17°c Clear
25°c Chance of thundershowers
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)
Blackhawks beat Bruins 6-5 in OT to cap crazy roller-coaster Stanley Cup game
06/19/2013 11:54 PM 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
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini dies at 51 while vacationing in Rome
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Mountie hospitalized, dog euthanized after crash near Saskatoon
- Sobey clan to alter city market
- New crowd plan for Taylor Swift get-together
- Community's children apprehended by province
- Kids of St. Ignatius make Sweet gesture to beloved crossing guard
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- 'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Man convicted of drunk driving in Henderson pile-up
- Bomber fans wowed by new stadium
- Portage Ave. stretch re-opens after Friday-night bomb scare
- RCMP say woman deliberately murdered her sister with her car
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Two people killed in crash north of Winnipeg
- Two Winnipeg teens identified as victims of crash
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Father, daughter seriously injured in ATV crash
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Community's children apprehended by province
- Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north, with temps topping 80 degrees (26C) in Anchorage
- Mountie hospitalized, dog euthanized after crash near Saskatoon
- New crowd plan for Taylor Swift get-together
- 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini dies at 51 while vacationing in Rome
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Sobey clan to alter city market
- Accounts and accountability: UK committee says bankers must take more responsibility
- Etienne grabs a clue
- Tory attacks on Trudeau boomerang, raise questions about PMO involvement
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Community's children apprehended by province
- Geothermal heat coming to some Manitoba First Nations
- Spiralling cost of land raises new home prices
- Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north, with temps topping 80 degrees (26C) in Anchorage
- Rogers and MTS announce new network sharing agreement
- $110-K worth of nickel plates stolen from Thompson mine
- Craig Ferguson adds second show
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Door openers being used to break into garages, police warn
- Province formally opens Mental Health Crisis Response Centre
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
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 be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe 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.