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« on: Apr 13th, 2015, 1:55am » |
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WINNIPEG -- Head coach Paul Maurice has been given a four-year extention to guide the Winnipeg Jets, and he and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff appear to be of one mind on some of the teams upcoming issues. One of them is keeping Ondrej Pavelec as the teams starting goaltender. Cheveldayoff said it was disappointing not to make the playoffs but he didnt suggest hes deviating in any big way from his draft-and-develop philosophy and that includes sticking with his 26-year-old starting netminder. "Ondrej Pavelec is the No. 1 goaltender going into next season," the general manager insisted. "Hes relatively a young goaltender when it comes to being a starting goaltender and when you give those young players those opportunities to excel theres going to be some bumps along the way." With a save percentage of .901 (70th among all goalies in the NHL) and a goals against average of 3.01 (69th) Pavelec is a frequent target of criticism. Maurice says he wouldnt have a lot to say about who plays for the team, which is a general managers job, but he had no problem at all with Pavelec as his starting netminder. "Were at a stage in our franchise where weve got three or four potentially critical pieces through our lineup that are here that weve got to make better. Weve got to put them in a position to be better then they have to be better. ... "And I think Evander Kane falls into that hole, really good young talented players that need to develop, that need to get better and I think they will get better ... In my mind, with Ondrej Pavelec, we have to do everything we can as a team to give our goaltending the best chance to win us games and that hasnt happened yet." Kane finished with only 19 goals this season, a far cry from the 30 the forward scored in 2011-12, although this season he missed 19 games -- 18 due to injuries and another as a healthy scratch, reportedly for missing a team meeting. Maurice came in as Claude Noels replacement in January and impressed Jets management as well as the players with his skills. "Hes an impressive hockey coach but hes an impressive person as well," Cheveldayoff said. "He walked in and he made a tremendous impact from the moment he walked in and we believe that were just scratching the surface on the impact he can make on this franchise moving forward." Maurice, 47, said on the phone from his current home in Ohio that he made the decision fairly early on that he wanted to stay in Winnipeg. The deal was done Tuesday and he immediately flew home to talk about it with his family and they supported him. "It didnt take much time, I called Kevin and said were in and put a sign on the front steps today," he said. Maurice guided the team to an 18-12-5 record over 35 games after Noels firing, a decision that Cheveldayoff said hurt him to the core. "Claude Noel is a tremendous coach and an even better person," he said. Noel had only part of one season as an NHL head coach on his resume when he was handed the reins of the Jets in 2011. His replacement has a career coaching record of 478-469-172 over 1,119 NHL games with the Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise. Maurice, who also said Wednesday he has accepted an offer to join Team Canada as an assistant coach for the world championship, says the Jets are further along and have a better balance of youth and experience than some of the other teams hes coach in the NHL. He says that means their development should be faster. Whether the goal of making the playoffs can be achieved next year, the answer seems to be maybe, but not initially as a Stanley Cup contender. "Were trying to move to the middle of the pack, I mean the end goal here is to be a contending team, and I think there are six of those teams right now in the Western Conference, I think theres two in the Eastern Conference. . . then theres the other eight teams that are in the playoffs," he said. Winnipeg finished with a 37-35-10 record on the season and settled for an 11th-place finish in the Western Conference with 84 points. It was exactly the same record they managed in their first year in their new home in 2011-12, although the Jets were in the Eastern Conference until this season. It was also the third straight season they have missed the playoffs since relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta. The former Atlanta Thrashers made the playoffs only once, in 2007. The Jets have a fairly long list of restricted and unrestricted free agents this season but the only one Cheveldayoff mentioned Wednesday as a player they want to keep for sure was forward and restricted free agent Michael Frolik. He finished with 42 points and met or exceeded the expectations the Jets had when they acquired him from Chicago last year. But the general manager also didnt rule out looking outside the Jets for the right unrestricted free agent or making a trade to strengthen their core group, particularly at forward. He hasnt made a lot of trades since taking on the job three years ago (only 13) and the only two that would even come close to involving higher profile players would be Frolik and Devin Setoguchi. They were also his last, in the summer of 2013. "Some of it might have to come from a trade," he said of his desire to add a winger or a centre. The Jets are still focusing on young players throughout the organization and the role they can play. At the end of the season, for example, they brought in goalie Michael Hutchinson from the AHLs St. Johns IceCaps and he won two of the three final games he played. Cheveldayoff says the core group the Jets have signed to long-term contracts continues to perform. "We like what we have in a lot of different areas here. . . Guys like Blake Wheeler had a tremendous year, Bryan Little had a tremendous year, Andrew Ladd had a tremendous year. . . We havent even touched on (Mark) Scheifele and (Jacob) Trouba." He said Scheifele and Trouba had a big impact and the two rookies are only going to get better. Jarred Tinordi Canadiens Jersey . Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points, Tony Parker had 16 points and 10 assists, and San Antonio rolled to a 114-97 victory over the Trail Blazers on Thursday night for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Maurice Richard Canadiens Jersey . - Inbee Park is back defending her No. http://www.canadiensjerseysofficial.com/patrick-roy-red-jersey.html. He missed a three-game series against New York this week after suffering the injury last Sunday while trying to leg out a base hit during a game in Cincinnati. Patrick Roy Jersey . - Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade had 23 points apiece, and the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-95 on Wednesday for their sixth straight win. Bob Gainey Canadiens Jersey . The executive board of the Major League Baseball Players Association voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Clark to replace Michael Weiner, who died Nov.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the Terence Jones steady and emerging play for the Houston Rockets, Kawai Leonard and the returning health of the San Antonio Spurs, LeBron James as a team-first player, and the sad news that Steve Nash may be out for the year. 1. TERENCE JONES (Rockets): Nice win for the Rockets vs. the Heat Tuesday and a nice story thats developed this year for their team is the steady play of Jones. Hes averaging close to 12ppg and 7rpg at the power forward spot. He has the motor and gives it his all each night and is one of those guys you dont have to run a bunch of plays for and is consistent. He compliments Dwight Howard quite well and has been one of those quiet players who doesnt get lots of publicity yet and does his job effectively in a winning environment. 2. KAWAI LEONARD (Spurs): With Leonard back in the lineup you look at the Spurs experiencing good health and start asking yourself how far they can go. Hes a very good all-around player who they really missed. He guards and rebounds and can make all the shots. With him in the lineup, it seems when I watch this team that everyone is settled again in their roles and they look like a team that is gearing up for another run. Amazing what good health does to the chemistry of a team. 3. KLAY THOMPSON (Warriors): Thomas had a tough game on Sunday in Toronto yet had a wonderful bounce back effort against the Pacers and hit the game winner to compliment his 25 points for the evening. I love his shooting ability and he rebounds pretty well for a 2 guard. He has great size and incredible range and has gotten more coomfortable creating his own shot off the bounce.dddddddddddd Still a bit inconsistent here and there but if he was a stock, Id say buy! His best days are ahead of him. 4. LeBRON JAMES (Heat): Congrats on the 61 points he put up on Monday vs the Bobcats. I was a bit surprised it came against them, theyre a very good defensive team. Honestly, he could get 40+ points every night if he really just focused on that part of his game. Thankfully, hes a top-notch team player and makes all the smart/winning plays. More importantly, I caught his comments about wanting to return to Cleveland for the jersey retirement ceremony for his former teammate, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. It was a class gesture and I hope it happens. Whatever you want to say about his departure from Cleveland and it was poorly handled; he does get it as far as the value of team and his relationships with teammates. He respects the game and respects that everyone is in it together. 5. STEVE NASH (Lakers): I heard the news that its not looking good for his return the remainder of this season. Sad news. You look at the growth of basketball in Canada right now and its a joy to watch. Nash, as we all know, has done so much and will continue to do a great deal for the growth of the sport across the country but its kind of a bittersweet moment in time right now watching the sport explode with so many talented young players yet watching such a great player and proud man at the end of his career. It ends for everyone at some point and fingers crossed, he leaves on his terms. He deserves that and a whole lot more. Class act. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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