Let’s face it, the Winnipeg Jets aren’t a perfect hockey club. I’d argue that they are one of the better ran teams in the National Hockey League, but not “perfect” and there are certainly things I’d do different if I was in charge. It isn’t a bad thing to want change either. Keeping things the same as they always have been leads to complacency, and complacency in hockey leads to ends of sell-out streaks and general malaise about the organization in general.
To their credit, True North Sports seem to understand this and almost every year it seems like they come out with a small list of changes to various aspects of the arena and game presentation with the idea of keeping fans happy and interested.
But not everyone cares about an on-ice projector or cheaper beer prices. With that in mind we posed a hypothetical to you all on Tuesday through our twitter feed:
Mark Chipman approaches and wants you to make one single change to the Jets. Anything about the team, the arena, the players or staff, you get to have your say on one thing alone.
What would you change?
I was prepared to see at least one or two “I wouldn’t change a thing” takes, but thankfully there were none to be found. It’s ok to want change even if it’s a minor one. A fan can still be very appreciative of what they have, but still want to see something different, even if it’s something like changing which jerseys are worn on the ice which was a popular opinion…
And while the Jets don’t have a direct say in the matter, some of you want to see the home team wear the white jersey which would certainly make the playoff White-Out make a little more sense.
(Although I maintain having the Jets wear blue in an arena full of fans clad in white, against an opposing team in white jerseys leads to some great imagery where the Jets stand out even more.)
Some that responded wanted the game to be more affordable for people to go to or at the very least give a little bit more for what people are paying now…
A lot of you wanted a bigger Bell MTS Place… Or maybe just a new and bigger arena period…
And at least one of you pointed out the somewhat weird blue lighting that the arena uses and how that really should be nixed.
Many of you turned your attention to the personnel with the team, and somewhat predictably, to the head coach Paul Maurice…
And some of you thought that maybe the assistants should go, with one of you having some replacements in mind…
And for maybe the most “this might be awkward, but..” reply, who else but noted “abrasive but astute” Jets Twitter regular Tony who would answer a question from Mark Chipman with something that Mark Chipman should do…
Check out the tweet and all the replies to it for a full list of different ideas (Trading @Blake Wheeler, improving the defense, new playoff song) and if you haven’t already, let us know your thoughts below in the comments section or on either our Twitter feed or Facebook page!