History

It all started back on 13 September 13 1971, for a franchise fee of $25,000, when the Winnipeg Jets became one of the twelve charter franchises of the WHA. The WHA was not up to par with the NHL in talent in its early years, but it provided quality hockey for the fans in Winnipeg for the seven seasons of its existence. Many players were certainly deserving of being in the NHL, and those players helped make those seven seasons very memorable. Starting with Bobby Hull, who gave the league instant credibility with his historic signing at the corner of Portage and Main on 27 June 1972, and later, with Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and many others, the Jets were the dominant team of the league. The Jets reached the finals in the league's first season, only to lose to the New England Whalers. After the 1973-1974 season, the Jets, through Dr. Gerry Wilson in Sweden, and chief scout Bill Robinson, brought over Hedberg and Nilsson among others including Lars-Erik Sjoberg, Curt Larsson and Finns Veli-Pekka Ketola and Hexi Riihiranta. The Jets subsequently won their first AVCO Cup in 1976, sweeping the Houston Aeros 4-0 in the finals and came within two periods of retaining their title next season only to fall at the hands of the Quebec Nordiques in Game 7 of the 1977 AVCO Cup final. The Jets rebounded and won the AVCO Cup in 1978 and 1979. Captain Lars-Erik Sjoberg carried the AVCO Cup around the Winnipeg Arena ice for the last time after the Game 6 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in 1979 as the Jets prepared for life ahead in the NHL. The Jets were able to survive despite twice nearly folding, but both times, new owners were found to keep the team afloat and in Winnipeg.

On 22 March 1979, the NHL agreed to take in four of the remaining six WHA teams in an expansion/merger deal. The Birmingham Bulls and Cincinnati Stingers were paid to fold, while the Jets, along with the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and New England/Hartford Whalers were to gain entry into the NHL. This deal, in the works since 1977, sealed the fate of the WHA, while ensuring the long-term future for the surviving teams. As late as 8 March 1979, however, a vote among NHL owners failed by a 12-5 margin, as a three-quarters vote was needed for approval. The 'no' votes came from Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles and Vancouver. An immediate backlash came against Molson Breweries, owners of the Quebeciens, in the two Canadian WHA cities and one Quebec WHA city where they did business. The Jets immediately terminated their sponsorship agreement with Molsons, who subsequently backtracked and decided to reconsider after fearing a major loss of business. The Canucks and Kings had always voted against the merger deals in the past over fears of longer travel schedules and less visits from big drawing teams, but the Canucks were convinced to change their stance when they were promised a balanced schedule. This led to another vote by NHL governors, where the final result was 14-3 in favor of the merger. Boston, Toronto, and Los Angeles still voted against the deal, but they could not stop it. The Jets and the other three former WHA teams, however, would have to enter the NHL as expansion teams and had their championship roster gutted, leaving them with castoffs assembled from the other NHL teams.

A spirit of optimism gripped Winnipeg hockey fans as they prepared for their first NHL season in 1979. The Jets had emerged from the fledgling WHA to become a legitimate NHL franchise. The Winnipeg Arena had been hastily expanded and would soon be upgraded to seat over 15,000 fans.

The Jets' first two seasons in the NHL were disappointing and the Jets won only nine games in 1980-1981, setting an NHL record for futility. However, the loyal Winnipeg fans still supported them and showed themselves not to be “fair weather” fans. The fans had reason to be excited in 1981-1982 when the Jets posted a .500 record with many new players and new coach Tom Watt. The Jets were building rivalries in the newly reorganized Norris Division, most notably with the Minnesota North Stars. The Jets earned home ice advantage against the St. Louis Blues in their first NHL playoff series, but the Jets went down three games to one in the first of many heartbreaks at playoff time. The team failed to improve going forward and turned in two mediocre seasons. Promise turned to frustration as time marched on.

The 1984-1985 season was one exception. The Jets racked up 96 points and the lofty total ranked the Jets fourth overall in the 21-team NHL. The Jets earned home ice advantage in the first round against the hated Calgary Flames. Two emotionally charged victories gave the Jets a 2-0 lead, but in Game 3 in Calgary, no Jets fan will ever forget the pain on Dale Hawerchuk's face after he was cross-checked by Jamie Macoun in Game 3. Without their leading scorer, the Jets rebounded to win Game 4 and take the series 3-1. Sadly, the Jets again rolled over for the Edmonton Oilers, going down in four straight games, including a difficult loss at the hands of referee Bryan Lewis in Game 3, as his biased work was the sole reason for the Jets' loss that night.

Once that season ended, the team went up and down like a yo-yo. One good year, one bad year. Coaches came and went with regularity. John Ferguson was eventually fired and replaced with Mike Smith, whose tenure was worse than that of his predecessor. After Smith was fired, John Paddock took over and restored some order, but the results on the ice didn't change much at all.

There were some fond moments to be found in the muck of not-so-eventful seasons of NHL Jets hockey. The night that Bobby Hull's number was finally retired brought back the glory days of the WHA. Teemu Selanne's 76 goal season in 1992-1993 was something to behold. Through it all, the fans here stuck with them, but they were never rewarded like they should have been.

On the afternoon of 6 May 1995, the Jets held a farewell at the Winnipeg Arena, commonly referred to as “the funeral”. The funeral was held prior to the involvement of the Spirit of Manitoba group, so it was believed at the time that the team was headed for Minneapolis. Thomas Steen's #25 was raised to the rafters, CBC entertainer Don Cherry made an appearance, and all the players were introduced and each gave their own good byes to the fans that filled the Arena on that day. The first Jets captain, Ab MacDonald, along with longtime Jet Bill Lesuk, brought out the AVCO Cup. Tears flowed from an emotionally charged crowd of over 15,000.

There were many factors as to why the Jets left and aren't going to return. The primary factor was the Jets' ownership, led by President Barry Shenkarow. A more competently-led club on and off the ice in the preceding years could and should have sustained the team through the financial difficulties it faced in the 1990's that eventually forced their hand in 1995. The Spirit of Manitoba group came forward in the spring of 1995 in an attempt to build a new arena and keep the team in Winnipeg, but it became apparent that Shenkarow was unwilling to cede control of the club to the new owners and, as a result, their efforts were only able to delay the Jets' departure from Winnipeg by one year. The Winnipeg Free Press acted as Shenkarow's mouthpiece in running a series negative articles against the Spirit group, further hampering their noble efforts.

The three levels of government deserve plenty of blame for their failure to act to help fund a new arena, as does Winnipeg Enterprises Corporation, the Winnipeg Arena's landlord, that kept the Jets from reaping the benefits of many sources of revenue that other teams enjoyed. Enterprises' role in the Jets' demise cannot be understated. All these factors, combined with the fact that Winnipeg is not, nor will ever be a large revenue-generating market, led to the Jets' permanent departure from the NHL landscape.

During the failed efforts to save the Jets, there was a group called “Thin Ice”, who protested vehemently against any public funding of a new arena. Strangely, however, they were and remain nowhere to be found to protest the unceasing flow of public money that is the sole reason why the Winnipeg Blue Bombers remain alive. Perhaps if the Jets had simply changed their name to the Blue Bombers, this group would have had no issues with public funding of an arena, and the team might still be in Winnipeg.

The Relocated Franchise in Arizona

Little has changed with the new team in Arizona. Though the logo on the uniform is different, the franchise continues to flounder as successive ownership groups keep trying to pull the team out of the eternal mediocrity that defined the NHL years of the franchise during its time in Winnipeg.