Rich

You can't really just take Slater's 1.6M and give to an existing player on the roster as you still have to put a body in Slaters place. If that replacement happens to be Copp, well his contract is just under $1M, so that only leaves 600k to give to one of those other players.

I do. It is NHL news.

Just heard on TSN, they had Kevin Donnelly (I think it was him, but a True North representative) on. He basically said, the Jets being the new kids on the block, they wouldn't dream of asking the league to wear white at home. But they do encourage the fans to wear white for the tradition.

Wonder if this means Connor gets the start against the Flames? Or is he being called up as insurance over the playoffs?

I think people are just waiting for the bottom to fallout with Pavs (which historically has always happened). The guy has two shutouts in a row. Nothing to complain about that, but I don't think many people consider him to be the long term answer in net. But we can enjoy this ride for as long as it lasts.

verVery reactionary decision making. Scoring is down for one season and full blown panic set in. Honestly! Full blown panic?! Am I missing something? Where are the huge groundbreaking changes? The biggest change is to the convert, which is what, 5% of the game?The change to how defensive backs can play against receivers is one that should have happened long ago, along with the refs putting the ball into play quicker. Everything else could be changed and any other year, no one would blink. Is everyone really that opposed to changing where converts are scrimmaged or is it something else? Because I'm not seeing it. It will still be CFL football. We won't know for sure until we get through the season on what the impact to the converts are going to be. Will coaches start running for 2 points more? How many more misses will there be on the single? There may be no impact with this, or there may be quite a few if a lot of 7's are turned into 6's and 8's. Sure it was rare to miss a single the way the game was played before, but to me a TD is pretty much a gimme 7 points with a chance to turn it to 8 when you needed it. But that was the point of the convert. To give you a chance at 2 when you needed it. Not sure this change was really needed to introduce more misses or more 2's. The change to PI concerns me a whole lot more. This is going to either open the game right up (which may or may not be a bad thing), or more then likely you are going to see a plethora of penalties called in the first half of the season before an internal memo is drafted telling the refs to tone down the PI calls because it is slowing down and taking the excitement out of the game. I don't think I like the changes to punt coverages either. Then again maybe I'm just getting to be an old curmudgeon who doesn't need a bunch of offence to enjoy a game. I like a good defensive battle. Games tend to stay closer, and you always have a chance to pull out a win at the end. I think this could mean a whole lot more blowouts next year. I'll take a close game with lower scoring over a blowout any day.

I wish they would have waited at least one more year to see if the lower scoring was a continuing trend or a blip due to expansion before implementing some of the more drastic changes. Wonder how many will stick and which ones will revert back next season.

White shows up much better when everyone is wearing it then the dark blue. Don't mess with tradition. The whiteouts were huge with Jets 1.0

I'm guessing they don't technically own the land the stadium is on (UofM retained the rights to that?) But the stadium itself and all the equipment in it is an asset that they are getting equity in. Without the land, I'm not sure it will ever be worth similar to what they got when they sold the old stadium off, but they own the structure and all the assets inside. The Bombers, as an entity, don't need to post a profit. They need to break even / make enough money to have a rainy day fund and be sustainable long term. As was mentioned, the mortgage payments are a fixed cost every year and are only going to get "cheaper" as inflation increases their revenue over time. So many people have claimed that they would never make a payment and the loan would be forgiven. They came awfully close to making enough money to pay the whole thing in the first year (technically second since they deferred last year). It should only get easier here on out. Add in playoff and Grey Cup revenues and they are looking to be in decent shape. The challenge will be if they continue to do poorly in the standings and attendance dips, but with the new TV deal, gate revenue isn't as big a percentage of their pie as it used to be, so that risk is mitigated a little bit.

Yeah I'm trying to figure that out. If you look at the actual PDF report, it looks like a half a million loss. But they also said they were able to increase the reserve fund by 500k

http://www.bluebombers.com/article/wfc-posts-39-million-profit-in-2014

If these teams happen to meet in the playoffs, there will be no one left standing at the end of it. Always a rough physical game between these two.

I think you do with Edmonton what you accuse Jets fans doing with the Jets.

I was done with this thread, but noticed you mis-quoting what I said.Your way of thinking is keeping Pavelec out of fear that there's nothing better available. I guarantee there's better out there. How can we do worse than the worst starting goalie over the last few years? Can't do any worse. Think about that...can't do any worse than the worst. Bad decisions are made out of fear and that's what lead to Chevy's decision to sign Pavelec to that crippling extension. Read some of the articles in the links I posted earlier. There are always league average goalies available either through trade or free agency. Chevy has done an excellent job with the Jets, but Pavelec was a major mistake. Think about it another way. What's the cost/benefit of keeping Pavelec vs buying him out? Buyout costs about $6 million over two years, and minimal cap impact because we're not a cap team. How many home playoff games in revenue is TNSE losing out on (or lost already) by keeping Pavelec? That's extremely difficult to project, but you could argue that buying out Pavelec would pay for itself, and possibly even result in a profit. Saying signing another journeyman / UFA goalie will get the Jets into the playoffs so it makes sense to buy Pavelec out is a huge stretch. Look at Dallas and Colorado. Playoff teams last year and out of the playoffs this year. The margin of error and difference between the bottom 4 teams that make the playoffs and the top 4 teams that miss the playoffs in each conference is so small that simply replacing a goalie will not guarantee you make it. So many other things go into it during the course of a season. (Yes I know this will be your argument for getting a different goalie). Your darn right my reasons for keeping Pavelec is fear that there is nothing better. You keep saying how easy it is to go out and get another goalie, and this is one of the biggest issues I have with your arguments. Free agency is unpredictable. Are there goalies available? Yes. Does it mean the Jets are going to automatically going to get one? No. If you haven't noticed, Winnipeg isn't one of the choice off season destinations. Small market team ... cold climate ... live in a fish bowl .... team has a history of not making the playoffs ... I'm sure we are on top of the short list of all free agents. So the other option is trade for one. Getting rid of Pavelec BEFORE you go out and make that trade is foolish, because all the other GMs will know you are hooped and will bend you over to trade you a goalie that they don't want (assuming they have 2 starting calibre goalies ... if they only have 1 why the hell would they trade it). If we can upgrade Pavelec, great. But you don't put yourself in a position of weakness. You upgrade first.

Apparently Toby is only a semi competent backup

I thought you were done with this thread? When there are only 30 starting goaltenders in the league, League average is pretty much upper end. Funny how when someone can't win an argument they need to pull the "moderator" card like it is an abuse of powers to have an open debate on these forums. Maybe because we run the site we shouldn't post on it. Replace my post of "legit upper end starting goalie" with "average starting goalie" and it comes out to the same thing. But you still ignore all the other arguments I've made. Why do you think no one even drafts goalies in the first round anymore. They are so hit and miss with different systems, grooming, getting their shot at the right time, etc, that it is the one position that is near impossible to predict, unless you are getting one of the upper echelon proven goalies. Buying out Pavelec until there is a viable replacement that is a clear upgrade is not an option. Teams with proven goalies aren't going to trade them because then they will be in the exact same position the Jets are in now. But you don't want to hear that. You want to just get rid of Pavelec and assume there *must* be a deal to get a better goalie out there.

Yes I am aware of non-compliance buyouts and I told you why it would be a poor decision to use one over sending Pavelec down to the farm (if we were to decide you didn't want him anymore). And again you are living in your fantasy world of signing guys who were available in the past, not who is available in the now. Or throwing out statements like "I'm sure there is someone we can trade for". People here aren't overly happy with Pavelec, they just understand the realities of finding a legit upper end starting goalie in the NHL. You seem to miss that point.

Some of these suggestions here are ridiculous. In a previous post I suggested that TNSE buyout Pavelec, then sign or trade for a "league average" gosltender for the next couple years until Hellebuyck is ready. Price and Rinne are elite goaltenders. All I'm asking for is league average. Why would we buyout Pavelec? You do know the compliance buyouts from the lockout are over? And while you can technically still buy a player out, you don't get the benefits of no cap hit. Teams just never buy players out, and there is a reason for that. If the Jets decide they don't want Pavelec anymore, he will be sent to the minors in the hopes that A) Someone would pick him up off waivers or Want to trade for him down the road when injuries hit. He only has two years left so it would be the more prudent thing to do. As for signing or trading for a better then "average" goalie, you do realize that by definition half the goalies out there are below average. So who is going to trade us an "above average" goalie, and what are you prepared to give up to get him? Especially when you've said yourself you just want a stop gap for a couple of years. As for free agents, here are a few of the higher profile goalie free agents this year, which do you want that you would consider "better then average" Antti Niemi (whose stats this year are close to but a little worse then Pavelec), Viktor Fasth, Josh Harding, Karri Ramo, Devan Dubnyk (Be shocked if Minnesota doesn't sign him before UFA starts), Niemi is probably the most interesting of those names (Dubnyk aside), but the Jets aren't going to be looking to spend a whole lot of money after either buying Pavelec out or paying for his salary in the minors, and they would also be competing with other teams on salary out there. And I wouldn't say Niemi is a slam dunk of a goalie either, Goalies are such a strange bunch. Dubnyk was a journeyman goalie after being mired in Edmonton before going to Nashville and Arizona. He was so highly thought of (definitely would have been considered below "league average" ) that his current contract is for 800k with Arizona before being traded to Minnesota where he had his magical resurgence in front of that Minny D. It is so easy to sit there and say Pavelec is below average and we should trade or sign better. In practice it is much harder, with goalies more so then any other position. Proven consistent goalies just aren't traded (unless you are dysfunctional like Vancouver, but they traded away their goalies already). UFA goalies are going to be hit and miss, you are likely going to be taking a chance on a below average goalie hoping he becomes something better under your team. Minnesota lucked out with that scenario because of injuries and being forced to having to trade for Dubnyk. Pavelec isn't going anywhere until the Jets know for sure they have something better then him. Otherwise you are just the Bombers who traded away Kevin Glenn because everyone hated him and were stuck with Lefors at QB. In reality, where NHL GMs have to do their jobs, it isn't as easy as a snap of the fingers to trade for or sign a proven "better then average goalie" - there is only about 15 of those and most teams aren't trading them, especially when you've admitted yourself you just want one as a stop gap until the younger kids come up. We aren't going to be giving up a whole lot of assets in that scenario.

So you think $4 million per season for a backup goalie is reasonable? If Pavelec were a league average goalie I'd have no problem with his contract. But Pavs is below league average. Over his career he lets in one additional goal every 3rd game, compared to a league average goalie. That's crippling. League average salary (not cap hit) for starting goalies is $5.16M Pavelecs salary is $3.75M He ranks 21st in terms of salary for starting goalies. He is pretty much where he belongs. You can't look at things in a fishbowl and complain how much we pay him, but it was a very reasonable salary they signed him to when he was still a younger goalie with potential. His salary doesn't handcuff the team. If we were paying him $6.7M this year and $6.8M next year like Cam Ward makes, you'd have more reason to complain at his salary. Fine then, forget about his salary. Point is we're paying him as a starter and he plain sucks. He's terrible and his stats prove it. I'm shocked how many Jets fans on here are supportive of having a terrible goaltender. Not really a Pavelec supporter. He is too inconsistent. He has bad instincts on what he does when the puck is behind the net. Don't think he will be here past the end of this contract.

So you think $4 million per season for a backup goalie is reasonable? If Pavelec were a league average goalie I'd have no problem with his contract. But Pavs is below league average. Over his career he lets in one additional goal every 3rd game, compared to a league average goalie. That's crippling. League average salary (not cap hit) for starting goalies is $5.16M Pavelecs salary is $3.75M He ranks 21st in terms of salary for starting goalies. He is pretty much where he belongs. You can't look at things in a fishbowl and complain how much we pay him, but it was a very reasonable salary they signed him to when he was still a younger goalie with potential. His salary doesn't handcuff the team. If we were paying him $6.7M this year and $6.8M next year like Cam Ward makes, you'd have more reason to complain at his salary.

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My guess is Clitsome is done. Long term IR. The back problems he has had aren't good.

I'm cheering for a clean win .... need a 2 point game here, not 3.

I know its easy to say that the NHL money will be there eventually, even if he waits. But you are offering a 20 year old kid almost a million dollars a year to come up to the big leagues (less if he is sent down to the AHL next year, but it will still be pretty damn good money). That in itself makes it hard to say no to.