Retired Jet relives Winnipeg’s hockey Heritage

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/10/2016 (3459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Heritage Classic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I certainly want to jam in as much as I can while I’m in the city. Yes folks, I am back in the ’Peg — and loving every minute of it.

I’m looking forward not only to seeing old teammates and meeting players I cheered for when I was finished playing, but it’ll be fun saying hello to the opposition — even though I’ve always hated that Edmonton Oilers jersey.

Wednesday night, I watched the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs from one of the luxury boxes at the MTS Centre with several alumni, including new Jets Hall of Famers Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg — what a treat for me. While there wasn’t much to cheer about for a good chunk of the game, the Patrick Laine show sure got our group going late.

On a more sobering, appreciative note, I mentioned the late Lars-Erik Sjoberg last week, former captain of the Winnipeg Jets and the best defenceman in the World Hockey Association in my opinion.

He wasn’t my regular partner but when we played together he always put me in the best spot possible. I can talk all day about him, as can all teammates and opposition.

In fact, Nilsson and Hedberg discussed Sjoberg quite a bit at the hall of fame luncheon Thursday and generally agreed he was among the best in the world at his position. It was quite a tribute to him. The three of them were pioneers, coming over together from Sweden to take the WHA by storm.

I remember a quote from an Oilers player saying “Shoe” was the difference in us winning the last Avco Cup over them, as he came back late after missing most of the year with injury. That was a complete team effort from the Jets, but he had a point.

It was a very sad day when I heard he died in 1987 at the young age of 43, a great teammate but also a guy who made me laugh and feel good when we were at the rink. The Little General was all that and much more. Representing him is his widow, Christina, and son, Marcus, in a very intuitive and welcome gesture by True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Jets.

My regular defence partner on the Jets, Paul Terbenche, died in 2012. He was also my roommate on road trips, and Turbo had to have the TV turned on for him to sleep — no sound, but a bright light. I was the young buck, he the seasoned vet — you know who won and I sure lacked sleep on those trips. He made up for that by being a wily veteran, and helped my young game. It’s startling to realize one-third of your defence corps from that last Avco Cup win is no longer with us.

Also missed greatly is former general manager John Ferguson, who came in during the last championship year. I really enjoyed playing for him and was always grateful for the help he extended to me after hockey — a real gentleman and friend who cared deeply for Winnipeg.

The Jets had a touching tribute at the luncheon for all of the fallen former players.

They are Jets forever.

About a dozen players who I played with on the Jets over three seasons will be at the Heritage Classic festivities this weekend, and five will be playing in the Alumni Game: Moe Mantha, the puck-moving defenceman; Doug Smail, the speedy forward who told me Thursday night he was ready to go today; two-way centre talent Ron Wilson; rocket-shot defenceman Dave Babych and speedy sniper Morris Lukowich will give those old, fat-cat Oilers a good lesson in how to age properly.

However, I do wonder how many times Lukowich will start a scrum after he accidentally gets his stick caught up in the ribs of an Oilers player. Ah, the good old days — old habits sometimes die hard.

I can’t wait to hear my old coach Tom McVie (one of the alumni coaches) and that foghorn of a voice. He coached the WHA Jets to the last Avco Cup win and stayed on a couple of early NHL years with the club.

When we were a little undisciplined we’d hear the “battle stations” war cry in our own zone, as could anybody in the rink and the people standing at Portage and Main; despite it starting in the old Winnipeg Arena.

We didn’t always see eye-to-eye (it’s my habit with coaches through to today — see Paul Maurice), but he was a big reason we won that last cup. His no-nonsense style was the right medicine for a struggling team and he could be quite funny at times — just plain mean at others.

Yes, I was one of the players he skated into the ice at practice, to the point of puking, naturally. He seemed to like it a bit too much for my taste. But we won, something we get to enjoy for our lifetimes, and it’ll be good to see him again.

There’s a nice group from that last cup win in town who aren’t playing in the game. Goaltenders Joe Daley and Markus Mattsson can relive their 57-save performances for us. Defencemen Paul MacKinnon and Kim Clackson can remember their best defensive plays and huge goals, although Clacker will be able to tell more stories of his demolition of opposing players. Clackers Corner was a real thing — I think they even had their own secret handshake.

The Energizer bunny, Bill Lesuk, who was all out, every second of every shift, wily Lyle Moffatt and speedy, silky Peter Sullivan join Lukowich as forwards who will add to the legendary tales to be told from that team. Willy Lindstrom is coming and playing as an Oiler but won Avco Cups in Winnipeg.

The Jets, of course, won three WHA championships, and many players from the other two teams will be here as well. A few of the ones I just mentioned won multiple cups in Winnipeg — that last one wasn’t their first time at the rodeo.

It will be interesting to see the alumni juices flowing as competitive spirits rise to the top.

Those NHL Jets 1.0 losses to the power-packed Oilers in the 1980s can’t be avenged in one game, but it would sure make for a raucous, fun-filled afternoon.

It’s been a blast being back in Winnipeg and I’m not even halfway through!

Chosen ninth overall by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and first overall by the WHA’s Houston Aeros in 1977, Scott Campbell has now been drafted by the Winnipeg Free Press to play a new style of game.

Twitter: @NHL_Campbell