Winnipeg Jets: Top 3 changes they must make after another playoff exit
2. Put Kevin Cheveldayoff On Notice
If the Winnipeg Jets want to fire general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, I can’t blame them. He’s had plenty of opportunities to build a Stanley Cup contender and he’s only done it once. His loyalty to Maurice has hurt the franchise. Getting rid of Cheveldayoff might be the only way the Jets can get rid of Maurice.
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However, if I were the Jets owner (and I am not the Jets owner), I’d give him one last chance. But I’d be sure he knows he has a lot of work to do this offseason. Cheveldayoff lost Jacob Trouba last offseason and did absolutely nothing to replace him. Sure, he got Neal Pionk for him, but the fact is, the Jets had a questionable blueline even with Trouba. Doing nothing substantial to replace him is straight-up negligent.
You can’t blame Cheveldayoff for what happened with Dustin Byfuglien. He didn’t know his star defenseman wasn’t going to report to the team. However, Cheveldayoff needed to fix the defense last offseason and he didn’t. Losing Byfuglien magnified the Jets issues that Cheveldayoff didn’t fix.
I still think he’s a quality general manager who just had a bad offseason. It happens. Cheveldayoff has a very long offseason ahead of him and he needs to prove that he’s deserving of keeping his job. But he’s done very little to prove that over the past 24 months.