|
REVEALED: Noel's Letter he Left Maurice |
|
|
|
|
|
It's taken some time, a lot of effort but the letter Claude Noel left for Paul Maurice has finally surfaced. It was handwritten and rather dirty when uncovered but the team here has taken the time piece it back together. Below is our transcription of something that may or may not have been said.
Dear Paul,
I trust you have arrived in Winnipeg and have found your way to my...errr your new office. I want you to know that I have many heavy feelings as I depart this club but it’s your group now so you better pray late at night like I did that they’ll start to listen. If you can find success and lead this club to joyville then I bet you can also get Buff on the Atkins diet.
Firstly you should know there are many good people here and all of them have worked with me to get this team back on track. The problem is those tracks are buried in snow, heavy snow. It’s Winnipeg so you probably understand that, as it was colder than a witch’s tit today. That’s also the going to be the attitude of my wife when I explain we’re probably heading back to the AHL again, but I digress.
Winnipeg is an interesting city, the people here are passionate about hockey, football, ice fishing and these bloody Jeannie’s cakes. All I hear ‘oooh the Queen of England like them’- well la-di-freaking-da! Don’t ask me what a ‘booter’ is and I have know idea what’s up in Transcona either.
It can be a tough bunch of fans as you know from your time on TSN covering the NHL. They’ll go after an opposition player fast and man can they get loud in this building. It makes for a fun environment but I think Pavelec has trouble with noise, just add it to the list of issues.
As I mentioned before there are some good people here, in and out of the organization. First thing you might notice from your former job is how TNSE (True North Sports and Entertainmnet) has nearly identical initials as TSN. You’d best get a twitter handle and follow Dreger that way you can find out when you get fired. Hell I had to see Lawless’s twitter account to know we resigned Kane. Gary’s also in the TSN family but he’s a pretty harmless guy- his partner Hustler is a far cry. The man is more myth than legend and really only a danger to himself. If you frequent 7-11 after 3am on weekends tell Hustler I say ‘hi’.
The other media here are good folks, Ed Tait, Ken Wiebe, Tim Campbell, Kirk Penton and the rest although Paul Friesen seems like he could use hug now and then. One bit of advice, they get a bit uppity with rhetorical questions as answers.
As I said before- Winnipeg’s a good place with lots of interesting attractions although I recommend a different breakfast place than Stellas- long story. Oh yeah, doesn’t help under-tip anywhere either. If you’re feeling frisky the Green Room is pretty favourable to Jets types, I’ve heard a Russian accent helps but I think Ladd was trying to pull a fast one on me.
Speaking of Ladd I should let you in on some stuff with the team, as that’s the reason you’re here, and I guess why I’m gone. I don’t have any hard feelings towards the players; I knew this job was a process, hopefully with your engagement it goes better. I mentioned Pavelec already but remember one more thing: glove hand. Trouba is a good kid and is a quick study for the game; he might be better than Bogosian already. Those two are roommates so just consider that reality at times. Toby Enstrom is a great guy, does this funny thing with his stick when he receives passes. It’s a bit phallic and all but you know the Swedes right, everything has to be a bit different. We just got an Ikea last year-what’s up with all that pickled herring?
Speaking of different let me tell you about James Wright. I always liked those ‘think different’ Apple ads and I figured the way I used Wright might get my face on one some day. You know, for being a maverick with usage of players with limited talent or upside. Oh well, I guess I got a bitten on that one.
There’s some talent in these forwards and if Bambi...um I mean Scheifele can pull it together there’s some real upside. Back when he was struggling in the early part of the season some one spray-painted my garage with #scheifeledown. Maybe that’s code for get him in the AHL?
You core group of guys has some speed I think, Wheeler, Kane, Little and Frolik, and Ladd are all good on their feet. If you can’t get Wheeler going though his best usage is post game. Send him out to the media wolves and he’ll buy enough time for everyone to get showered and changed as well as prepared on who is using what clichés so there are no repeats.
Kane is going to be your superstar but he’s not there yet. Perhaps if he put as much time into his east-west game as his fashion sense he’d be there now. Get him a haircut sometime if you want the city to talk about something other than a 5 game winless streak.
I mentioned Buff before and you will see that I have him at forward right now. If you keep him there I want credit for that okay? You can use him anywhere and he has game that few guys in the NHL possess. Best to keep him from being too close to his own net though, I’ve read the papers and apparently he’s the problem on the team.
The city is full of passionate fans and probably has more stats geek bloggers per capita than any other city. I never understood why the hell these guys were so interested in Corsica- I know winters are long and all but it’s relentless. Maybe it’s that proximity to Italy and how often this team delivers pizzas up the middle of the ice? I think one of these guys started some term called #noelogic- do you think that means ‘no logic’ ‘Noel logic’ or both?
I’m not sure if I can offer you any advice on what I’ve left you with in this group, I mean I had Thorburn on the second line so you know I was running low on options. They’re a good group, at least that’s what reminded myself to keep what little sanity had. They are, not an easy group and I think that’s fair. I tried to get them to believe in some core values, something they could hang their hat on but that didn’t work, they never seemed to be able to manage the game. As you know Paul everything is a process, and if you can’t execute your game plan, play heavy and have some puck management it’s tough for any coach.
Finally enjoy this organization; it’s made up of people who care. Fuelled by Passion is their motto, I think the team fooled them a few times and I’m paying the price but that’s all water under the bridge. Say ‘hi’ to Chevy for me and tell him he still owes me weekend at his cottage on Lake of the Woods, I’d like some time alone on a boat with him in a secluded spot.
Good luck to you Paul and remember, always enjoy the win.
Yours truly,
Claude
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
Join the Discussion:
»