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While the Atlanta Thrashers organization moved to Winnipeg for the 2011-2012 season, it is only now that the team is faced with making tough big-league decisions.
After an embarrassing loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Winnipeg Jets fired head coach Claude Noel today. Noel was previously the coach of the AHL Manitoba Moose, also owned by True North.
In the past, True North has enjoyed a storybook relationship with its coaches. The previous three coaches of the Manitoba Moose, Randy Carlyle, Alain Vigneault, and Scott Arniel, all had successful stints with the organization, then moved on to NHL coaching positions. Nobody had to lose their job and there were presumably no hurt feelings.
Perhaps True North has been loyal to a fault. The organization never had to dismiss a coach midseason before, and has seemed reluctant to trade big players.
That changed today.
The NHL is a competitive business and whether or not Noel deserved to lose his job, it was obvious something needed to be done to stop the Jets' five game losing streak.
There were numerous signs that this was coming. Despite a good start to the Columbus game in which the Jets got the first goal, when the Blue Jackets scored the Jets fell apart. It was obvious how mentally fragile this team is.
Also, in retrospect, Byfuglien getting moved to forward was probably the last act of desperation from a coach who knew something was coming. Noel had resisted the urge to move Byfuglien to forward all season, and only relented the game before he was fired.
This brings us to team construction.
Byfuglien does not exist in a vacuum and moving a guy who plays 20-30 minutes a night as a defenceman to forward has consequences. Less Byfuglien on defence means more time for Zach Bogosian and other Jets defencemen who are struggling more. There are a lot of weak spots on this team.
Looking at how strong the Western Conference is, and the lack of depth on the Jets' roster, it is hard to imagine any coach getting this team to the playoffs.
With that in mind, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff surely deserves some of the blame. While Cheveldayoff has always said he wants to build the Jets through the draft, his impact on this team has been negligible, and the core of the team still comes from the Thrashers organization.
Perhaps he owed Noel a trade. Often in the NHL a team will make a trade to shake up the room before firing the coach.
Despite the fact that Noel may have deserved better, the team will probably be stronger without him. The team needed a change in direction and new hire Paul Maurice is a well-respected and experienced coach. Tough decisions like this need to be made in the NHL.
The longer the Jets fail to make progress, the more True North will be put in this unfamiliar position. Now that Noel can no longer be blamed, it may be a core player or Cheveldayoff who see their tenure in Winnipeg threatened. As the honeymoon period for the Jets expires, patient fans are going to want results.
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