Hi Skip, I think your article is pretty good, you write well and it's well organized and logical. Interested in seeing some thoughts on what a possible trade with the Bruins would look like.
The only comment I have (and it's not directly at you, I see it everywhere on HF), is that it feels like "everyone just knows" that the Jets locker room hasn't been great, and most seem ok to lay that at the feet of Wheeler and Scheifele. And maybe that's the case, but we also see just as many or more reports (from players and I know it could be media speak), where they talk about liking playing with each other, being sad if the team gets broken up, etc.
It just seems like Jim Bob says something negative about the Jets, and then Jo Blow sees that and also says something about the locker room, and now people are saying, "look at all of these people saying the Jets locker room is bad." Again, I'm not saying there could be issues in the room, but I don't think the Jets room is much different than any other professional sports locker rooms.
I completely agree with this. I think that if we stop and actually listen to the players, it seems that a lot of the noise around a toxic culture has been amplified from unsubstantiated rumors.
New players like Niederreiter and Namestnikov have openly talked about how much they like the team and the organization.
Older player like Morrissey, Lowry, etc. have emphasized about how the team gets along, and that the negative press is overblown. The piece by Murat about Morrissey's struggles when his Dad was ill, and how Wheeler supported him, are illustrative of what goes on behind the scenes. Evidently, Morrissey and Scheifele get along well on a personal level, based on common social events, etc.
Teams that aren't winning have tensions mount, but I think much of it has been amplified by a few local reporters that dislike Wheeler and Scheifele, and clearly took sides with Laine in his complaints about being relegated to playing with Little.
Even yesterday, Billeck was on WST going on about how the Jets had been too "serious" under Wheeler, and didn't let free spirits like Laine and Ehlers flourish. Actually, I think that it's more likely that the top players expected young players to come to camp in top condition, like the vets were. That's not uncommon. There's no chance that MacKinnon or Bergeron would be happy with young players being casual about training and out of shape.
I think it's great that McGroarty and Barlow are happy-go-lucky and fan-friendly. So were Scheifele and Trouba when they were young / new players. But I also expect the Jets' leadership to retain very high expectations in terms of training and fitness as part of the team culture. I highly doubt that Perfetti, McGroarty, Barlow, Heinola, etc. will have a problem with those expectations.