12°c Overcast
17°c Cloudy with showers
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Jets, and their fans, will be back
Winnipeg Jets' Nik Antropov (80) and Evander Kane (9) celebrate Antropov's goal on Tampa Bay Lightning's goaltender Dwayne Roloson (30) during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 7, 2012. (JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Related Items
-
Articles
The last time an NHL season ended in Winnipeg it was a hockey funeral but this was just like shuttering up the cottage for the year. Everyone, team and fans alike, will be back next season.
There’s no need for a team saving rally at Portage and Main. Children can keep their piggy banks for things like bikes and Jets jerseys. Winnipeg isn’t in some panic to save its team. In fact, this summer Jets fans can sit back catch their breath and get ready for next season which holds the promise of 41 more crazy nights in our downtown rink.
The folks in Phoenix may need a vigil and fans in Quebec City will likely have to hang on every word Gary Bettman utters on the subject of relocation.
Here in Winnipeg we have our own problems. Like who will the team take first in the draft and which free agents should be pursued. Soon a schedule for next season, should the league and players’ union ever get around to working out a deal, will be released and Winnipeggers will gather to divvy up the stubs. Who gets the Toronto game and who gets the Detroit game. Good problems to have are they not?
Saturday night this winter of our content blew out of town like a lion. Roaring for all the nation and anywhere hockey matters to hear. Mark Chipman let it slip over the weekend the Jets wouldn’t be eligible for league subsidies as one of the NHL’s top-15 revenue teams.
Too small, too poor, we heard it all. How about too passionate and too committed? Those labels seem far more applicable now.
"It’s insane, honestly. Being younger, I never would have thought the Jets would come back. But this year has probably been one of my best years ever. Having the Jets back the community has come around and its been so insane," said Reed Olsen, a 19-year-old Winnipegger jamming the concourse during the first period of Saturday’s intermission. "Everyone is so excited. Even though this is the last game, it’s just the beginning."
This season is over and there will be no playoff games but any weeping should be short-lived. While for a long time there was only hope and rumour now there is certainly and a foundation.
"It’s awesome and the energy is amazing. I feel a little sad that the season is over but so happy that they’re coming back next fall. It’s the first year and you can only expect so much. I love the Jets and what they’ve done for the city," said Dolly Kaushal, 28.
Saturday night with just around three minutes left in the game the fans stood and started that chant. "Go Jets Go." They didn’t want it to end. Trailing 3-2 to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, it wasn’t another loss they were worried about but having the lights go out on their season and moment in the spotlight.
So they willed more. They forced overtime. And they got it.
Really it sums up the renaissance of the NHL in Winnipeg. The people willed more hockey. And they got. And they’ll have it again next year.
Will on, Winnipeg. Will on.
Twitter: @garylawless
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
Stunning cop-shop confession in Charleswood double killing
5:52 AM 0
About Gary Lawless
Gary Lawless is the Free Press sports columnist and co-host of the Hustler and Lawless show on TSN 1290 Winnipeg and www.winnipegfreepress.com
Lawless began covering sports as a rookie reporter at The Chronicle-Journal in Thunder Bay after graduating from journalism school at Durham College in Ontario.
After a Grey Cup winning stint with the Toronto Argonauts in the communications department, Lawless returned to Thunder Bay as sports editor.
In 1999 he joined the Free Press and after working on the night sports desk moved back into the field where he covered pro hockey, baseball and football beats prior to being named columnist.
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Quake near Ottawa rattles residents across wide swath of Ontario, Quebec
- Winnipeg Jets among most expensive pro teams to watch
- Calgary man charged with murder of woman and her five-year-old son
- US zoo looking into conception mystery after birth of anteater; no male in pen
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Flood victim gets six years for shotgun threat, attack
- Province removing red tape in alcohol sales
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- VIDEO: Left on the ice to rot
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Animals are animals, new ads say
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- US zoo looking into conception mystery after birth of anteater; no male in pen
- Ad campaign urges Winnipeg to lobby councillors to approve golf plan
- How 23-year-old Candice Glover of South Carolina won the 12th season of 'American Idol'
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Winnipeg Jets among most expensive pro teams to watch
- They'll be fiddling around
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- U.S. bill would give Canadian snowbirds more time to spend in the sun
- Guitar-playing astronaut bows out of space station with music video of Bowie's 'Space Oddity'
- Microsoft update to address Windows 8 complaints, confusion will be free; to be called 8.1
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Uganda: Blessed are the children
- Winning 6/49 ticket purchased in Winnipeg
- New website profiles neighbourhoods of Winnipeg
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- VIDEO: Left on the ice to rot
- Paul McCartney to play Winnipeg Aug. 12
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- An uncommon phenomenon
- RCMP charge man with double-homicide in Ethelbert
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.