WHA Hot Line to be inducted into Jets Hall of Fame

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This article was published 15/07/2016 (3392 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets are finally ready to make an official connection to the city’s NHL and WHA past.

The team announced Friday that it’s creating the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame and will make the WHA Hot Line – Bobby Hull, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson – the first three inductees.

Hull shocked the hockey world in 1972, signing a $1-million contract at Portage and Main, giving the upstart World Hockey Association instant credibility before its inaugural season. His sensational Swedish linemates arrived in 1974.

“Given the Hot Line’s enormous accomplishments and what they did to put Winnipeg on the international hockey map, it is an obvious choice to honour Anders, Bobby, and Ulf for our first induction ceremony,” Jets co-owner Mark Chipman said in a statement released by the team.

“The Hot Line’s contributions showcased Winnipeg as an exciting hockey market and paved the way for other great players to come to our city including Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne.”

The trio will be officially inducted Oct. 20, at the the first Hall of Fame luncheon at the Fairmont Hotel, which will become an annual event.

A day earlier, there will be a pre-game tribute to Hull, Hedberg and Nilsson before the Jets take on Toronto at the MTS Centre

Hull, now 77, played eight seasons with the WHA Jets and part of the team’s first NHL season in 1979-80.

“It was so fabulous playing here, but to be remembered and honoured, it is quite an accomplishment that I am thankful for,” Hull said. “I have held my friendship with Anders and Ulf in such high esteem. Going back over the years when we played together, it was one of the happiest times of my life.”

The Golden Jet’s best year here was an amazing 1974-75, when he scored 77 goals in 78 games and amassed 142 points. One of the biggest reasons for that outburst was Hedberg and Nilsson’s arrival from Sweden in 1974. That season, Nilsson scored 26 goals and 120 points and Hedberg added 53 goals and 100 points.

Nilsson, now 66, and Hedberg, now 65, played four seasons with the Jets before joining the NHL’s New York Rangers. Both look back on their time here with great affection.

“It’s such an honour to be recognized. I will probably be very emotional during the ceremony,” Nilsson said. “It’s so nice to come back to Winnipeg. I probably had four of my best years in this city, it was amazing to play with Bobby and Anders and I am so happy Winnipeg has a team back. It’s a great place to play hockey.”

He’ll get no argument from Hedberg.

“I’m extremely proud to be first in line with the Hot Line to be inducted into the Jets Hall of Fame,” Hedberg said. “It wasn’t just the line that was good, we had a team that was good. Winnipeg and the Jets opened their arms for me and made me part of a changing hockey world that is today much more international. We lived in Winnipeg for only four years, but I still to a certain extent, feel like a Winnipegger.”

The Jets, owned by True North Sports and Entertainment, have moved slowly and deliberately in recognizing the city’s hockey history since relocating from Atlanta in 2011. Winnipeg’s previous NHL history – players, stats and records – actually belongs to the Arizona Coyotes. which is where the original franchise relocated after the 1995-96 season and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Coyotes have their own Ring of Honour, celebrating Hull, Dale Hawerchuk, Keith Tkachuk, Thomas Steen and Teppo Numminen.

Tickets for the Oct. 20 induction ceremony luncheon Fairmont Hotel are $72 each for a seat or $720 for a table of 10 and will be available for purchase in early August, the team said. The event will be hosted by Hockey Night In Canada’s Scott Oake with a keynote speech from Jets head coach Paul Maurice.

 

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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