WWYDW: What To Do With Paul Maurice?

As you were looking at the lineups for the Jets and Red Wings game, how excited were you that Paul Maurice had Chris Thorburn in the lineup? Marko Dano, an exciting bottom-six presence, sat in the press box while Thorburn did his thing.

Does Paul Maurice gain anything by playing the grizzled veteran?

No. In fact, the Jets should be playing some of the younger players more to see what they have. Now that the Jets have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, the focus should turn to development. The Jets have a handful of young players that should be eating up bottom-six minutes, instead of a veteran like Thorburn. Not only does playing the youngsters let the Jets get an early sneak peak at next year’s training camp, but it helps show the Jets if they need to know pursue depth players in free agency if these young players aren’t cutting it. Thorburn is an expiring free agent that likely won’t return next season, what’s the point of playing him?-

For example, Dano has had a few injuries this past season and we have not gotten a full picture of what he is truly capable of, but he would immediately be a better option for the Jets. Why not see if Kyle Connor and/or Jack Roslovic are ready for the big leagues? We saw Connor briefly play at the beginning of the year, but now is the time to give him more opportunity and see if he can run with it. The Jets have no clue if Roslovic is ready for the NHL and the only way to find out is to throw him into action.

Having more young players around gives fans something to cheer for. For example, look at the Canucks, who are eliminated from playoff contention, and how they have brought Brock Boeser into the lineup and created a lot of buzz with their fans in the process.

Along with the questionable roster decisions, the Jets’ systems are also a mess. Oftentimes you’ll find players that look like they have no clue who to cover, especially in the defensive zone. The powerplay sits at 19th, but one could wonder how much more efficiently it would be if Patrik Laine had been utilized better. The penalty kill is a disaster, as it currently sits second last amongst the league.

While the Jets do have a depleted lineup up front, there’s no excuse to playing Thorburn over better and younger options. There’s plenty of reasons the Jets should part with Paul Maurice, yet his record of 97-77-26 isn’t dreadful.

Ken Hitchcock, Gerard Gallant and Jack Capuano are some of the coaches who are currently available and not coaching anywhere. Lindy Ruff and Willie Desjardins are two coaches that could be on the hot seat and should be quickly snatched up with other coaching gigs. Mark Crawford is currently working as an assistant coach for the Senators.

At the very least, the Jets should take a peak of what’s out there on the open market.

Is it time to let Paul Maurice go or does he get an extremely short leash for the 2017-18 season?

If Maurice should be let go, who replaces him?