Other than dominating the Oilers during the run to the AVCO Cup in the WHA years, the closest the Winnipeg Jets came to vanquishing the Oilers was during the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs when the Jets were up three games to one thanks to Dave Ellett's double overtime goal in the Smythe division semi-final game four thriller at the old Winnipeg Arena. Of course, the Oilers managed to win the next three games and eliminate the Jets from contention on their way to winning their fifth Stanley Cup in seven years. Although the Jets managed to ice a team that was competitive and usually gave us hope that maybe, just maybe this was the year we would finally beat the mighty Oilers and return to our rightful place as kings of the WHA alumni, we could never beat them. We could never get close enough. But as former Jets owner, Barry Shenkarow once said, nobody was going to get close enough to beat the Oilers in those days, save for the Calgary Flames in 1986. But even then it took Steve Smith to accidentally score on his own net in a game seven Smythe division playoff game to end the Oilers quest of five, perhaps even six straight Stanley Cup championships.
But with today's Edmonton Oilers in a re-building stage and even though they do have first-round picks from three consecutive years in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, perhaps it is time for the Jets to emerge as the dominant team in this hopefully renewed Canadian rivalry.
And let's not forget what current Oiler Eric Belanger and former Coyote (when the rumor mill surrounding a possible Coyote move back to Winnipeg) said about our fair city, a la Ilya Bryzgalov:
"The guys have been talking about it a bit more every day, and the one sure thing is that we want to play in Phoenix and not in Winnipeg,” said Belanger. “Personally, and I won't name any names, but I've chatted with guys that have played (in Winnipeg) and don't want to go back. There are reasons why hockey wasn't working in Winnipeg at the end, I don't see how that would have changed.
"There are good fans there, but Winnipeg is still Winnipeg,” Belanger said. “In January and February, I doubt that my family would follow me out there for a holiday. It's different in Quebec,” Belanger said. They are the same fans, but the economy seems to really be rolling along. The guys that I talk to loved playing in Quebec. You can't go to practice in shorts and t-shirts like I did this morning, but Quebec is attractive. At least there are things to do there!"
"In the mind of the players, it's Quebec before Winnipeg, for sure."
"We can't blame our fans,” Belanger said. “It's been two years that they have been wondering if the club would be moving, and they will come back when it is settled. When these markets are having trouble, it's less money in our pockets. But do we want to go to Winnipeg for an extra 1 or 2%? I'm not so sure."
What punk! I hope Bufuglien or Stuart just crushes this guy.
