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Winnipeg Jets Season Review: The Coaching Staff and Front Office

By Kyle McCarthy

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: Head Coach Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets takes part in the post-game press conference following a 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Knights win the series 4-1. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: Head Coach Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets takes part in the post-game press conference following a 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Knights win the series 4-1. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Look, the Winnipeg Jets didn’t get good by accident. They also didn’t get good by being good. They weren’t tanking, per se, but they were bad. But still, credit where credit is due.

The Winnipeg Jets hired Claude Noel to be their first head coach after their resurrection. He was fired after, well, failing to win during his third season and replaced by Paul Maruice.

Maurice, 51, had been in the NHL coaching ranks since 1995. He’s so old he coached the Hartford Whalers. He reached the Stanley Cup Finals with Carolina in 2000-2001 before falling to the Detroit Red Wings.

Look, he never had the most talented roster in Winnipeg. But his point totals in his full seasons were better than I thought. Totals of 99, 78, 87 and 114. Clearly on the upswing there.

And hey, if we’re just talking this year, Maurice did a good job. His roster decisions never seemed even mildly questionable, as he earned a bit of benefit of the doubt.

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Especially during the postseason, it was discernible that Maurice did a good job getting his team ready and executing gameplans. Every time they lost a game in a series, they came back and won the next one.

The ability to make adjustments, which is usually attributed to the coaching staff, was there and it was impressive. I know that last round didn’t go as planned, but they ran into a tough team. And those guys all seemed out of gas. Maybe next year? Either way, I’m not ready to blame that on Paul Maurice.

He’s a good coach and I think Winnipeg is happy to have him. He’s pretty far from the hot seat right now. As for the rest of the coaching staff, I got nothing.

Look, those dudes are really hard to evaluate. I guess we can say Wade Flaherty, the goaltending coach, did a great job turning Connor Hellebuyck into a hero. But I can’t say what Jamie Kompon, Todd Woodcroft and Charlie Huddy did for the team.

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That isn’t to say they weren’t valuable. And if Winnipeg continues to have success, I can assure you one of them will get poached. But for now, they seem to be fine right where they are. If the Jets are winning, the coaching staff must be doing something right.

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