Buy-in not just buzzword

Buy-in is the buzzword that just won’t go away.

If you’re a winning NHL team, it’s impossible not to have it and, if you’re trying to move from the also-rans to the contenders, it’s what you lean into so heavily that you almost will it into existence.

Scott Arniel references it frequently and the proof is in the pudding for a Winnipeg Jets club that turned defending from a weakness into a strength.

Utah Mammoth bench boss André Tourigny talked about the importance of buy-in to his team’s hot start prior to facing the Jets last Sunday and Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill was bombarded with questions about the early-season buy-in prior to Thursday’s meeting in Winnipeg.

“It’s a process, for sure,” said Blashill. “Understanding that there has to be patience on the coach’s side because you’re going to have some roller-coaster (stretches) through that, it’s just the reality of it.

“It’s a process of video, it’s a process of doing stuff on the ice. Our guys are seeing that ultimately, when you check for your offence, you’ll create as much offence as if you try to cheat for your offence. Because when you cheat for your offence, you just spend so much time defending. Our guys are realizing that.”

It seems like a simple concept, but so many young and skilled teams take a long time to truly figure that out. Scoring is fun, checking is hard work and requires commitment — and those two things don’t always intersect.

“Our best young players, they don’t want to be guys that just score points on bad teams, they want to produce offence on good teams. They want to win,” said Blashill.

“So, sometimes you get a group at the right time and our group was ready to listen, they were ready to be coached, they’re ready to work hard, they’re ready to go through gruelling practices because they want to improve here and they want to get better and better and win hockey games. I would just give a lot of credit to our group for that.”

It was clear Blackhawks players are starting to sign from the same hymn book as Blashill, who was hired as head coach this off-season after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning following seven seasons as the bench boss of the Detroit Red Wings.

“That comes from accountability, too,” said Blackhawks defenceman Connor Murphy, the longest serving member of the group.

“When you’re an offensive player, you put a little more pressure on yourself to create offence and to get points. If you understand that in the NHL, even if you are a point producer and a main offensive driver, the defence has to be there in order to win games because other teams have a lot of star power that you’re going to have to know how to play two ways against.

“The accountability our staff has brought to make sure that is something that’s important and a front focus on our minds going into games has really brought a full team game.”

Now, achieving the level of buy-in that is required to take the next step isn’t a quick fix, it’s a lifestyle that requires constant attention to attain consistent results. The Blackhawks are one of the surprise stories of the NHL this season and they were 5-1-1 in their previous seven games before Thursday’s 6-3 hiccup against the Jets.

“The better we play defensively, the more offence we get because we’re getting the puck back,” said centre Connor Bedard. “That comes from our structure and our pressure. We’ve got to continue to keep getting better at that.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to compare two years, but we’re just happy with the buy-in from everyone. We have a lot of areas we can improve on, but the work ethic is there, the mindset is there to do what we can to win and be a good team and we’ve just got to keep doing that.”

Although Spencer Knight allowed six goals on Thursday, the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft has been sensational between the pipes since he was acquired from the Florida Panthers in the deadline deal last spring for defenceman Seth Jones.

Knight is sporting a 2.59 goals-against average and .914 save percentage while carrying the mantle of being the No. 1 guy for an extended period of time for the first time in his young career.

“He’s been unreal. Probably the best goalie in the league up to this point,” said Bedard. “We’re pretty fortunate to have him.”

The Blackhawks are fortunate to have Bedard as well. The first overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft is off to a fantastic start offensively, with six goals — including his first NHL hat trick on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday — and 14 points in 11 games.

Bedard is encouraged by his play, but true to form, the former Regina Pats captain wasn’t about to get swept away by the numbers.

“It’s so early, I’m just trying to go out every game, have fun and it doesn’t matter what you did last game or the game before or whatever, it’s about right now, the moment, and the next challenge,” said Bedard, who had 23 goals and 67 points last season. “That’s how I view it.”

That said, seeing the Blackhawks in the mix in the ultra competitive Central Division is a far cry from being near the cellar for the last few seasons.

“It’s fun,” said Bedard, who has expressed plenty of frustration during his first two seasons in the NHL where wins have often been tough to come by. “It’s fun being in those games and we’re looking at the standings and seeing where we’re at.

Whether the Blackhawks can sustain the early pace is still up for debate, but it’s clear there has been a shift when it comes to expectations — even if their window for contention isn’t quite in full bloom.

“We’ve really just focused on ourselves and our processes and making sure that our processes are really good,” said Blashill. “Where that puts us in the standings will be dictated by how good we play and what results we get. But they do walk into games believing.

“And I’ve said this a lot, we have talent. It just happens to be pretty young. It’s one thing if you’re devoid of talent. We’re not. We have talent. Again, it’s just a learning process. So let’s play the right way, let’s play a mature game and, when we do that, we put ourselves in position to win.”

Around the glass

AWESOME ALUMNI: Milestones have been the order of the day for the Jets and another one was produced on Thursday by Jonathan Toews.

Per Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, Toews’ assist against his former team moved him into a tie with Zach Parise for the most NHL regular-season points produced by a University of North Dakota men’s hockey player at 889. Toews achieved the feat in his 1,078th game.

For those keeping score at home, Toews is the highest playoff point producer in UND history with 45 goals and 119 points in 137 Stanley Cup playoff games.

GEEKING OUT: How about the hot start for Manitoba’s Morgan Geekie? The pride of Strathclair entered play Friday tied for the NHL lead in goals with nine. He’s also chipped in with two assists and has become a key offensive weapon for the Boston Bruins.

Geekie, 27, had a career-high 33 goals in 77 games last season and is on track to shatter that at this current pace. He’s seemingly found a great fit in Beantown after a tough start to his NHL career with the Carolina Hurricanes (who drafted him in the third round in 2017) and then the Seattle Kraken.

Geekie signed a six-year, US$33 million contract extension with the Bruins last summer and is already making that look like a steal for the organization.

NO DODGING HIS DISDAIN: Eric Comrie may have spent his formative years growing up in California, but the Jets goaltender made it crystal clear on Friday who he was rooting for in the World Series.

“I am not a Dodgers fan at all,” said Comrie, who was born in Edmonton and holds dual citizenship.

“I am a Cubs fan, No. 1, but I am also a very big Blue Jays fan. It’s really hard to like the Dodgers. I don’t think anyone likes the Dodgers besides Dodgers fans. They are the most hated team. Dodgers, Yankees, I don’t like very much.”

 

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg