Winnipeg Jets

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Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets
Founded 1972
History Winnipeg Jets
1972–1979 (WHA)
1979–1996 (NHL)
Phoenix Coyotes
1996–present (NHL)
Home Arena Winnipeg Arena
City Winnipeg, Manitoba
Colours Blue, red and white
Avco World Trophy 1976, 1978, 1979
Division Championships 1973, 1976, 1978

The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They played in both the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972 to 1996. In 1996, the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona because of financial troubles and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

Contents

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] The WHA Years (1972–1979)

The original Winnipeg Jets logo in the WHA
The original Winnipeg Jets logo in the WHA

The NHL had recently expanded to 16 teams, adding franchises in many hockey-hungry cities (only one in Canada), but also in Atlanta, Oakland and Los Angeles. The WHA brought major professional hockey to Ottawa, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and later Calgary. In 1972, Winnipeg was granted one of the founding franchises in the WHA.

The Jets' first signing was Norm Beaudin ("the Original Jet") and the teams first major signing was Bobby Hull. Hull's acquisition, partially financed by the rest of the WHA's teams, was widely seen as giving legitimacy to the WHA as a serious rival major league to the NHL.[citation needed]

The Jets were further noteworthy in hockey history for being the first North American club to seriously explore Europe as a source of hockey talent. Winnipeg's fortunes were bolstered by acquisitions such as Swedish forwards Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, who starred with Hull on the WHA's most famous and successful forward line (nicknamed "the Hot Line"), and defenceman Lars-Erik Sjoberg, who would serve as the team's captain and win accolades as the WHA's best defenceman. Behind these players and other European stars such as Willy Lindstrom, Kent Nilsson, Veli-Pekka Ketola, leavened by players such as Peter Sullivan, Norm Beaudin and goaltender Joe Daley, the Jets were the most successful team in the short-lived WHA. The team won the Avco World Trophy three times, including in the league's final season against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. The Jets made the finals five of the WHA's seven seasons and were widely considered one of the best teams in hockey, NHL or WHA, of the era.[citation needed]

Another notable accomplishment was the Jets' 5–3 victory over the Soviet National team on January 5, 1978, making the Jets the first club team to ever defeat the Soviet elite squad.[1]

In the last season in the WHA, Kent Nilsson had 107 points, while Morris Lukowich had 65 goals, and Peter Sullivan had 46 goals and 86 points. [2] The Jets made it to the Avco Cup and Gary Smith gave up the last goal in WHA history to Dave Semenko in a 7–3 Jets win. [2]

Logo used on the Jets' jerseys from 1972-73
Logo used on the Jets' jerseys from 1972-73

[edit] Career Leaders (WHA)

The 1976, 1978 and 1979 Avco Cup winning Winnipeg Jets were inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in the team category.

[edit] The NHL Years (1979–1996)

Winnipeg's second logo, introduced in 1973 and used when it entered the NHL in 1979 until 1990
Winnipeg's second logo, introduced in 1973 and used when it entered the NHL in 1979 until 1990

By 1979, the vast majority of the WHA's teams had folded, but the Jets were still going strong and they were absorbed into the NHL. In doing so, they had to give up three of their top six scorers – the core of the last WHA champion – in a reclamation draft. They were also forced to draft 18th out of 21 teams.

With a decimated roster, the Jets finished dead last in the league in the next two seasons, including a horrendous nine-win season in 1980–81 that still ranks as the worst in franchise history. This stands in marked contrast to the other 1979 Avco Cup finalist, the Oilers, who became one of the most powerful teams the game has ever seen during the 1980s.

The Jets' first two wretched NHL seasons did net them high draft picks, and in 1981, they drafted future Hall of Fame member Dale Hawerchuk. The team developed into a solid core of players by the mid-1980s, with Hawerchuk, Thomas Steen, Paul MacLean, Dave Babych, Randy Carlyle, Laurie Boschman, Doug Smail, and David Ellett giving the Jets a solid nucleus and a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup championship.

The Jets were very competitive for most of the 1980s and early 1990s, and had a very loyal following. However, regular-season success did not transfer into the playoffs. This was because the Jets played in the same division as the Oilers and Calgary Flames--by some accounts, the two best teams in the league during the second half of the 1980s. Because of the way the playoffs were structured at the time, the Jets were all but assured of having to beat either the Oilers or the Flames (or both) to get to the Campbell Conference Finals. For example, in 1984–85, they finished with the fourth-best record in the league, with 96 points – both their best finishes as an NHL team. While they managed to dispatch the Flames in five games in Division Semifinals, they were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Oilers in the Division Finals. In fact, Winnipeg and Edmonton played each other in the playoffs six times between 1983 and 1990, with Edmonton winning every series, holding the Jets to just 4 total victories. 1987 was the last time that the Jets won a playoff series (defeating Calgary in the Division Semifinals before losing to Edmonton in the Division Finals), a drought that has continued to plague the franchise in Phoenix.

As the NHL expanded in the United States, operating costs and salaries grew rapidly; this development hit the league's Canadian teams particularly hard. As Winnipeg was the league's second-smallest market (eventually becoming the smallest market after the Québec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995), the Jets were unable to retain their best players. Various schemes were devised to save the team through a tremendous grassroots effort and government funds, but in the end the efforts were not enough. The Winnipeg Jets played their last-ever game on April 28, 1996, a home playoff loss to the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 4–1. Norm Maciver scored the last goal in Jets history.

During their history, the Jets retired two numbers: Bobby Hull's #9 and Thomas Steen's #25. Both numbers hang in Jobing.com Arena with the new Phoenix Coyotes franchise, in the Jets' old blue-red-white colour scheme. Another tradition that was retained when the franchise moved to Phoenix was the "white-out," in which fans wore all white to home playoff games.

Bobby Hull's #9 jersey was temporarily "un-retired" with the acquisition of his son Brett by the Coyotes. Brett wore his father's famous jersey until his own retirement on October 15, 2005, subsequent to which the number was re-retired.

A number of former Jets remain active in the NHL; as of the 2007–08 season, these include Dallas Drake, Nikolai Khabibulin, Teppo Numminen, Teemu Selanne, Keith Tkachuk, Kris Draper, Chad Kilger and Stu Barnes. Shane Doan, the current captain of the Coyotes, is the last Jet to remain with the Winnipeg-Phoenix franchise.

[edit] Possible return to Winnipeg

Although a new arena has since been built in downtown Winnipeg to replace the aged Winnipeg Arena, the arena's managers have stated that the 15,600 seat MTS Centre was not erected in hopes of attracting an NHL team back to the city. However, the arena could be easily upgraded to NHL standards.[3] A frenzy erupted in the local and national media when many Winnipeg businessmen expressed that they were proactively approaching the idea and were in the process of forming an ownership group, although there has never been any official statement.

During the 2007 Manitoba provincial election campaign, Conservatives promised to bring an NHL team back to Winnipeg if elected. The elected NDP has also mentioned their support for the return of the Jets, with Premier Gary Doer saying he has been in talks to bring a team to the province.[4]

During a press conference Gary Bettman stated that the idea of Winnipeg having an NHL team sounds intriguing. He also stated that another team in Winnipeg could happen one day. However, Bettman has said the NHL has no plans of expanding in the near future. [5]

[edit] Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals scored for, GA = Goals scored against, PIM = Penalty minutes

[edit] WHA Era

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoff Record
1972–73 78 43 31 4 90 285 249 757 1st, Western Won Quarterfinals (Minnesota)
Won Semifinals (Houston)
Lost Finals (New England)
1973–74 78 34 39 5 73 264 296 673 4th, Western Lost Quarterfinals (Houston)
1974–75 78 38 35 5 81 322 293 869 3rd, Canadian Did not qualify
1975–76 81 52 27 2 106 345 254 940 1st, Canadian Won Quarterfinals (Edmonton)
Won Semifinals (Calgary)
Won Finals (Houston)
1976–77 80 46 32 2 94 366 291 991 2nd, Western Won Quarterfinals (San Diego)
Won Semifinals (Houston)
Lost Finals (Quebec)
1977–78 80 50 28 2 102 381 270 988 1st, WHA Won Quarterfinals (Birmingham)
Earned Semifinals bye
Won Finals (New England)
1978–79 80 39 35 6 84 307 306 1342 3rd, WHA Won Semifinals (Quebec)
Won Finals (Edmonton)
WHA Totals 555 302 227 26 630 2270 1958 6560

[edit] NHL Era

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoff Record
1979–80 80 20 49 11 51 214 314 1251 5th, Smythe Did not qualify
1980–81 80 9 57 14 32 246 400 1191 5th, Smythe Did not qualify
1981–82 80 33 33 14 80 319 332 1314 2nd, Norris Lost Norris Semifinal (St. Louis)
1982–83 80 33 39 8 74 311 333 1089 4th, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Edmonton)
1983–84 80 31 38 11 73 340 374 1579 4th, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Edmonton)
1984–85 80 43 27 10 96 358 332 1540 2nd, Smythe Won Smythe Semifinal (Calgary)
Lost Smythe Final (Edmonton)
1985–86 80 26 47 7 59 295 372 1774 3rd, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Calgary)
1986–87 80 40 32 8 88 279 271 1537 3rd, Smythe Won Smythe Semifinal (Calgary)
Lost Smythe Final (Edmonton)
1987–88 80 33 36 11 77 292 310 2278 3rd, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Edmonton)
1988–89 80 26 42 12 64 300 355 1843 5th, Smythe Did not qualify
1989–90 80 37 32 11 85 298 290 1639 3rd, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Edmonton)
1990–91 80 26 43 11 63 260 288 1675 5th, Smythe Did not qualify
1991–92 80 33 32 15 81 251 244 1907 4th, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Vancouver)
1992–93 84 40 37 7 87 322 320 1851 4th, Smythe Lost Smythe Semifinal (Vancouver)
1993–94 84 24 51 9 57 245 344 2143 6th, Central Did not qualify
1994–951 48 16 25 7 39 157 177 1141 6th, Central Did not qualify
1995–96 82 36 40 6 78 275 291 1622 5th, Central Lost Conference Quarterfinal (Detroit)
NHL Totals 1338 506 660 172 1184 4762 5347 27374
Grand Total 1893 808 887 198 1814 7032 7305 33934
1 Season was shortened by the 1994–95 NHL lockout.

[edit] Notable Players

[edit] Team Captains

Note: This list includes Jets captains from both the NHL and WHA.


[edit] First round draft picks

Note: This list includes draft picks from both the NHL and WHA.


[edit] Hall of Famers

[edit] Retired numbers

[edit] Winnipeg Jets Individual Records

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cole, Stephen: "The Canadian Hockey Atlas" Page 232. Doubleday Canada, 2006
  2. ^ a b The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.241, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, ISBN 0–7710–8947–3
  3. ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - NHL - 'Nice,' but not for NHL
  4. ^ Tories vow to help Winnipeg Jets return
  5. ^ SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NHL Hockey stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from NHL Hockey columnists
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