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Greetings from Denver, which I suppose would be called the One-Point-Six-Kilometre High City if it were located in Canada.
These are… interesting times to be a Winnipeg Jets beat reporter. There’s no shortage of storylines surrounding the struggling club, which has now won just five of its last 21 games.
Yikes.
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The scene outside of the Jets’ room last night in St. Louis was as sour as I’ve seen in some time. Grim-faced players shuffled by, the occasional angry slam of an equipment bag punctuating the silence, following a 1-0 loss to the lowly St. Louis Blues — a team that began the night as the NHL’s worst defensive club.
Trying to get post-game soundbites out of coach Scott Arniel, forward Kyle Connor and defenceman Dylan Samberg proved difficult, with all three men in no mood to chat given the circumstances. It doesn’t help that it’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day, as the same on-ice issues continue to persist night after night.
Things could go from bad to worse Friday night, with the Jets now facing the NHL’s No. 1 team, the Colorado Avalanche. Given the current play and trajectory of both clubs, TSN might want to slap a mature-content warning on the broadcast, alerting viewers to potentially disturbing themes and imagery.
Hide the children!
I’ll have plenty more to say about the Bad News Jets in a column I’m writing later today, which will be online this evening and in Friday’s print edition. Spoiler alert: it will contain some uncomfortable truths.
There was a funny moment following Wednesday’s morning skate when I attended the media availability of Blues coach Jim Montgomery. I wanted to ask him about the Manitoba Miracle last spring, given that his team was on the wrong end of hockey history, and he offered some terrific insight into that epic seven-game series and where both Central Division rivals now find themselves.
Montgomery also showed off his impeccable comedic timing when my Google Maps app chose an unfortunate moment to speak up. I had programmed the 20-minute walk from my St. Louis hotel to the rink but hadn’t turned it off upon arrival.
So there I was in the media room with about 15 other writers and broadcasters when, for no apparent reason, a loud woman’s voice suddenly interrupted Montgomery mid-answer.
“IN 100 METRES, TAKE A LEFT ON CLARK AVENUE,” my phone announced.
Montgomery didn’t miss a beat.
“Look at that, you don’t even know where you are,” he cracked. “You’re at Enterprise Center!”
The room erupted in laughter.
Well played, sir.
On the other end of the spectrum was a far less amusing media moment the other night in Seattle, following a Kraken loss to the Avalanche, which was their ninth defeat in 10 games.
With coach Lane Lambert at the podium, Seattle PR allowed only one person — a team-employed writer for the club’s website — to ask questions. The rest of the reporters in the room never got a chance, with the session ending after barely a minute.
It was a terrible look for the Kraken, creating the impression the organization was attempting to suppress independent sports journalism.
They quickly realized as much, issuing a mea culpa the next day.
“It doesn’t reflect what we’re trying to do in Seattle as a new team, making inroads in a new market and building relationships with media,” a team spokesperson said in a statement to the independent site soundofhockey.com.
“It doesn’t represent what we’re all about… We own the decision. We’ve all made decisions we wish we’d done differently, and that was definitely one of them.”
There’s no question sports teams are increasingly trying to exert control over how they’re portrayed, especially when times are tough. That effort is made easier by the shrinking number of media outlets dispatching reporters — particularly on the road.
Once again on this Jets trip, I am the only non-affiliated, Manitoba-based reporter on hand to ask questions. That’s typically the case, with the Free Press sending either myself or colleague Ken Wiebe.
The Winnipeg Sun cut all travel a few years ago and now covers road games remotely, often using soundbites generated from post-game questions we ask, which the team then videotapes and posts on its social media channels. Bloggers and fan sites frequently use the same content as well, and rarely is the original source credited — a frustrating reality given the significant financial investment required to be here in person.
Around the league, there are plenty of teams that now go entire games without any travelling media at all, leaving a team employee as the only person able to ask questions.
What happened in Seattle, however, crossed a different line, with local reporters present but deliberately sidelined. Let’s hope that’s a lesson learned, and that it never happens again.
Well, folks, I’m going to get cracking on that Jets column. With the next two Thursdays falling on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, I’ll be taking a brief timeout from this newsletter as well.
Thank you, as always, for reading and for your continued support. It truly means a lot. I hope the holidays bring you some well-earned rest, time with family and friends, and a few moments to unplug from the day-to-day grind.
Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and all the very best for a healthy, happy New Year.
We’ll chat again in this space on Jan. 8.
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