Do Better, Media

I read a lot of news on twitter mostly about the Montreal Canadiens (Habs) or the Winnipeg Jets. Lately there have been numerous comments from players on the Habs about how to watch the game. The latest one was Subban saying that if you think he is bad on defence you that you are not watching enough or not paying attention. The Habs players have been on the media for over a week about how the game is reported upon and what should actually be watched for.

The jest of all the comments the Habs players have made boil down to watch for this and you will get what we are doing. It lines up with what analytics are saying teams should do to win, down to their starting goalie not starting on back to backs. It is really fascinating to listen to because it makes so much sense. The best part is there are people in the media in Montreal who are defending the players and explaining what they have said in layman's terms.

This brings me to the Jets. They are the opposite of the Habs; they are bad. And their players don't say things like "Offensive defence men are good defensively because they have the puck" they talk about hitting guys and blocking shots. The most praised player in Winnipeg most nights seems to be Mark Stuart, a bad defence man. In Montreal it is Subban and Markov with a side of Price, Plekanec, Pacioretty/whoever is hot that particular night. The media, though they struggle with it sometimes typically pick good players to praise. In Winnipeg they praise bad players regularly.

Never mind that they TSN Jets broadcast today talked about Mason going to the Olympics because a 21 game sample size is how you want to pick an Olympic team, not seasons of evidence that he is not a good goalie. Broadcasters have a job, as do reporters, to know the game they cover and they do not do that very well because they play into narratives and do not listen to the analytics that can tell them otherwise.

Players are starting to hold the media accountable in Montreal and the media is responding somewhat receptively (it depends on the member) but will this happen in Winnipeg or will good players like Kane and Burmistrov continue to get run out of town with no defenders except for knowledgable fans.