13°c Overcast
12°c Rain
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Jets' website posting doesn't cut it with fans
SOME Winnipeg Jets fans are unhappy with the official comment from the team about the end of the lockout.
A brief comment was posted on the team's official website by president and CEO Jim Ludlow and Norva Riddell, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, thanking Jets fans and the community "for being patient with our organization, the league and the players during the negotiation process that led up to this exciting news."
What the team said
AMONG the seven Canadian-based teams in the NHL, only the Winnipeg Jets offered a statement to their fans Monday about the end of the NHL lockout.
It began like this: "We are extremely pleased that the combined efforts over the past several months between the NHL and the NHLPA have resulted in a tentative agreement on a new ten (10) year Collective Bargaining Agreement." Read the entire statement here:
Related Items
The gesture left season-ticket holder Chris Shinnimin quite displeased.
Shinnimin said the comment from the Jets management is less than sincere and meaningless compared to the frustration he and other fans endured during the lockout.
"You feel like (team owner True North Sports & Entertainment) haven't learned anything," Shinnimin said. "Just think, in what other industry do you take money from a customer, then withhold services for an indeterminate amount of time and then offer no sort of apologetic gesture with a monetary valued attached to it and expect that business to keep coming back?"
The Jets were the only Canadian-based NHL team to post a comment about the end of the lockout on its official website. South of the border, Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle apologized to their fans.
Shinnimin said the apology from the Penguins owners was a nice gesture, but he questioned if they really meant it when they failed to offer their season-ticket holders any sort of discount as compensation.
Shinnimin said the Jets ownership is taking advantage of the deeply held obsession local fans have for the team.
"The only reason they get away with it is because we all love hockey so much here, we end up coming back."
Shinnimin, who holds a share in a pair of seats the MTS Centre, said he will be going to games this season, but he'll cut back on his game-night spending to protest the team's failure to recognize the damage it has done to its fans.
"I bought a white 'away' jersey last year and I was going to buy a 'home' blue jersey, but I definitely won't now," he said. "I'm definitely going to be a lot more mindful of how I'm spending my money on concessions and merchandise."
Jets fan Mike Boyeschko said today's NHL -- teams and players -- have priced themselves beyond the reach of the average working person.
"I came to Winnipeg last March and I wanted to take in a couple of games, but it would have cost me almost $1,000 for a family of three," said Boyeschko, who lives in Thunder Bay, Ont. "How can the average Joe afford to do that now? We're not all millionaires like these hockey players."
Boyeschko said he wasn't impressed with the team's comment on its website, adding the Jets and players should have addressed the anger felt by fans and the hockey community. "What about maybe a 'sorry' to all your fan base?"
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 8, 2013 A3
History
Updated on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 11:13 AM CST: fixes broken link
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 17 articles for today)
Wright off: PM's deep-pocketed chief of staff quits amid Duffy fallout
10:17 AM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Head-on collision kills pickup driver
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Leaving a gang isn't easy — Sidney Letandre, now a paraplegic, knows it all too well
- 'It's a beautiful story': There's not always a tomorrow to say you're sorry or make things right
- Police make grow-op bust
- One dead in Highway 10 collision
- Province announces service for Elijah Harper
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Two women face rare charges of harbouring alleged murderer
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Flood victim gets six years for shotgun threat, attack
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- 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
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Li granted additional day passes
- Raleigh holds annual tour of backyard chicken coops, part of national spread of urban farming
- WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading; calls for urgent search for source
- Province announces service for Elijah Harper
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- 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
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- 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
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
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.