Does Claude Noel Have A Secret To Jets Success?

Predictions Were Bright and Rosy For Claude Noel And The Winnipeg Jets — 

About a month ago I predicted that Claude Noel and the Winnipeg Jets would make the playoffs along with a few reasons for thinking that way.

I also have a bet with the illustrious owner of this website;  I said that the Jets will beat the Phoenix Old Boys in the final standings.  This is the same team that gets money from the U.S. government to pay its seniors thus allowing the team to remain in the desert.   😎

Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel.             photo by Shawn Coates 

A Month Later The Roses Are Prickly … 

The Winnipeg Jets  have now completed the preseason with one win and seven losses (of various types).

I’m not going to rehash the Joki on the 2^nd line, the coach who won’t do what the fans tell him, nor the hate directed toward a guy that tries his guts out every night but has little to show for it.  (That was a small “l” in little 😉 )

Quite frankly, I could go on and on here and still offer insight that would be a bag of crap.  I don’t think ANYONE is sure where the Jets are headed this year.  The fancy stats guys will weigh in with history and why not?  But, that could go upside down too.

Preseason Games Important?

Preseason won-lost records mean squat!  We all know that.  I would have been happy had we seen some chemistry develop on that 2^nd line but we didn’t.  To have seen some movement towards successful systems and team identity would have been nice but that was difficult with the various combinations we saw out there over the eight exhibition games.  There definitely doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency coming from the Jets so I suppose one could say to just relax ~ everything is fine.

If the Winnipeg Jets had a winning history, I would be chiming in with that.  We’d already have that identity that Captain Ladd recently spoke of them needing and we’d have watched working systems last year that we could look to come out this week when the rubber hits the road for real.

Sticking With It

I’m a bigger mule than Coach Claude Noel has been with Jokinen, etc. and I am sticking by my prediction of a Jets playoff spot.

It may take a natural catastrophe through central and mountain U.S.A. but it’ll happen.  Mark my words!  You heard it here first!  I guarantee it.  (Phrases I have various levels of distaste for by the way.)  😆

I’ve noted that we may now see Mark Scheifele as Kane’s center to start the season.  Did Coach see its a plug-and-play line in the first preseason game in Belleville and want to keep it hidden after that?  Flip the switch!  Let’s get at it!?!

Let’s just enjoy that NHL regular season hockey is back.  The worst thing that can happen is I have to write letters of apologies and eat some humble pie.  Ummm, I guess the pain of losing would bother me too ~ come to think of it.  Of course, you may have spent thousands on tickets so you deserve better should the worst happen.

There’s Hope… 

All is not lost if everything goes right.  This now includes Claude Noel and his preseason handling of players and their deployment.  He may be light years ahead of the complainers including myself.  While doubtful, who am I to say he hasn’t nailed it before the fact?  After all, my mother is now calling and I must leave the basement to get my supper.

After that, I’ll come back downstairs, go on twitter and challenge MMA fighters with trash talk. It’s what bloggers do isn’t it?  😆

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