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This article was published 6/9/2017 (1717 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Several media reports on Wednesday suggest head coach Paul Maurice and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff have both been given or will receive contract extensions from the Winnipeg Jets.
The NHL team would not confirm the moves, which would be tremendous demonstrations of loyalty and trust by the ownership of a team that has made the playoffs just once since 2011.
Cheveldayoff is starting the final year of his current contract. The 47-year-old native of Saskatoon signed a two-year extension to his original five-year deal in September of 2013.
He has served as GM of the club since the franchise was transferred from Atlanta for the start of the 2011-12 season.
He was with the Chicago Blackhawks as the Central Division club's assistant general manager before being named to the top post in Winnipeg.
Cheveldayoff has preached patience in Winnipeg, implementing a draft-and-develop scheme that has stocked the shelves of the NHL club and its farm team, the Manitoba Moose.
Under his direction, the scouting staff has selected players such as forwards Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Adam Lowry, defencemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey that have become cornerstones of the franchise.
During the off-season, he plugged a couple of huge holes, signing veteran goalie Steve Mason and blue-liner Dmitry Kulikov to multi-year deals.
Maurice, a 50-year-old product of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is entering the final year of a four-year contract extension he signed in April of 2014.
He joined the team midway through the 2013-14 campaign after Claude Noel was relieved of his head coaching duties. The Jets were on a five-game losing skid when Maurice came aboard.
He accumulated an 18-12-5 record in 35 games and was rewarded with a four-year deal.
The Jets made their only playoff appearance the following season but were swept in four-straight games by the Anaheim Ducks.
Last season, Winnipeg finished 40-35-7, nine points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Just over a week ago, Jets captain Blake Wheeler spoke candidly with reporters, suggesting this is a critical season for the organization and that missing the playoffs again isn't an option.
"It's gotta be this year, it just has to be," said the product of Plymouth, Minn., who turned 31 last week.
"We have enough talent. There's no reason why we can't push this to the next level this year. It's going to be about getting this group together and figuring out how we have to play to win hockey games."
To do that, Maurice must get one of the NHL's most offensively gifted clubs to embrace a more defensively responsible game and significantly cut down on the penalties it takes, while getting improved goaltending from Mason and Connor Hellebuyck.
