The Winnipeg Jets are slipping at the worst possible time this season, going 5-5-0 in their last 10 and putting up back to back L’s, while the surging Calgary Flames pick up points along the way. The Jets currently have two points on the Flames for the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference but if they continue they way they’ve been playing then they almost certainly have no shot at the playoffs.
Yesterday, Jets head coach Rick Bowness raised a few eyebrows across the league when making comments on star forward Mark Scheifele. Any Jets fan will tell you that it’s fairly obvious that Bowness and Scheifele have a strained relationship, but if you need any further proof just watch Bowness’ reaction when asked about Scheifele’s strategy for creating offense:
That eye roll says more than words could ever say…
“Shoot the puck. We can’t go into every game, ‘We need you to shoot the puck, OK,’” Bowness said of Scheifele. “When your chance is there, you’ve got to shoot the puck. You can’t be looking for — and this is where this team gets itself in trouble. When we’re looking to make that extra play that’s there, instead of putting it on the net. That’s why the shot totals are down and the goals for are down.”
Sounds fair right? The coach has a strategy and part of it is getting his #1 center to shoot more often. The problem is that Scheifele seems to feel like he should have his own rules to play by because… well because it better suits HIS game, not the team’s game.
“I’m a guy that, my whole career, I’ve played a possession game, especially in the O-zone,” Scheifele said to Murat Ates of The Athletic. “I like to hold on to the puck, especially below the goal line. That’s kind of where I create my offence. And then go to the slot when I play with some pretty magical players that can find me in the slot. That’s always been my game. You know, it’s just a matter of trying to create more possession time, trying to create more O-zone time and wear teams down. If it takes 59 minutes then it takes 59 minutes, but that’s always been my look at offence is quality over quantity.”
Combine this mess all of the trade talk and rumors surrounding former captain Blake Wheeler and it’s clear that the team’s leadership group, ie Scheifele and Wheeler, are causing some internal friction within the team right now.
Frankly, it’s time for a change in Winnipeg and there’s real speculation that both Wheeler and Scheifele will be gone this offseason. Both players are signed to big ticket contracts for next season, so there’s some work to do for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff if he is indeed looking to give his team a fresh start.