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Time sure does fly when you’re having fun.
How else to explain that while it seems like just yesterday I began covering the Winnipeg Jets after more than two decades on the crime and justice beat, today officially marks the beginning of Year No. 9 on the prestigious beat?
Say what?!
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There are only 32 teams playing in the best league of the best sport in the world, and a finite number of writers in those markets who get to document the daily goings-on. To be among that select group — in a hockey-crazed city such as this one — is something I truly treasure and never take lightly.
I’ve got an incredibly passionate base of readers, a supportive and forward-thinking employer that still puts value on the importance of quality local journalism, and the best teammate I could ask for in Ken Wiebe, who has been covering Jets 2.0 from the day they first came over from Atlanta (and the Manitoba Moose for many years before that).
We had a blast in our first season together last year and are both extremely excited about what we can and will do for an encore.
With training camp now underway, I wanted to give you folks an outline of our plan for the coming season — and include a very important question that I feel far too many in my profession often overlook or ignore.
What do you want to read about?
As always, Kenny and I will strive to give you the most comprehensive coverage you will find anywhere — both home and away.
The Free Press is the only newspaper in town, and one of the few remaining in Canada, that still has a travel budget to follow the hockey club when they hit the road. That means generating unique, on-the-scene content including exclusive access and interviews that we know our readers appreciate.
Here’s a general outline of what to expect in addition to all the usual “news of the day” stories which we’ll have covered with a blanket to make sure you have all the information you need:
• Game-day newsletters — We’re back with a second season of The Warm-Up, which is a fun, fan-friendly newsletter sent out on the afternoon of every single game this season that gets you set for what’s to come.
Lineups, injury updates, player quotes and notes from the morning skate, along with Kenny and I giving you our four cents (two each!) about the upcoming game.
If you haven’t signed up already (it’s 100 per cent free, no strings attached) make sure to go to this link and add your email address so it arrives in your inbox a few hours before puck drop beginning with this Saturday when the Jets play the first of six pre-season contests.
• Gamers — We are long past the days where folks had to wait until the morning paper to find out the final score. As a result, we’ve tweaked the way we present our game stories, which focus far more on insight and analysis than on blow-by-blow descriptions of the action.
Essentially, we don’t need to tell you what happened but will do our best to give you the “how” and “why” things went down.
Of course, we’ll still include some post-game soundbites from the dressing room, in addition to news, notes and anecdotes.
• Features — This is where hitting the road and not just covering the team when they’re at home really has its advantages.
Last year, for example, I was able to document how Jets players were coping with the stunning on-ice death of Adam Johnson, which happened while we were on a long road trip and had a major impact on his best friend, Neal Pionk, who, along with a few teammates, were able to take a charter flight to attend his memorial service. In an emotional one-on-one, Pionk opened up about the loss.
I was able to do a behind-the-scenes piece on how the Jets handled the lengthy health-related absence of coach Rick Bowness, with personal chats with the entire coaching staff who had to take on additional roles.
Same goes for a deep dive I put together on the unique bond and friendship between goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit, which included my one-on-two interview of them and a sit-down with goalie coach Wade Flaherty.
Goalies Connor Hellebuyck (left) and Laurent Brossoit (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)
There was also a feature I did on the layout of the dressing room, with players giving me insight into who sits where and why. Another one I did on a typical practice day for the team, which included breaking down in detail every drill the team ran over the course of a one-hour skate.
There was also a look at a minor hockey mentorship program involving players, which included spending an evening on an outdoor rink with Morgan Barron, Dylan Samberg and a group of young female players just learning the game.
I love doing these kinds of value-added stories and can’t wait to get going on a bunch more this year. I know Kenny feels the same way
• Saturday “Dump & Chase” columns — Kenny and I will continue to put our heads together every Friday, not to mention empty our collective notebooks, to bring you our weekly NHL column that puts a major emphasis on the local product and homegrown players but also looks around the entire big-league landscape.
This is where you’ll find things like our personal predictions, along with various thoughts and stories from our travels. We try to keep it light and bright, breezy and fun. It’s sports, after all!
• Monthly Jets mailbags — These have proven to be a big hit with readers, and we will once again be opening up the mailbag to answer your questions on the last Sunday of each month. The feature, which appears exclusively online, is your place to pick our brains. Look for our next one on Sept. 29.
• Monthly Jets prospect reports — The pipeline is filled with exciting young players who aren’t quite ready to crack the NHL but are getting close.
We will track their progress all season long with their various teams — whether it’s the AHL, ECHL, CHL, college or overseas.
This will run the first Monday of each month online and in print. Look for the first one of the 2024-25 season on Nov. 4.
• Multimedia — In addition to reading our words, you can hear us talk Jets in various ways as well. Kenny and I both appear as weekly guests on the Winnipeg Sports Talk program with Andrew “Hustler” Paterson. We will each be appearing on approximately 20 Jets pre-game shows on 680 CJOB this year.
And Kenny will continue with his very popular Kenny and Renny podcast with co-host Sean Reynolds of Sportsnet, with new editions after every single game this season.
And, of course, Kenny and I will continue to be extremely active on our social media accounts — particularly X, but also for myself branching out to new concepts including TikTok, at times, to give readers (and viewers) a glimpse into the NHL world wherever possible. (You can find me on that platform @mikemcintyrewpg).
The above is by no means a definitive list. And I’ll repeat what I mentioned above — what would you like to read about? Please let me know, simply by hitting reply to this newsletter. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
I have no crystal ball telling me how the season will go for the Jets, although Kenny and I will be sharing our best guesses in the Oct. 5 edition of our “Dump & Chase” column, so keep an eye out for that.
But I do know we’re going to give it 110 per cent, not be afraid to go into the corners and get pucks, er, words deep in the pages of the Free Press — while having all kinds of fun doing so.
Last, but certainly not least: if you’re not already a subscriber, there’s no better time than now to join us. There are multiple options which start as low as $4.75 per week, which you can find here.
Your support is truly appreciated. It also continues to ensure that Western Canada’s oldest newspaper can continue to build on its rich history and have a very bright future covering all the things that are important to you — including the happenings of the local National Hockey League club.
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