HardCoreBlue

Compared directly to other goalies nothing about Pav or his deal will look favourable. However when you view it within the context of the Jets' build-thru-the-draft philosophy it isn't the disaster some make it out to be. If they are going to stick to their guns on avoiding free agents with high price tags, and it looks like they will, then consider the following points: - When the deal was signed the Jets didn't really have any prospects at goalie. - While Pav will never ever ever ever be an elite NHL goalie, I can see what Chevy sees in that he could become a pretty good one. He will need better coaching to get a handle on his rebound control and he will have to apply himself in the offseason. This may never happen, but if it does I can see him being a middle of the pack NHL goalie. - The timeline on the development of our prospects is still long enough that the length of Pav's contract is a non-issue. Of the three guys we have my money's on Hellebuyck as our future starter, but that doesn't mean it's happening this September. More likely in the 2016/17 season after a season with the Icecaps and a season as backup. Comrie seems to be less ready than Hellebuyck right now. Hutch is still entirely unproven at the NHL level. If he can put together a nice run in the playoffs he might make Montoya expendable, but he does not push Pav out of his job. By the time any or all of these guys are ready to start in the NHL there will probably only be a year left on Pav's contract. If necessary we can eat that. - The non-goalie prospects on this team are still a year or two away from impacting the Jets' fortunes in a meaningful manner. This team is not likely to be a playoff team this season or next. That will piss some people off, but if it's part of the process of turning the sad-sack Thrashers into perrenial cup contenders then I can wait. Jets 1.0 gave us 17 years of scraping into the playoffs only to flame out in the first round over and over again. Making the playoffs this season is a short-sighted goal. - Montaya was the 6th overall pick in 2004 (Ladd was 4th and Wheeler 5th) and the highest rated goalie prospect of that draft year. He has been typecast as a backup at the NHL level. While he's currently scheduled to become a free agent, IF the Jets re-sign him (Hutch's playoff performance is probably the biggest deciding factor) he potentially could take over the #1 job if Pav falters once again. Chevy/Maurice aren't annointing Pav as an undisputed starter when they call him the man going into next year; they are trying to cut out the legs of the news hacks in wpg who want to get pageviews by crying "goaltending controversy" everytime Pav lets in a bad goal. They have eyes. They know who's playing well and who isn't. They also want to be driving the bus, not letting the ginger wonder over at the Winnipeg Stunned try and make the coaching decisions. None of this sounds particularly appetizing in the short term. Pav remains the starter. He might not get better. The Jets will continue to finish 10th in their conference. When you step back and look at the long term philosophy it is possible to say that neither Pavelec's play or his contract go against the Jets plan for building a winner, and that rolling the dice on him being the goalie of the future was never really the high-stakes gamble that it seemed like at first glance. While it would be nice for Jets fans if Pav would play better, things are still largely going according to plan. And if you really want to take a long term view, Pav's play might be helping build this franchise thru higher draft picks. Compared directly to other goalies nothing about Pav or his deal will look favourable. However when you view it within the context of the Jets' build-thru-the-draft philosophy it isn't the disaster some make it out to be. If they are going to stick to their guns on avoiding free agents with high price tags, and it looks like they will, then consider the following points: - When the deal was signed the Jets didn't really have any prospects at goalie. - While Pav will never ever ever ever be an elite NHL goalie, I can see what Chevy sees in that he could become a pretty good one. He will need better coaching to get a handle on his rebound control and he will have to apply himself in the offseason. This may never happen, but if it does I can see him being a middle of the pack NHL goalie. - The timeline on the development of our prospects is still long enough that the length of Pav's contract is a non-issue. Of the three guys we have my money's on Hellebuyck as our future starter, but that doesn't mean it's happening this September. More likely in the 2016/17 season after a season with the Icecaps and a season as backup. Comrie seems to be less ready than Hellebuyck right now. Hutch is still entirely unproven at the NHL level. If he can put together a nice run in the playoffs he might make Montoya expendable, but he does not push Pav out of his job. By the time any or all of these guys are ready to start in the NHL there will probably only be a year left on Pav's contract. If necessary we can eat that. - The non-goalie prospects on this team are still a year or two away from impacting the Jets' fortunes in a meaningful manner. This team is not likely to be a playoff team this season or next. That will piss some people off, but if it's part of the process of turning the sad-sack Thrashers into perrenial cup contenders then I can wait. Jets 1.0 gave us 17 years of scraping into the playoffs only to flame out in the first round over and over again. Making the playoffs this season is a short-sighted goal. - Montaya was the 6th overall pick in 2004 (Ladd was 4th and Wheeler 5th) and the highest rated goalie prospect of that draft year. He has been typecast as a backup at the NHL level. While he's currently scheduled to become a free agent, IF the Jets re-sign him (Hutch's playoff performance is probably the biggest deciding factor) he potentially could take over the #1 job if Pav falters once again. Chevy/Maurice aren't annointing Pav as an undisputed starter when they call him the man going into next year; they are trying to cut out the legs of the news hacks in wpg who want to get pageviews by crying "goaltending controversy" everytime Pav lets in a bad goal. They have eyes. They know who's playing well and who isn't. They also want to be driving the bus, not letting the ginger wonder over at the Winnipeg Stunned try and make the coaching decisions. None of this sounds particularly appetizing in the short term. Pav remains the starter. He might not get better. The Jets will continue to finish 10th in their conference. When you step back and look at the long term philosophy it is possible to say that neither Pavelec's play or his contract go against the Jets plan for building a winner, and that rolling the dice on him being the goalie of the future was never really the high-stakes gamble that it seemed like at first glance. While it would be nice for Jets fans if Pav would play better, things are still largely going according to plan. And if you really want to take a long term view, Pav's play might be helping build this franchise thru higher draft picks. Wow, nice way to package it, clever :-)

I was excited to see him play last season... very disappointed by the pre-season injury Agreed, even he was so excited about camp last season, which made me feel worse for him when he sustained his injury. As I haven't seen him play and how he handles himself, any worries about his size (I saw he was listed at 5'9) when playing in the CFL?

Guys make $45,000 a year & you want to break them? That's utterly ridiculous. Why not just find another league to follow? If Cohon's figures are in fact true in his release, the league average is just shy of $93,000. That's plenty. As a hardcore CFL fan, I struggle with how to really determine if a fair agreement is in place to address short, mid and long term needs. I do know the obvious, there has to be a balance of give and takes on both sides and Mr. Cohon going around the Union, straight to the players (and public), getting reaction, has taken it to the next level.

Other than your observation of your stoner friends, what evidence do you have to suggest this is true?

Which is baffling to me when it comes specifically to him. I understand and appreciate why GM's do this, i.e., 'you're my guy' but it's not warranted for him imo. It also drove me nuts that Pavelec implied in the Media that Noel didn't tell him how great he was unlike how Maurice does. Please . . .

I feel better now at our RB position, at the very least competition to push our existing RB's.

Happens to all of us, some more than others

That crosscheck he took in the back of the head from Staal should have been a suspension and he didn't even get a minor. He tears it up in the regular season b/c the refs adhere to the rulebook. When it's inexplicably tossed away in the playoffs he gets mugged and loses his cool. He's too emotional and doesn't play nearly as well when he's mad. The garbage he has to put up with is what makes me want the Pens to pick up somebody with a healthy dose of crazy in their game. Maybe the thought of playing against a guy who wouldn't think twice about putting Lundquist in the hospital would stop Staal from doing something stupid like that. I actually see it different. I think playoff games nowadays are called more closely than they have every been. Yes missed calls still happen which is frustrating, but at least refs whistles usually still work when the game is close in the later stages of the game.

I like both these guys but geez seems very thin considering our current tinkering with our O-line. My apologies for not knowing this but what other RB's will be attending training camp?

Hopefully between whistles.

Will Sears last the season is the rhetorical and obvious question I have. I sure hope so.

Although some seem to think there is no pressure on Burris this year because its an expansion team with low expectations, I think he has a lot to shoulder this year inhow he carries himself as a leader. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds this season.

Suber needs a quick start this year to get his shine on early.

And I hate to agree, but here we are Same reason I voiced on the Lapolice thread, bringing Price here would not happen if indeed our new regime are true to their words when it comes to leadership, culture etc.

Good God. Come on. You're smarter than that. "I dont hate you, just the way you were born". Its like KKK who now like the "We don't hate black people, we just love white people" BS. Price is the worst kind of coward. He's just religious enough to know his hick opinion is in the bible but too stupid to realise the bible is the worst source for supporting an opinion like this. And, worst kind of coward because he cant even own his opinion fully. Imagine if, in 2014, he tweeted "nothing personal. I like you as a person but my faith doesn't allow me to support black people (or women, or whatever)". Its the same thing. This is the human rights cause of our time like equal rights for minorities and women were previously. Should have cut him. My guess is that's what the Stampeder organization is presently considering as one of it's options in how they will handle it 'internally'.

Can't see that happening regardless of actual benefit. The optics would be terrible. We finally get him off the books then promptly put him back on and would cut against the grain in creating a new culture led by this new regime.

Nothing against you, but that in itself, is a sad statement. No offence taken. I just know hundreds -- and that is not an exaggeration -- of men over 35 who have turned their lives around with a similar protocol. Granted that isn't the same as a 22 year old athlete taking Winstrol to bang out more reps in a combine test, but I think most lay people have absolutely no idea what PED's do. And more importantly, what they DON'T do. Funny you say that. I remember listening to Barry Bonds, when asked at the time about his alleged use of PED's, explain that PED's can't help with eye-hand coordination, proper way to hit/field the ball etc. implying either you have these superior skills or you don't, PED's won't solve that for you. I thought this was a creative, albeit limited, argument.

1. I work in the field. Have for 20 years. 2. Steroids are not "unhealthy." Supra physiologic doses, sure, but not normal doses. Fact is they are extremely safe when used under the guidance of a medical professional. 99.9% of athletes don't do that though, as 99.9% of athletes wouldn't qualify for a legit script. Some older guys might though. 3. Once you understand and respect the drugs and get past all the fear mongering and misinformation you see them for what they are -- drugs with an intended purpose. It's like Vicodin. If you need it, it's a God send. Use it as a party drug or take 10 a day and you have problems. That's fairly cryptic, what field would that be? Because there is more than one field that offers important perspective to this issue of steriod use in sport. Also, curious with your #3, what point exactly are you trying to make in relation to Quinn Smith's predicament? I work in training/fitness, with roots in higher-level athletics. I am not commenting on the issue of drugs in sports. If a sport is mandated to be drug free and you geared up anyway and got caught, that's on you. If you legitimately need the stuff, get a script and contact your union rep. But none of that is the drugs' fault. Its the players. But the media blames the drugs. I don't really know Quinn's predicament. If you got dinged for Winny then accept your punishment like a man. Supplement companies used to taint their stuff with methyl test and even clenbuterol back in the day, but those days are done. I did hear a Gaspari product had traces of a legit anti-estrogen though. I hate that whole industry. See your doctor -- if you have low T, get a legit script and go on good, clean medication with doctors monitoring. Okay, I have a better understanding of where you're coming from. The complexity with steriod use, whether for medical purposes, performance enhancement in sport, fitness industry, supplement use etc is that these different scenarios usually don't work in isolation from one another. This can cause misinformation, confusion, stereotyping, guilt by association, responsibility deflection etc).

1. I work in the field. Have for 20 years. 2. Steroids are not "unhealthy." Supra physiologic doses, sure, but not normal doses. Fact is they are extremely safe when used under the guidance of a medical professional. 99.9% of athletes don't do that though, as 99.9% of athletes wouldn't qualify for a legit script. Some older guys might though. 3. Once you understand and respect the drugs and get past all the fear mongering and misinformation you see them for what they are -- drugs with an intended purpose. It's like Vicodin. If you need it, it's a God send. Use it as a party drug or take 10 a day and you have problems. That's fairly cryptic, what field would that be? Because there is more than one field that offers important perspective to this issue of steriod use in sport. Also, curious with your #3, what point exactly are you trying to make in relation to Quinn Smith's predicament?

Appreciate the image etched in my mind . . .

True dat.

I don't think any professional league distinguishes between guilt and guilt with intent. It is not up to them to determine intent. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that even if he showed them a picture of a needle in his butt, he'd be penalized the same. To be honest, all this "I didn't know" stuff is just window dressing anyways. If you're taking stanozolol, the chances that you didn't know it are incredibly slim and anyone in professional sports would know that. They'll deflect and claim ignorance, but the reality of the situation is that if he tested positive, it's not because he didn't know he was taking it, it's because he ****** up his cycle. Agree. By knowingly I mean his story will look like swiss cheese, full of inconsistencies, lacking logic, contradictions and not so much a smoking gun of pictures and needle holes.

He apparently did really well but they also took him out of the game and replaced him with an import on roughly half the snaps. We don't have the luxury of doing that unless we're rotating Canucks all over the place, which I suppose we'll have to do anyways. I'd personally rather see us use a rotation of guys like Newman, Muamba and Thomas and stick with an every down work horse MLB If I had my way, I'd minimize the use of rotation schemes but if I had to choose, I'd pick the middle linebacker spot(s) as my guy(s) who never leaves the field.

If it's determined he knowingly took this banned substance, can the CFL governing body take more of a hardline stance other than mandatory testing and harsh words? If they can, they should and send a message to all players/CFL teams that this will not be tolerated even it it means top talent not playing in this league. If they don't follow-through on where they stand with performance enhancing drugs, that also sends a message but with a different meaning.

I've never understood that. What's the risk of picking every round? Is the cupboard that bare to pass?