Despite winning 62% of FOs, Toews is on pace for being the most negative impact player in the NHL while also carrying a projected $4.75M contract.
Currently the Jets have only “spent” $3.1M on him.
What would you do in Chevy’s case? Do you cut, admitting a mistake and trying to suggest you’re avoiding sunk cost fallacy? Do you keep pushing thinking things will change or avoid looking unemotional?
I want to hear your thoughts on the signing.
Note: I’d love to use replies here as part of a post I’m writing but if you want to be in the conversation here but not the post just let me know in parentheses.
27 comments
Load manage him. Don’t play him on back to backs or every game of 4 in 7 days etc. See if that helps him have more juice when he’s in the lineup. If he’s still struggling he’ll have to be the 13th/14th forward.
I’m not very confident they’ll do this, but it’s what I’d be trying. I’d also try 55 and 81 apart like 8 weeks ago but that’s besides the point
There was a time when players like this would try to make a comeback and then just choose to pack it in because they can’t play up to the standard they hold themselves to anymore ( I think of Bobby Orr ending his career in Chicago). Maybe it’s the money stopping him but Toews should have some pride and leave the game behind now knowing that he still has an incredible legacy on the ice. Chevy and Arniel will never make that choice for him.
My thoughts on the signing when it happened was this: He’s going to win faceoffs at least. But my expectations were very low, and he has somehow played below even my expectations.
Time to keep him in the press box.
Well he’s got a full NMC so he can’t be waived or traded without his approval, I doubt any team would be interested in him anyways.
The only real option is to scratch him and bring him back in occasionally to see if he’s able to get something going.
Trade him to Chicago for a bag of pucks so he can retire where he really should be ending his career? Let him play a couple of games there so he can retire a Blackhawk.
Thank you for your service. It’s not working. Enjoy retirement.
full NMC can’t do anything
Arny can maybe sit him (won’t happen), otherwise the 4C + PP + PK is the best role for him
If it came down purely to the numbers then he shouldn’t be playing, but ultimately there is a bigger social aspect to it where the team isn’t going to make one of the icons of the sport do anything he doesn’t want to do. Especially since Winnipeg is already low on most high end free agents’ list of places to be.
What should they do? Begin having discussions with JT about retiring. I’d give him every opportunity to retire with dignity — within a set timetable. In the meantime, I like Kyle’s suggestion of load-management, especially if that means guys like Lambert are called up and get real opportunities.
But at some point, management needs to acknowledge Toews is a significant liability and act accordingly.
Toews needs to retire himself, unfortunately that’s really the only ending that’s viable.
Arnie probably can’t sit him and Chevy can’t just waive him b’c he’s JT.
From the way he seems to behave, I don’t get the impression he’s the type to fall on his sword. He’s here to “retire” as a Jet, even if that means tanking the team for a season.
Would putting him with a couple young kids like Lambo and chibi work?
Are his line pairings helping him?
Just bench him. Or play him more to really tank this team
Who do you replace him with?
Bump him to the 4th line. Keep him around as a FO specialist.
JT is a veteran. I’m sure no-one is more frustrated with his performance than himself. With his more than a decade of experience, and championship-level play, he probably knows what’s wrong and what’s necessary to correct it, or at least knows how to figure it out. I am confident that if he **can** correct it, he *will* put in the work to do so.
That is, however, a mighty big ‘if’. Fact is, he’s also old for an NHL player, and sometimes no amount of experience can make up for the body slowing down.
There’s also the reality that JT is not the only thing that is wrong with the Jets. Having him sit out in the box isn’t going to magically fix the team, isn’t going to make them contenders again. So there’s the larger question of what is best for the team or the franchise. What value does his leadership have? Is it worth vacating the spot for a young guy? What about jersey sales, or the fact that he’s a local guy? Plus, if he can turn it around, how good of a story would that be, how much is that worth? And so on.
The optics of sitting a 3 time champ who you marketed to sell tickets is not great. Limit minutes, win face offs, hope for better results. We as fans, probably expected too much, management paid for the pedigree and the Jersey sales.
Limit his minutes to less then 8 per night and play him every second game. The pace of play is too much for him to keep up with. The same can be said for Schenn
Tell him to shoot more pucks. Feels like every play is a master pass to an empty front-of-net.
No more passing. Shoot
Face offs just aren’t that important. I would see if he wanted to join the coaching staff or something. But it’s pretty obvious his time as an NHL player is over.
I said this when there was rumors about his comeback before the trade deadline last year; his career faceoff numbers will be helpful to the Jets who struggled to win face-offs especially a key times. To come in and be a fourth liner? Absolutely.
I don’t know that the organization is necessarily disappointed in him. Or at least that’s my perspective of it. Would you prefer he had more points? Absolutely… But I think there was unfair expectations created by some in the media and hyped up by fans as he would be the missing piece for a possible Stanley Cup.
That’s a failure on us as fans. The expectations set by many in the fan base have been immense, and I’m sure that’s not helping. Put in the fact he’s had a rotating cast of people to play with probably hasn’t helped build much chemistry. Parfetti’s horrible start of the year both being injured and then poor play exacerbated the issues.
Some may disagree, and that’s fine, but I think it’s also why people, especially the head coach talked about why he would be important at the end of the year, not the beginning. Unfortunately, the rest of the team has crumbled around him.
I mean he was shit in his last 2 seasons in Chicago, didn’t play for two years and is 37… dafuq they doing even signing him in the first place
4th line center with some young’ens from the Moose. Pearson and Nyqvist should be traded off. When/if one of those young guns starts dunking then trade them in for 91 and put 91 on the 4th line.
Giving 19 those young guys can help spark some of his ability as he would lead the line with these dudes and help build his confidence back while putting him in a veteran roll with some rooks.
Everyone wins… I would think.
What should the Jets do? Considering they are currently holding the #6 overall pick perhaps they should do nothing. As currently constructed they are not a Stanley cup team. The amount of moves they need to make can’t be done in season.
Clearly the Jets need to fire everyone in their advanced stats department because whoever told Chevy Pearson, Walker Duher, Koepke, and Toews were solid additions was an idiot.
At this point a bandaid solution would be re arrange the lines
Connor Scheifele Nyquist
Perfetti Vilardi Toews
Nino Lowry Barron
Namestnikov Iafallo Pearson
Morissey Demelo
Pionk Samberg
Stan Fleury
Nino is no longer a productive player, same with Nyquist and Toews. Iafallo is still Pker and winger, same with Namestnikov but both aren’t contributing with secondary scoring. Something is clearly wrong Perfetti. Hopefully it’s just lack of talent around him, otherwise the Jets have much bigger problems. Obviously we know Demelo is just average and doesn’t contribute scoring, Stan is better this year but still nothing really and Fleury is an average puck moving 6th defender. This season is basically lost and obviously the Jets need an injection of youth in the organization. They should be looking to move any valuable players at the deadline for draft picks. That includes Barron, Nino, Namestnikov, Iafallo, Lambert and anything they can. The Jets desperately need to improve the Moose and if they get lucky perhaps a young player can contribute next year.
Patience please. He has so much potential. Needs a goal to get the 200 lb monkey off his shoulders. The man has innate skills and instincts but is playing with a burden of person doubt that he must get over.
I don’t know but I feel dizzy
Toews is getting too much of the heat. He hasn’t been great, but recently he’s been a 4th liner, how much more can you expect?
Perfetti with 2 goals, Namestnikov with 8 points, Lowry 1 goal, Nyquist 0.. injuries have played a part of slow starts but by now we need more from all those guys. Then the young guys didn’t exactly shine when given their chances. Lambert, Ford, Chibrikov with 1 goal in 23 combined games. And it’s not like any of the guys are tearing it up on the moose to force their way up to the Jets.
So I’d keep icing Toews, 4th line, maybe some days off, hoping he can get a little more energy. I’d bench Nyquist, or release him.
The team is too slow, but the speedy youth haven’t taken their opportunity.. the loss of Ehlers hurts, but he wanted a different scene to play in and can’t break the bank to sign him. Any disgruntled speedy players on the bottom teams of the standings to make a trade for?