Jets interview Ron Rivera for head coaching job and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for GM vacancy

Jets focus on power play and penalty kill as shortened pre-season winds down

You can point the finger of blame in a number of directions when it comes to finding fault with last season’s Winnipeg Jets.

A lineup that was too old and too slow. Injuries to key players. Regression from other core members. Inconsistent goaltending. The list goes on.

Well, here’s another culprit that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough: spotty special teams. More specifically, a power play that was anything but potent and a penalty kill that was far too porous.

That has to change — and fast — if this team is going anywhere.

‘Extremely disappointed’: hunters being turned away near Bloodvein First Nation, Manitoba Wildlife Federation says

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation says hunters are again being refused access to land near Bloodvein River First Nation, a year after leadership told court it would let them through.

A legacy cast in bronze

Janice Filmon has a new accolade to add to the list of honours she’s received over the years.

The volunteer, philanthropist and former lieutenant-governor of Manitoba was inducted into the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame on Wednesday. A bronze bust of Filmon was unveiled in Assiniboine Park, where it joins 51 others near the Leaf.

“It’s exciting,” Filmon said. “I don’t remember being so surprised in my adult life as I was when I was told that this was happening.”

In addition to serving as Manitoba’s 25th lieutenant-governor from 2015 to 2022, Filmon has chaired the Nellie McClung Foundation, the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation and co-chaired Leadership Winnipeg.

Concrete documentary aided by filmmaker’s tender, affecting manner

The title sounds direct, straight-up and, well, concrete.

This is, however, a sweetly aimless, sneakily hilarious, completely unclassifiable documentary.

If you’re a real concrete wonk, you might end up frustrated. Yes, there will be some wild revelations about the world’s most common building material, but this is not exactly a comprehensive examination.

If you’re a John Wilson fan, on the other hand, you’ll find exactly what you want here. Known for his HBO series How To With John Wilson, the New York-based creator makes his move to the big screen with The History of Concrete, and that means more bizarro street footage, more funny business signs, and more encounters with weird and wonderful NYC randos.

Jets land state-of-the-art dressing room after off-season of renovations

It’s not just the on-ice product that’s getting an overhaul this season for the Winnipeg Jets.

The hockey club has also undergone an extreme makeover when it comes to player facilities, including a new state-of-the-art dressing room that now rivals any around the league.

And if you don’t think that matters, you haven’t been paying attention.

“We’ve talked about doing everything first class,” head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press on Tuesday. “We can’t do anything about the weather, but when people come here, we want them to know we look after them and we look after their families.”

Firefighter admits to conditional sentence breach

A Winnipeg firefighter previously jailed for criminally harassing two different women has been released from custody after admitting to breaching a conditional sentence order.

Christopher Goethals, 59, was arrested July 21 after an alert from his ankle monitor six days earlier showed he had driven within 400 metres of the workplace of a former girlfriend he had been ordered to have no contact with.

Goethals pleaded guilty Wednesday to not being in possession of a copy of his conditional sentence order, a requirement of his sentence.

Crown attorney Amanda Heslop withdrew a breach charge related to Goethals’ electronic monitoring conditions and stayed a third charge of disobeying a court order.