Jets captain says team was supportive of Evander Kane

Transcription

1 Winnipeg Free Press Jets captain says team was supportive of Evander Kane By: Tim Campbell It was mostly the high road and talk of moving on that came from the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday, presented with the complaints of former teammate Evander Kane. Kane spoke of his former teammates and organization not having "his back" and made another accusation of racism in an interview in this week's an edition of The Hockey News. Kane was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres last February. On the morning of Tuesday's game day against the Los Angeles Kings, several Jets reacted to the comments. "I think we've moved on here," Jets captain Andrew Ladd said. "We've had a good start to the year. We have a good atmosphere in the room and we're having a great time. You talk to any guy in this room. We're an open group. If we have any issues, I think we take care of it as a group. We don't have any issues. "Like I said, we're having a great time in here and we've moved on and maybe he should, too." Like Ladd, it sounded like Jets coach Paul Maurice sees it all in the past tense. "It was over the day of the trade for me," he said. "To answer a few more questions, we're certainly not using that as an excuse when the puck drops tonight." No Jets who spoke about the affair said they were surprised at Kane's comments. "Does it surprise me? Ladd said. "No, I think he's an emotional kid. No, I guess it doesn't." "I guess not," said Blake Wheeler. "There's not a whole lot that would surprise me. But I'm not spending much of my day thinking about that. I've got a lot of bigger things to worry about, most notably the guys sitting in this room and our opponent tonight. "I firmly believe we're a family in this room. I'd do anything for any one of these guys in here. I don't have a brother of my own but I'd consider most of the guys in this room like family to me. I think we've got as tight a group as I've been a part of in the NHL. It's the biggest reason we have success on the ice." Said Chris Thorburn, who sat next to Kane in the Jets' locker-room: "It doesn't surprise me. It's not bad or good. He had some bottled-up emotions, apparently, it seems like. "So maybe just getting them off his chest might be healthy for him. At the same time, we're not going to be concerning ourselves about that, really. We're concentrating on what we have in this dressing room and going forward that's our focus."

2 Wheeler was asked if the team's leaders were aware of Kane's complaints when he was here. "Things happen a certain way and things have been made very public, which is too bad," he said. "Any correspondence I would have had with Evander in the past would be between him and I. For me it's a privilege to be in an NHL dressing room, so I'm not going to air out any dirty laundry of what happened within a dressing room. Because that's private. "Yeah, it is frustrating to have to speak about somebody who's no longer with us. I think the one thing you'll hear from most of the guys is it's too bad he feels that way. I'm not inside his head. If you want further comment, you'd have to fly to Buffalo to get more out of that." Maurice had said Monday he, for one, appreciated Kane frequently played with and through pain while a member of the Jets, responding to the winger's complaint he felt "unappreciated." Tuesday, Maurice added he was disappointed. "I'm disappointed that a player who played as many years as Evander did and didn't enjoy his time in the National Hockey League," the coach said. "Or the players I coach, I want them to enjoy the experience professionally and away from the rink as much as I am. "I love coaching here and being in Winnipeg. It's been a great experience and not every day's been nice in that locker-room and we get after our problems pretty good here. I want him to enjoy his experience. "That's an awfully long time for a young man to be in the NHL and not feel like he enjoyed his experience. And I'm really happy because I think he's in a place now that he gets to." html LA the Kings of the Jets' castle after beating Winnipeg 4-1 Ex-champs are back in top form after subpar season By: Tim Campbell Make no mistake about it, the tight-quarters, hack-and-whack Los Angeles Kings are back. The 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champions were mere spectators in last spring s playoffs but have figured out their game again quickly this fall. It was obvious on the ice at the MTS Centre Tuesday night, scoring a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets for a sixth straight win before 15,294 fans treated to a March-like chess match. Empty-net goals by Tyler Toffoli and Trevor Lewis masked the clamped-down nature of the night. "They have a lot of players on there that have had success doing exactly what they did tonight and they re very comfortable staying with it," said Jets coach Paul Maurice.

3 The Jets speed and quickness exhibited so far for much of October was neutralized most of the evening as the game developed into one of decisions and taking care of the puck. It s not that the Jets weren t ready to play in the very small spaces and short time frames that the Kings allow, it s just that they weren t ready to be good at it. Certainly, the game didn t contain the emotion or the wheeling and dealing fans have seen previously on this homestand, and it was all even until Milan Lucic got credit for a two-on-one play that decided it with 4:41 left in regulation time. "That was a tight game," said Jets right-winger Drew Stafford. "Not a lot going on. Chances were pretty low for the most part. We knew the goal (to win) was going to be a greasy one with somebody going to the net. "A game like that against a team like that that plays a very suffocating game, they take away a lot of time and space. We needed to play a little more grimy, a little more greasy." Homestand hiccup The result dropped the Jets to on the season and so far on the six-game homestand that wraps up Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. After sputtering briefly out of the gate, the Kings are now on their season and have top spot in the Pacific Division. Ehlers again Jets rookie right-winger Nikolaj Ehlers struck for his fourth goal of the season and for the third game in a row, giving the home team the lead 8:45 into the second period. But it was the least room the 19-year-old has seen so far in his debut season with the Jets. "It was difficult out there today," he said. "They were trying to give us less room." No issues When Jake Muzzin sailed a point shot home to tie the game at 15:50 of the second, the Jets briefly considered using a challenge on the goal, as Kings forward Milan Lucic was near and may have contacted Ondrej Pavelec at the net. The Jets opted not to cry foul and Pavelec tipped his cap to the big Kings forward. "Yeah, I don t think he touched me," Pavelec said. "He did a great job in front." Oops, it didn t work Maurice had a bit of a sad look to his face when asked about the Lucic s late winner, which occurred directly after the Jets won the faceoff in the Kings end. "We were set up for a bit of a shooting play from the back end and they got there fast," Maurice said. The lesson Maurice, however, was confident the Jets will benefit from the early exposure to such a style of game.

4 "They re very good at not allowing that (speed) to happen so it s adjustment you need to make with your game," he said. "It s not one that s fun to make because you ve scored a bunch of goals and you think if you just play your game you should be able to. "We ll get better at it, playing that style of game, generating offence from it. And having some patience in the game with the puck. But there s going to be a bit of a curve here with some guys who feel they can generate. The other team s not bad." html Kings getting on a roll after rocky start Win six straight after starting 0-3 By: Scott Billeck Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler tries to stickhandle around L.A.'s Brayden McNabb. It was a shocking accomplishment, but perhaps one not as surprising as first thought. The Los Angeles Kings endured a season in that was everything a defending Stanley Cup champion shouldn't have its name attached to. They missed the playoffs, with no chance to defend the trophy they'd hoisted in two of the previous three years. And off the ice, both during and after the season, faults in the foundation started to become a burden too tough to handle, even for a savvy playoff staple such as the Kings. Los Angeles watched three of their players -- defenceman Slava Voynov and forwards Jarret Stoll and Mike Richards -- get arrested for separate incidents, with the latter setting off an offseason full of speculation and turmoil for the club and the National Hockey League. "We addressed it in pre-season and left it there," said Kings' captain Dustin Brown. "It shouldn't have an effect on this team going forward." The Kings started the season 0-3 but have rattled off six straight wins, including a 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night. "I think we are just taking it game by game," said Tyler Toffoli, who scored his seventh of the season in Tuesday's win and added an assist on Milan Lucic's game winner. "I think we are really happy with what we just did, coming in here with a big two points. We're finishing our little trip here on a good note." The narrative the Kings put forth wants nothing to do with the summer past. Toffoli said their 0-3 start had more to do with them playing hockey the right way than anything else.

5 "We've moved onto the season and what's important here, and that's winning games," he said. Lucic, who joined the Kings over the summer from the Boston Bruins, said he felt the Kings were spending too much time cheating and not enough time playing the right way. "The first three games... I think we were all excited to play, but it was almost like we were a deer in the headlights," Lucic said. "The season kind of caught us by surprise. We thought it was going to be easier than it was. We had to ask ourselves, 'Are we committed to playing the right way?' "It's a lot more fun playing this way, working hard and getting results than it is cheating and things like that, like we were in the first three games." For Kings coach Darryl Sutter, it's come down to finding a new identity. "We have a lot of different players, so it's quite a different team," he said. "We lost such top identity players like Mike (Richards) and Jarret (Stoll), Robyn (Regehr) and Willie (Mitchell). You just don't give that to somebody else. Those guys were special people and special players in the locker-room. We are kind of waiting for guys to take stock." Did any of the off-ice issues trickle into the regular season? "Nope. Not that I'm aware of," Sutter said. Winnipeg Sun Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd to Evander Kane: Just move on 'I think we did (have Kane's back). It's unfortunate he didn't feel that way': Captain By Paul Friesen, Winnipeg Sun Track Suit Night just got some more legs. As if the return of Evander Kane to Winnipeg in January wasn t a juicy enough storyline on its own, given how he left town, No. 9 keeps lobbing grenades in the general direction of his former teammates a couple of them landing right in the laps of team leaders Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler. By now you ve caught wind of the comments The Natural made in an interview with The Hockey News, published this week. Kane said his Jets teammates and the organization didn t back him when he was here, specifically when rumours swirled about his conduct around town and when he played with injuries. Those teammates got their first chance at a rebuttal, Tuesday and they all said they weren t surprised Kane was making headlines off the ice again.

6 He s an emotional kid, Ladd said. I guess it doesn t (surprise me). It left Jets staffers shaking their heads, too, incredulous their team of low-maintenance players was still dealing with a high-maintenance one the organization unloaded eight months ago. This is what Kane did through three-plus seasons in a Jets sweater, causing distraction after distraction that had nothing to do with getting the next win. You never knew when his next tweet or instagram photo or comment to a reporter would draw a media scrum around his locker, and Kane ate up the attention. That he would open up this can of Winnipeg worms again shows he hasn t changed a bit. There s not a whole lot that would surprise me, is how Wheeler put it. As for the actual accusation, that nobody here had his back, I m not sure what Kane would have had anybody do. Come out in favour of his money-phone photo? Take his side against the head coach s in a healthy-scratch debate? Not throw his track suit in a tub of water? You ll recall that was the last straw, the incident that led to the trade to Buffalo. Kane had shown up for a team meeting in Vancouver last February in violation of the dress code. Dustin Byfuglien tossed his clothes into a tub, Kane had a hissy-fit and was scratched from the lineup in his hometown, no less. Head coach Paul Maurice wouldn t have made that decision without consulting his team leaders. So did Ladd and Wheeler not have Kane s back, or had they, like everybody else in that room, simply had enough of the prima donna attitude? Bet on the latter. We were a very supportive group, and we ve done a good job of sticking together in my time here, Ladd said. So yeah, I think we did (have Kane s back). It s unfortunate he didn t feel that way. Everyone enjoyed his time here. The media sure did. But I don t know about his teammates, at least after a while. Wheeler s comments after the track suit incident rang loud and clear. There s a standard that everyone needs to live up to, he said that day. If you don t like it then there s other places to go. Tuesday, Wheeler said the Jets stick together like a family.

7 I don t have a brother of my own, he said. But I would consider most of these guys in this room like family to me. We ve got as tight a group as I ve been a part of in the NHL, and it s the biggest reason we have success on the ice. Asked if he felt that way about No. 9 last season, Wheeler paused. That was last year, he said. If you would have asked me last year maybe I would have made a comment about it. We can only imagine how Ladd and Wheeler felt about answering questions, on the morning of a big Western Conference tilt against the L.A. Kings, about a player who s not even here. It s as if Kane was back in the room with another horde of cameras and notebooks around him. We ve got a good atmosphere in this room and we re having a great time, Ladd said. We ve moved on, and maybe he should, too. It seems he can t. By the end of the day, a snippet of another Kane interview popped up on Twitter. In this one, Kane, in a video interview with a site called Barstool Sports, was asked which NHL players he d most like to fight. Probably Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler, a smiling Kane said. Track Suit Night, Jan. 10. It s a Natural. Tyler Toffoli's late marker pushes Kings past Winnipeg Jets By Ken Wiebe, Winnipeg Sun Let's just say that the Los Angeles Kings collective game is currently where the Winnipeg Jets hope they can get to. Sooner than later, of course. This game was a lot more tightly-contested than the 4-1 final score would indicate, since the Kings piled on with two empty-net goals in the final minute on Tuesday night at the MTS Centre. But while the Jets were first to get on the board on another impressive marker from rookie Nikolaj Ehlers at 8:45 of the second period, there was little question as to which team took over control as the game wore on.

8 They were better at what they're good at and got better in the game at what they're good at, said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. They stayed with it. We invited some of it in the second period, with some of the things we did with the puck through the neutral zone. It's a 2-1 game, not a 4-1 game. But you're going to see more and more hockey like this and we'll get better at it. Better at playing that style of game. (The Kings) have got a lot of players that have had success doing exactly what they did (Tuesday). They owned the third. While the Jets slipped to on the season, the Kings continued to cruise, extending their winning streak to six games after dropping three in a row to start the campaign. The Jets close out this six-game homestand on Thursday against Jonathan Toews and the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. It would be a stretch to say the Kings imposed their will on the Jets, since the home side held a slim edge in hits in what was another hard-fought and tight-checking affair. This was a prototypical heavy game, with both clubs making plenty of sacrifices and doing the little things right while working to make life miserable for one another. Kings left-winger Milan Lucic, a key off-season acquisition from the Boston Bruins, had a big impact in this one. Lucic provided the screen on the edge of the blue paint as Jake Muzzin blasted his shot past Ondrej Pavelec at 15:50 of the second period to even the score. Then on the eventual game-winner, Lucic was first to the puck when it appeared Jets centre Bryan Little was going to win an offensive-zone draw, and was off to the races on a rush with Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli faked a slap shot before firing a pass over toward Lucic, who was credited with the goal even though it appeared to go in off the stick of defenceman Tyler Myers at 15:19 of the third period. I was getting a back-check going and (the puck) happened to go off my stick. An unfortunate bounce, but that's the way it went, said Myers. I will have to look at it (on video). I'll have to see if there was a better decision I could make. Toffoli and Trevor Lewis rounded out the scoring for the Kings, who got 24 saves from Jonathan Quick. There were some spurts in the game where we got away from keeping it simple, said Myers. We need to focus on chipping pucks in and getting on bodies a little bit more in certain times. I thought we did a lot of good things. But definitely some things to look at. Another big factor in the outcome was that the Jets were unable to generate enough Grade-A scoring chances like they've manufactured most nights while averaging more than three goals per game, but that's also a testament to the way the Kings are playing defensively right now. It's disappointing not getting the results that we expect from ourselves, but LA is pretty hot right now, said Jets centre Adam Lowry, who prevented a potential go-ahead goal by Marian

9 Gaborik with a strong defensive effort with just over six minutes left in regulation time. It's disappointing giving up a late goal, but we had some chances earlier in the game that we could have been up a couple of goals. That's part of the lesson to be learned by the Jets. The longer you let a team like the Kings hang around, the more likely it is that they'll find a way to come back. Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd says 700 games have flown by By Ken Wiebe, Winnipeg Sun The tables have turned for Andrew Ladd. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago when the Winnipeg Jets captain was the young guy breaking into the league. But as the Jets get set to face the Los Angeles Kings tonight at MTS Centre, Ladd is ready to play in his 700th NHL game. I'm getting old, I guess, Ladd told reporters. When you come into the league, older guys tend to say to you to enjoy it while you're here because it goes by really fast. It seems like just yesterday I was first starting out in Carolina. It's gone by fast and you want to enjoy it while you have this opportunity. Ladd's leadership was praised once again following the morning skate. He's been around a while, won a couple of Cups, said Jets forward Chris Thorburn. He's taught us a lot of things on how to play the game and how to be a pro. He deserves all the credit that he gets. The Kings (5-3-0) roll into town riding a five-game winning streak, which means they'll present another stiff test for the Jets (5-2-1) as they near the end of this six-game homestand. (The Kings) game is unique and that's in part why they've been so successful, said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. During the past few games, they look so much closer to the LA Kings that we have in our head as their identity game then they did in parts of last season. Because they failed to make the playoffs, the whole season kind of gets painted with a brush that all things were wrong. They're strong, they finish their checks, they're moving quicker, they've got lots of confidence in the defensive parts of their game and they're patient again. They'll run their routes, finish their checks, put pucks at the net and do all the hard things that they are so good at. They are as challenging now for us to play as they've ever been. Jets right-winger Blake Wheeler concurs.

10 They're a strong team, a tough opponent anytime you play them, said Wheeler, who carries a franchise-record eight-game point streak into the contest. They won two of three Stanley Cups for a reason. They're hungry. After last year, they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder again. Based on the pre-game warm-up, it looks like Anthony Peluso replaces Nic Petan on the fourth line for the Jets. Ondrej Pavelec figures to get the call in goal for the Jets, while the Kings counter with Jonathan Quick, who was named third star by the NHL on Monday after winning both of his starts last week while posting a 1.00 goals against average and.971 save percentage. If you try to get pucks to the net a different way because of their defensive abilities (and goaltender), you're going to spend the whole night in your own end of the ice, said Maurice. Pucks to the net is not just an offensive concept. When you've got teams that are strong and have a good defensive structure, it also puts you in the right part of the rink and keeps them from countering back at you. CBC.ca Paul Maurice calls Jets' relationship with Evander Kane a bad marriage Jets players and coach Paul Maurice respond to Evander Kane criticizing teammates and organization By Brett Purdy, CBC News The morning after the story broke that former Winnipeg Jet Evander Kane criticized his old team in a Hockey News article, current players and coach Paul Maurice faced more questions from reporters. It was clearly not the topic the Jets wanted to discuss ahead of Tuesday's matchup against the 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, but it was a topic they couldn't fully avoid. Kane is reported to have said that during his time in Winnipeg, his teammates and the organization didn't have his back or appreciate that he played through so many injuries. "It is frustrating to have to speak about somebody who's no longer with us, but I think the one thing you'll hear from most of the guys is it's too bad he feels that way. From there, I'm not inside his head; if you want further comment, you'd have to fly to Buffalo to get more out of that," said Jets forward Blake Wheeler. Chris Thorburn, arguably one of the Jets Kane was closest to, said it was "unfortunate. "I feel bad that he feels that way. Obviously he had some experiences that nobody knows about, including myself, so those are his feelings and his thoughts. It's unfortunate that he feels that way but, at the same time, we wish him luck and hopefully he does well in Buffalo." Reporters asked Thorburn whether he felt he had Kane's back during his time in Winnipeg.

11 "Personally, I'd like to think so. As a team, we kind of structure ourselves as a tight-knit group, and I'd like to think that we did, but at the same time, like I said, he's got his feelings. Things might have happened that I don't even know about that kind of persuaded him a different way. I'm just going to leave it at that, as far as he's got his own feelings, his own opinions, and that's life really," Good for Kane It seems as though Kane had some bottled-up emotions and getting them off his chest might be healthy for him, Thorburn added. Head coach Paul Maurice, who wasn't with the Jets when Kane first joined the team, explained that the issues surrounding Evander Kane were not a one-day event, and it was clear from the article that these issues were things that bothered him right from the start. "There's some positives things in this. I've had guys that didn't want to be there and they didn't keep it quiet. It was in the papers, it was in the news. I appreciated the fact, I was aware of the fact that Evander would have probably rather played somewhere else, and had a full understanding of when that contract expired he would be playing somewhere else. I think he did as well as he could have to try to make it work. In his mind it just wasn't, and I think he also felt that it was never going to," said Maurice. Kane was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres last February after an incident with teammates erupted when Kane reportedly showed up late for a team meeting and not in proper attire. Following that, Kane elected to have doctor-recommended season-ending shoulder surgery. Maurice likened the relationship to a difficult marriage that has now ended amicably but it might not feel so amicable on Jan. 10. Kane, who is currently out for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury, is expected to be back and suiting up for the Buffalo Sabres as they make their only appearance in Winnipeg this season. JETS BLOG: How does Nic Petan develop in the press box? Los Angeles scored 3 times in final frame of game against Winnipeg By Adam Wazny, for CBC News Tuesday night, Nic Petan watched from the press box as the Winnipeg Jets skated to a 4-1 loss against the Los Angeles Kings. It was the second time in four games Petan was a healthy scratch, replaced by the bigger, physical presence of Anthony Peluso on the fourth line. For those keeping score at home, Winnipeg has yet to win this year when making this 'skill for strength' switch. Let's leave the arguments on the merits of strength for another time right now and focus on the skill. Is this really the best development plan for Petan?

12 Petan, 20, has been a highly touted prospect since the Jets drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He's loaded with offensive ability. But, as anyone who follows the club knows, the subject of Petan comes with this automatic point of caution: his size. He's listed at five-feet-nine-inches tall and 179 pounds. Yes, those measurements are generous. Despite this tired narrative, Winnipeg gave him more than enough opportunity to earn a spot on the NHL roster. The club made a choice to not bring in much competition for Petan and his showing in training camp justified that decision. He was better than Matt Halischuk, Thomas Raffl and Matt Fraser in camp. That's why Petan is on the Jets roster. If you're sensing a "but," here it is. Petan has played seven games, has just the one goal, and for the most part has remained glued next to Andrew Copp and Chris Thorburn on the fourth line. He is averaging 9:34 of ice time, with 1:27 of that coming on the power play. The math reveals he is averaging just over eight minutes of ice at even strength. Considering Winnipeg's history of fourth line usage, that's pretty good. The playing time is only half of the story, though. Who he's playing with and the role he's being asked to play is where the waters get murky. Petan's skill-set isn't being fully realized skating next to Copp and Thorburn, and one wonders what his production would look like if afforded the same luxury fellow rookie Nikolaj Ehlers has next to him. Offensive guys seem to thrive alongside other offensive players, for some reason. Right now, though, there's no room for Petan above him. It feels like the organization is holding onto Petan at the NHL level in case there's an injury. If that's the case, why not get him some real even strength minutes in a Top 6 role with the Manitoba Moose while waiting for the inevitable injury bug to arrive? The popcorn and ice cream in the press box during Jets games is pretty good and all that, but the Moose would be a better development option for Petan at this point, wouldn't it? Petan playing as a central offensive piece on the farm could also serve another purpose for the organization: he might be able to help a few of the other young forward prospects (Joel Armia, Chase De Leo, Scott Kosmachuk) find their offence. The Moose have six goals in six games and are winless to open the season, with two defencemen leading the club in points and goals (Brenden Kichton has four points; Jay Harrison has two goals). The old AHL adage goes like this: 'When the big club is happy, everyone is happy.' Understanding that, the lack of production inside the Moose quarters probably isn't a big concern for the organization.

13 How Petan is developing in his first year of pro hockey should be, but he appears stuck in the middle: a little too good to be sent down to the Moose, not good enough to beat out another forward on the Jets roster. And if the club sees a physical team on the schedule then he's probably going to be in the press box. Petan should be playing more if not in Winnipeg, then in Manitoba. By the way, Peluso played 9:16 Tuesday night.