Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)

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For the current NHL team with the same name, see Winnipeg Jets. For the former Western Hockey League team, see Winnipeg Monarchs (WHL).
Winnipeg Jets
List of Winnipeg Jets (1972–96) seasons
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

              
Stanley Cups 0
Avco World Trophy 3 (1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79)
Conference championships 0
Presidents' Trophies 0
Division championships 3 (1972-73, 1975-76, 1977-78)

The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA. Due to mounting financial troubles, in 1996 the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

Contents

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] The WHA years (1972–1979)

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. On December 27, 1971, Winnipeg was granted one of the founding franchises in the WHA, to Ben Hatskin, a local figure who made his wealth in cardboard shipping containers.[1] The team took their name from the Winnipeg Jets of the Western Canada Hockey League .[2]

The Jets' first signing was Norm Beaudin ("the Original Jet") and the team's first major signing was Bobby Hull. Hull's acquisition, partially financed by the rest of the WHA's teams, gave the league instant credibility and paved the way for several other NHL stars to bolt to the upstart league.

The Jets were further noteworthy in hockey history for being the first North American club seriously to 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.

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 ever to defeat the Soviet elite squad.[3]

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. 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.[4]

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

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 along with the Nordiques, Oilers and Hartford Whalers. They had to pay a high price for a berth in the more established league, however. 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. In the draft, they opted to protect defenseman Scott Campbell, who had shown a good deal of promise in the last WHA season. However, Campbell suffered from chronic asthma that was only exacerbated by Winnipeg's frigid weather. The asthma drove him out of the league entirely by 1982.

With a decimated roster, the Jets finished dead last in the league for the next two seasons, including a horrendous nine-win season in 1980–81 that still ranks as the worst in Jets/Coyotes 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; in the 1981 they drafted future Hall of Fame member Dale Hawerchuk first overall and in the 1981 Dave Babych second overall. The team developed a solid core of players by the mid-1980s, with Hawerchuk, Thomas Steen, Paul MacLean, Randy Carlyle, Laurie Boschman, Doug Smail, and David Ellett providing a strong nucleus.

Led by Hawerchuk, Steen, Babych and Carlyle, the Jets returned to respectability fairly quickly, and made the playoffs 11 times in the next 15 years. However, regular-season success did not transfer over into the playoffs. This was because Winnipeg 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. Due to 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 entire league (behind only Philadelphia, Edmonton and Washington). They also notched 96 points, which would remain the franchise's best as an NHL team until the 2009–10 Coyotes racked up the franchise's second 100-point season (and first as an NHL team). While they managed to dispatch the Flames in four games in the best-of-five division semi-final, they were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Oilers in the division final. In fact, Winnipeg and Edmonton played each other in the playoffs six times between 1983 and 1990. The Oilers not only won every series, but held the Jets to only four total victories. Five of those times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990), the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Jets would win only one other playoff series, in 1987 (defeating Calgary in the division semi-final before losing to Edmonton in the division final).

[edit] Demise and relocation

As the NHL expanded in the United States, operating costs and salaries grew rapidly; this development hit the league's Canadian teams particularly hard. Canadian teams were forced to pay salaries in US dollars while collecting Canadian revenues, which was a serious drain on their finances given the declining value of the Canadian dollar. By 1996, the exchange rate was $1.40 Canadian for each American dollar. Winnipeg felt the pinch especially hard as it was the league's second-smallest market (becoming the smallest market after the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995). Despite a loyal fan following, serious doubts were raised about whether Winnipeg could support an NHL team in this new environment. Additionally, their home arena, Winnipeg Arena, seated only 15,300 for hockey--the smallest in the league at the time.

Various schemes were devised to save the team. Attempts to find a local buyer were unsuccessful, with league commissioner Gary Bettman saying, "there doesn't seem to be anybody, in a serious fashion, who wants to own the franchise."[5] After a final last effort by a team of local businessmen, dubbed the Spirit of Manitoba, fell through, team owner Barry Shenkarow sold the team to American businessmen Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke.[6] Burke and Gluckstern originally planned to move the team to Minnesota (which had lost the North Stars to Dallas in 1993), but eventually reached an agreement with Phoenix businessman Jerry Colangelo that would see the team move to Arizona and become the Phoenix Coyotes. 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.[7] Winnipeg was not without hockey for long, however; the American Hockey League's Minnesota Moose moved to Winnipeg as the Manitoba Moose a few months after it was announced that the Jets were leaving town.

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 Phoenix Coyotes franchise in the Jets' old blue-red-white colour scheme. Dale Hawerchuk's #10 was added in 2006, in the Coyotes' current sand-red-black 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. The franchise has yet to win a playoff series while in Phoenix.

Dean Kennedy

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. The only former original Jets still with an NHL contract for the 2011–12 season are Nikolai Khabibulin of the Edmonton Oilers, Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks, and current Coyotes captain Shane Doan. Doan is also the last player from the original NHL Jets still with the franchise since its relocation; he joined the team during its last season in Winnipeg.

[edit] The new Winnipeg Jets

Main article: Winnipeg Jets

On May 31, 2011, True North Sports and Entertainment, owners of the AHL Moose, announced it had signed an agreement in principle to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers from Atlanta Spirit, LLC, and to relocate the franchise to Winnipeg. The move was approved by the NHL Board of Governors on June 21, 2011,[8][9][10]. Public pressure led the new owners to reclaim the "Winnipeg Jets" name, announcing the decision just prior to their first pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. The original Jets history, records, retired numbers, and stats will continue to reside with the Phoenix Coyotes franchise.[11]

True North had previously made bids to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes, with the intent of returning the franchise to Winnipeg.[12][13][14] Although they were unsuccessful, their approach was praised by Bettman, and so True North received favor from the league when the question of the Thrashers' relocation came up.[15]

The Coyotes and new Jets will meet twice during the 2011–12 NHL season, first on October 15, 2011 at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, then on December 1, 2011 when the Coyotes make their first trip back to Winnipeg since a pre season game in 2008 as the visiting team against the Calgary Flames[16] at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.[17]

[edit] Winnipeg White Out

The Winnipeg White Out is a hockey tradition that dates back to 1987 when fans were asked to wear white clothing to home playoff games, creating a very intimidating effect and atmosphere. It was created as a response to the "C of Red" created by fans of the Calgary Flames, who the home town Jets were facing in the first round of the 1987 Stanley Cup Playoffs.[18] The Jets eliminated the Flames in six games, and fans wore white for every home playoff game thereafter. Fans coined it the "White Out". Marketing for the team during the playoff referred to the "charge of the white brigade". Fans of the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg also continued this tradition, as did fans of the continuing Jets/Coyotes franchise in Phoenix.[citation needed]

[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 first, Western Won Quarter-final (Minnesota)
Won Semi-final (Houston)
Lost Final (New England)
1973–74 78 34 39 5 73 264 296 673 fourth, Western Lost Quarter-final (Houston)
1974–75 78 38 35 5 81 322 293 869 third, Canadian Did not qualify
1975–76 81 52 27 2 106 345 254 940 first, Canadian Won Quarter-final (Edmonton)
Won Semi-final (Calgary)
Won Final (Houston)
1976–77 80 46 32 2 94 366 291 991 second, Western Won Quarter-final (San Diego)
Won Semi-final (Houston)
Lost Final (Quebec)
1977–78 80 50 28 2 102 381 270 988 first, WHA Won Quarter-final (Birmingham)
Earned Semi-final bye
Won Final (New England)
1978–79 80 39 35 6 84 307 306 1342 third, WHA Won Semi-final (Quebec)
Won Final (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 fifth, Smythe Did not qualify
1980–81 80 9 57 14 32 246 400 1191 fifth, Smythe Did not qualify
1981–82 80 33 33 14 80 319 332 1314 second, Norris Lost Norris Semi-final (St. Louis)
1982–83 80 33 39 8 74 311 333 1089 fourth, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Edmonton)
1983–84 80 31 38 11 73 340 374 1579 fourth, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Edmonton)
1984–85 80 43 27 10 96 358 332 1540 second, Smythe Won Smythe Semi-final (Calgary)
Lost Smythe Final (Edmonton)
1985–86 80 26 47 7 59 295 372 1774 third, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Calgary)
1986–87 80 40 32 8 88 279 271 1537 third, Smythe Won Smythe Semi-final (Calgary)
Lost Smythe Final (Edmonton)
1987–88 80 33 36 11 77 292 310 2278 third, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Edmonton)
1988–89 80 26 42 12 64 300 355 1843 fifth, Smythe Did not qualify
1989–90 80 37 32 11 85 298 290 1639 third, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Edmonton)
1990–91 80 26 43 11 63 260 288 1675 fifth, Smythe Did not qualify
1991–92 80 33 32 15 81 251 244 1907 fourth, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Vancouver)
1992–93 84 40 37 7 87 322 320 1851 fourth, Smythe Lost Smythe Semi-final (Vancouver)
1993–94 84 24 51 9 57 245 344 2143 sixth, Central Did not qualify
1994–951 48 16 25 7 39 157 177 1141 sixth, Central Did not qualify
1995–96 82 36 40 6 78 275 291 1622 fifth, Central Lost Conference Quarter-final (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

The Winnipeg Jets retired two numbers in their history. When the Jets relocated to Arizona, the banners of these players also made the move, and these numbers remain retired with the Phoenix Coyotes, now in Coyotes' colors. Number 10 was later retired after the move to Arizona in honor of Dale Hawerchuk.

  • 9 - Bobby Hull, LW, 1972–1980, number retired on February 19, 1989 (the number was briefly unretired by the successor Coyotes franchise for Bobby's son Brett in the 2005–06 season before his son Brett retired five games into that season).
  • 25 - Thomas Steen, RW, 1981–1995, number retired on May 6, 1995.

[edit] Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in Winnipeg Jets history, combining NHL and WHA totals.

Further information: Phoenix Coyotes#Franchise scoring leaders

Legend: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Dale Hawerchuk C 713 379 550 929 1.30
Thomas Steen RW 950 264 553 817 .86
Bobby Hull LW 429 307 341 648 1.51
Paul MacLean RW 527 248 270 518 .98
Ulf Nilsson C 300 140 344 484 1.61
Anders Hedberg RW 286 236 222 458 1.60
Willy Lindstrom RW 604 220 229 449 .74
Morris Lukowich LW 511 233 213 446 .87
Doug Smail LW 691 189 208 397 .58
Laurie Boschman LW 526 152 227 379 .72

[edit] Winnipeg Jets individual records

  • Most goals in a season: Teemu Selanne, 76 (1992–93) (NHL rookie record)
  • Most assists in a season: Phil Housley, 79 (1992–93)
  • Most points in a season: Teemu Selanne 132 (1992–93) (NHL rookie record)
  • Most penalty minutes in a season: Tie Domi, 347 (1993–94)
  • Most points in a season, defenceman: Phil Housley, 97 (1992–93)
  • Most points in a season, rookie: Teemu Selanne, 132 (1992–93) (NHL record)
  • Most wins in a season: Brian Hayward & Bob Essensa, 33 (1984–85 & 1992–93)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Scott Adam Surgent, The Complete Historical and Statistical Reference to the World Hockey Association, Xaler Press, 1995. Pg.58
  2. ^ Scott Adam Surgent, Pg.114
  3. ^ Cole, Stephen (2006). The Canadian Hockey Atlas. Doubleday Canada. p. 232. ISBN 978-03-8566-093-8. 
  4. ^ Willes, Ed (2004). The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association. Toronto: McLelland and Stewart. p. 241. ISBN 978-07-7108-947-3. 
  5. ^ Toronto Star. May 3, 1995. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Bettman-and-the-Jets-Tales-from-the-NHL-8217-s;_ylt=AqggrN_MilXBbcJhgEEcP8dShgM6?urn=nhl-wp6017. Retrieved May 31, 2011. 
  6. ^ Dejan Kovacevic. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Bettman-and-the-Jets-Tales-from-the-NHL-8217-s;_ylt=AqggrN_MilXBbcJhgEEcP8dShgM6?urn=nhl-wp6017. Retrieved May 31, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Detroit Red Wings at Winnipeg Jets Box Score, April 28, 1996 | Hockey-Reference.com". http://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/199604280WPG.html. Retrieved 25 June 2011. 
  8. ^ True North Buys Thrashers, Set to Move Team to Winnipeg TSN
  9. ^ NHL Announcement expected in Winnipeg today. CKY-TV. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  10. ^ Thrashers jetting off to Winnipeg? Wait and see The Star
  11. ^ True North Wouldn't Own Jets' Team History Winnipeg Sun
  12. ^ "Winnipeg's NHL dreams dashed again - Need to know". Macleans.ca. 2010-05-12. http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/05/12/winnipegs-nhl-dreams-dashed-again/. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  13. ^ Nick Ternette (3 November 2010). "Coyote question: Is Phoenix an NHL market?". Yahoo Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=nc-coyotes110310. Retrieved 2010-11-21. 
  14. ^ "NHL Attendance Leaders". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance. Retrieved 2009-08-18. 
  15. ^ "True North also had talks about buying Predators, Coyotes | Posted Sports | National Post". Sports.nationalpost.com. 2011-06-02. http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/06/02/true-north-also-had-talks-about-buying-predators-coyotes/. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  16. ^ http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=428102
  17. ^ "NHL regular season schedule released," from Winnipeg Free Press, 6/23/2011
  18. ^ Sigurdson, Hal (1987-04-18). "Whiteout aside, defence tells tale". Winnipeg Free Press. p. 83. 

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)
Franchise
Avco World Trophy finals
Won: 1976 • 1978 • 1979 • Lost: 1973 • 1977
Division championships
WHA: 1972–73 • 1975–76 • 1977–78 • NHL: None
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Winnipeg Jets (current)
Formerly the Winnipeg Jets • Founded in 1972 • Based in Glendale, Arizona
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