|
Good morning, folks.
It’s commonly referred to as Garbage Bag Day — when players of the local pro sports team toss their belongings in a green Glad bag as a precursor to getting out of town at the end of another season.
Come to think of it, maybe in the NHL they should call it Louis Vitton or Prada Bag Day — but you get my drift.
Advertisement
The mood of the day is of course dependent on how the team fared on the concluded campaign.
The last time we saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the lads were ebullient, following a Grey Cup victory.
At the end of last season the Jets were mostly disappointed, but there was a certain perspective given we were in the midst of a global pandemic.
A couple of years ago — after being ousted by the St. Louis Blues — they were downright surly in their final meetings with the media.
How the boys will be today is anyone’s guess. Do they accentuate the positive — finishing third in the Canadian Division and advancing to the second round after an impressive sweep of the Edmonton Oilers? Or do they grumble and growl at the inevitable questions that will be posed about them being swept aside by the Montreal Canadiens?
Mike McIntyre and Jason Bell have been assigned the unenviable task of today’s availabilities, which start at 8:30 am. on Zoom — very different than the days when I would climb over one green bag to get to the next green bag in a cramped Bombers locker room.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) gets a pat on the head from teammate Adam Lowry (17) after their overtime NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey loss to the Montreal Canadiens, in Montreal, Monday, June 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Mike and I pre-gamed Designer Bag Day on Tuesday when he dropped by my office to record the lastest episode of our Jetcetera podcast. Yes, it worked this week! Kinda, sorta.
In our 42 minutes of priceless blah blah blah, Mike and I break down how it all went downhill so fast — from key players being invisible, questionable coaching decisions from Paul Maurice and the senseless play from Mark Scheifele that quickly got him suspended from the series. We also look ahead to what should be a busy summer for the squad and some of the big decisions that must be made.
Prior to meeting the media today, each player will have an exit interview with coach Paul Maurice. Of course, we are not privy to the discussion, although we always ask what was said.
Because those things are kept “in the room,” I asked Mike to do a column for you today in which he suggests what might have been said — or what should have been said.
Personally, I think the series — and hence the season — turned on a dime when Mark Scheifele made a decision to blow up Habs forward Jake Evans in the final minute of Game 1.
Yeah, the Jets looked rusty to start the series after a nine-day layoff, but I also felt they were gaining momentum in the final two periods of the opening game and would have been well poised to rebound in Game 2.
Until “The Hit.”
The swirl of debate and the four-game suspension took the wind out of their sails and had a rippling effect on the lineup that not even two Pierre-Luc Dubois — let alone one — could be expected to quell.
The drama and the lineup shuffling set the Jets back mentally, emotionally and physically to a place where they were run over by the Habs.
One decision — big consequences.
But, by the way, the Montreal Canadiens are a very good team. You may recall I picked them to finish first in the division. And they did, right?
As always, folks, you can reach me by replying to this mailing or by sending me an email here.
|
.jpg?w=400)
