cheveldayoff’s words fall flat due to lack of accountability, plan for Jets’ future. Wieber was front and centre (technically he was slight left of centre) inside the Matt Frost Media Centre for the chat with the GM and he gives you his frank assessment of the morning.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: Rick Bowness to return as Winnipeg Jets head coach. Not a surprise because even if either of the two sides decide to go in a different direction I would have expected a unified front after all the chaos. There wouldn’t really have been any urgency to make a decision quickly.
Winnipeg Sun: Fudging, fidgeting and ultimately failing in the church of Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. Paul gives you his take on the words the Jets GM spoke during his media availability.
Winnipeg Free Press: Chevy guns engine, goes nowhere. (Paywall). Mike and Jeff collaborated on this recap of the conversation with the GM.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets expect different result by doing same thing again and again. (Paywall). Believe that’s the definition of a word but can’t quite remember what it is….oh yes…insanity.
The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is talking around what fans want to hear. (Paywall). Murat gives you his well articulated thoughts on yesterday’s media availabilities.
EP Rinkside: Jets are setting the table for a rebuild and a reset at the same time. (Paywall). Sean spent a few years covering Rick Bowness in Dallas and his latest looks at Winnipeg residing in that mushy middle.
The Hockey News: Could the Capitals and Jets be perfect trade partners? The body of the Jets season isn’t even cold and already the trade proposals have begun. But it gives us some points of discussion leading to the draft late in June so bring it on.
The Globe and Mail: Raging Rick Bowness pulls no punches after Winnipeg’s playoff elimination. (Paywall). An out-of-market reaction to the comments made by the Jets bench boss.
Jets video:
Sportsnet: Did Jets’ Cheveldayoff make right decision to keep Bowness behind bench? Sean Reynolds and Ken Wiebe discuss key points from Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff end-of-season availability, including keeping their head coach Rick Bowness and the wide-open future of the team.
TSN: Cheveldayoff left to pick up the pieces after another season ends early for Jets. The Jets head into another long offseason with next summer hanging over the organization as a potential crossroads. Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Pierre-Luc Dubois are all UFAs in 2024, leaving general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff in a tough spot as he tries to turn Winnipeg around. John Lu has more.
Jets audio:
Illegal Curve Hockey Show: Saturday Podcast. Topics we discussed on the show included: Jets 2022-23 season/playoffs post-mortem. Further reflection on the comments from head coach Rick Bowness following game 5. Reaction to the media avail comments of Blake Wheeler, Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor. Where do the Jets go from here?
Moose news:
Illegal Curve Hockey: Moose even playoff series with comeback win in OT over Admirals. Get the full story from yesterday’s game including lineup news, notable factoids, post-game media and more.
