Little Amazed by Rural Support

Jets forward Bryan Little was in town recently (actually just an hour and a half outside of town in MacGregor as he was participating in the Kraft Celebration Golf Tour) and said he is amazed at not only the support of the Jets in Winnipeg, but in rural communities as well.

Cherry Fired Up about Jets

Don Cherry, the man who said all along that Winnipeg would recieve another NHL franchise in time and the man who was at the Jets "funeral" in 1995 said "They're makin a big mistake, I'll tell you that. They may have taken your franchise, but they'll never take your heart and soul!" has said when the puck drops on Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens for the first regular season NHL game in Winnipeg, he wants to be there.

Ladd Ready to Get Started

Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd is ready to get the 2011-12 season under way in his new digs.

Jets Complete Hockey Operations Department

The Winnipeg Jets completed their off-season transition of unveiling their hockey operations for their inaugural 2011-12 season.

The Complete History of the Winnipeg Jets

A great collage of archived footage of the history of the Winnipeg Jets from 1972-1996 and their re-birth in 2011.

Mason Excited to Be A Jet

Chris Mason , the 35-year old back-up goaltender with the new Winnipeg Jets is still as excited as he was when True North Sports & Entertainment CEO Mark Chipman (who I believe should be the one who drops the ceremonial first puck against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 9 while the crowd chants "Thank you Mark!") announced that TNSE had purchased the Atlanta Thrashers and were relocating the team to Winnipeg.

Along with his father and his awesome new mask, Mason drove in from his off-season home in Red Deer, Alberta and had an opportunity to practice and condition at the MTS Iceplex in the city's west end and not only liked what he saw, but came to the obvious conclusion (after playing in front of a half-empty arena in Atlanta on most nights) that ''hockey is for real here.''

You have no idea, Chris. You have no idea.
They should retire this guy's number right now just for his ambassadorship and for commments like, "I think it's really refreshing and rejuvenating. I'm honoured to be a part of this team."

Chris Mason's New Jets Mask

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Chris Mason spoke to In Goal Magazine and talked about his excitement coming to Winnipeg, the upcoming 2011-12 season and his new Iron Maiden-themed mask.





Awesome!

Rypien Service Performed

Just days after the 27-year-old tough guy died suddenly in his southern Alberta home, a large crowd turned out on a bright sunny day at Albert Stella Arena for former Vancouver Canuck and newly signed Winnipeg Jet, Rick Rypien’s funeral.

Heisinger Remembers Rypien

Rick Rypien Found Dead

Winnipeg Jets forward Rick Rypien was found dead Monday in his Alberta home. Crowsnest Pass RCMP responded to a death in Coleman, Alta., at 12:30 p.m. They found a deceased male and ruled the death non-suspicious.
The 5-foot-11, 194-pounder, who was never afraid to drop the mitts with anyone in the NHL or AHL, quickly parlayed that opportunity into an NHL contract with the Canucks. He appeared in 119 games between 2006 and 2010, notching nine goals, seven assists and 226 penalty minutes.

Rypien became an NHL free agent on July 1 and signed one-year, $700,000 deal with the Jets the next day.

Rypien battled with depression and was granted an indefinite leave of absence last season to deal with an undisclosed personal matter.

True North Sports and Entertainment issued a press release on the matter of Rypien's passing.

Andrew Ladd: If Players Want to Leave Winnipeg, Let Them

In response to comments made by Toronto radio host Bob McCown and apparent know-it-all, who has made disparaging comments about Winnipeg in the past, Jets captain Andrew Ladd had a few blunt and sincere comments of his own about these alleged dissatisfied players.

Little Switches to Number 10

Out of respect to the history of the Jets 1.0 and to Dale Hawerchuk, Bryan Little has decided to switch his sweater number to number 18 when the Winnipeg's new NHL franchise hits the ice for the 2011-12 season.

Chipman explains Process Behind New Logos and Rebranding

Hawerchuck Would Like to See Jets Honor Past Winnipeg Players

Dale Hawerchuck, perhaps the greatest Jet ever, would like to see the new Winnipeg Jets honor the players that have worn the Jets jersey in the past be somehow recognized. Even if it means having a current player wear his number 10.

Jets Unveil Their Logo

The New Winnipeg Jets have unveiled their new logo for the future of pro hockey in Winnipeg. It pays homage to the Royal Canadian Air Force with an updated version the the RCAF logo. To be honest it will take some getting used to, because I don't think I'm all that crazy about it.

Jets Round Out Coaching Staff

The New Winnipeg Jets have completed their search for an assistant coach to form the first bench bosses to guide the Jets through their first season back in Winnipeg with the hiring of Pascal Vincent.

In the Beginning

Before I actually created this blog, I posted about the Jets on my "Entertainment Breakdown" blog. You can see those posts here, here, here and here.

Updates: Old & New

Since I was a little late in deciding if I wanted to put up yet another blog about the Winnipeg Jets (since, as stated earlier there are quite a few already-but I couldn't help it...I had to) I guess I should catch up, sort of speak.

So Here's pretty much what has transpired in the last couple of weeks in the form of press releases by the Winnipeg Jets/True North Sports & Entertainment on the overdue return of the Winnipeg Jets.

Friday, June 24, 2011:
Claude Noel Named Head Coach
By
Saturday, June 25, 2011:
Byfuglien Excited about NHL's return to Manitoba

Monday, June 27, 2011:
The New Guys


CONTRACT SIGNINGS

Monday, July 4, 2011
Jets Agree to Terms with...
Derek Meech, Aaron Gagnon, Mark Flood, Tanner Glass, Rick Rypien, Randy Jones

Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Jets Sign Their RFA Captain, Andrew Ladd

Thursday. July 7, 2011
Jets Agree to Terms with Jason Gregoire

Winnipeg Jets to Play in Young Stars Tournament

Friday, July 8, 2011
Jets Acquire Fehr from Caps

Saturday, July 9, 2011
Jets Acquire Kendle McArdle from Panthers

Friday, July 15, 2011
Jets add Huddy, Flaherty & Borgford to Coaching Staff

Monday, July 18, 2011
Jets Agree to Terms with RFA Blake Wheeler and Six OtherPlayers

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Jets Agree to Terms with Jason Jaffray

As of this writing, that's all the news coming out of Winnipeg. I'll try to be a little more on the ball about such things in the future...but no promises. That's just me.
Or, you could just visit jets.nhl.com for the latest news.

The Future

A Whiteout Can Fix Any Mistake

In relation to Winnipeg hockey fans answer to Calgary's "C" of Red in 1985, the "Winnipeg Whiteout" was born. A nice play on words, given the primary purpose of the product and the wrongful departure of the Jets 1.0 in 1996. Given that, this is probably the best sign I've seen in years.

Return Flight

Well, it was bound to happen and I'm not just talking about the triumphant return of the Winnipeg Jets. I'm referring to of course about me finally putting up a Winnipeg Jets blog. I know, I know there are many out there, but this isn't really a new Jets "news" site (well, kinda) it's more of my usual rants and opinions about one of my favorite, life-long obsessions. It's funny that I haven't had one up before now, seeing as how I'm supposed to be this huge Jets fan and all...since birth. Well, that's not true. But since at least I was 10.

There are no words to describe what the return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg means to that community and to me personally. The return of the name "Jets" is also a big deal because only those who grew up a Jets fan would know why that name was the only real option to name the team. It doesn't matter that the "history" of Winnipeg Jets Version One is in Phoenix. The history of that Winnipeg professional hockey club that played at the old Winnipeg Arena between 1972 and 1996 is still what resonates in southern Manitoba. The new Jets are simply an extension of that. Would I have accepted the team with another name. Of course. It would take a while to get used to it and I'd have to finally lay the Jets to rest. But I don't have to,'cause they're back!

Here's the equation. Is it the same "franchise?" Technically, no because that "franchise" is in Phoenix. Is it the same "team?" Well, obviously not. There's no Teemu Selanne, no Kieth Tkachuck, no Alexei Zhamnov. Is it the Winnipeg Jets? Yes, because we say it is!













15 agonizing years later...






The confirmation with the official announcement...







Or I could have just ran this I guess.