Quoting: Birtle34
I was chevys number 1 fan for the longest time, but so much status quo, a ton of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. They seem to think they are the smartest guys in the room and like to Pat themselves on the back. But don’t seem to realize the boat there in, got to make some tough decisions once and while, love to hand out loyalty contracts and expect the same results with Father Time breathing down there necks. Little had some bad luck and bad injuries, but even his contract could have looked rather awful late in it, wheelers hasn’t been terrible, but could be looking rather awful in next two years, then trade for another bad one in schmidt. Untradable contracts one can get over, but if they mess with the youth going forward it kind of compounds it. Winnipeg can’t compete heads up, so going to have to go outside the box and not over term over 30 types, got to trade for value. Don’t mind me, just despise the bubble prediction, much prefer 1st or 32nd lol.
If we were to catalog recent seasons...
2017-18: Chevy extended at the beginning of the season. Conference finals. Great season.
2018-19: First round exit. The trade for Hendricks as the director of morale was a sign that the locker room was a mess. Most teams would have moved on from the coach just based on the on-ice results (mid season tailspin and early exit). Trouba traded at the end of season for Pionk/pick (Heinola).
2019-20: Play-in round exit in a disrupted season. Buff grievance and then eventually retires (RD on the Jets were Pionk, Poolman, Beaulieu). Lock room issues persist. Still no coaching change.
2021: Second round exit in the Canadian division. Laine traded after an offseason and a bit of speculation. Holes in the defense were addressed by waiver wire or low-end pickups. Still no coaching change.
2021-22: No playoffs. Locker room issues now talked about openly in the media. Coach quits on team. Team doesn't buy in on interim coach. Comrie doesn't get enough games and the asset can walk as a UFA G6. Chevy gets an extension.
2022 offseason: New coach. Dubois signals he is leaving at the first opportunity. Media (insiders and beat reporters) report that Wheeler is open to be moved. Scheifele says his end-season comments were blown out of proportion by the media and the locker room is great. That last bit implies that if you did not agree with the Scheifele-Wheeler regime, then you are out of luck because management is still backing them fully.