10 years ago today - Return of the Jets

[Brominator]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-cheers-return-of-nhl-1.1062589

As the Jets gear up for a 2nd round match-up with the Leafs or Habs, it's nice to look back and remember the thrill of the announcement of the Thrashers relocating to Winnipeg, May 31st 2011.

I was one of those crazies who frequented the Jetsowner.com message boards, and hung on to every tidbit of info about the NHL returning. For people like me who heard "never gonna happen" from naysayers for years, May 31st 2011 was particularly special.

I dream that one day we'll all celebrate again together, this time with a Stanley Cup victory parade down Portage ave. But win or lose, I love this team and will always be a fan. Go Jets Go!

Click to read more...

 

[dcypher]

Thank you TNSE for Jets 2.0

A little back story. 10 years ago I was going through a really bad break up. It really made me depressed that summer.

It felt like therapy knowing we would have hockey again. The Jets 2.0 really lifted my sprits up after that summer 10 years ago and I have been all in with the team.

If I ever have the chance to meet Mr. Chipman I would tell him thank you for everything.

 

[Teemusalami204]

I still remember tears coming down my face as I was 10 beers in at the forks.

 

[Jetland162702]

Definitely a great time to be a Winnipegger and a Manitoban. I recall my son was in a walking cast after a baseball injury and so we went and rented crutches so we could join the festivities at the forks.
I believe our ownership group and our management group are among the best in the league, something Jets 1.0 did not have.

 

[snowkiddin]

Totally one of the best days of my life. I remember watching the press conference on TV and celebrating when Chipman announced the sale.

Also, IIRC, the Bombers had a great run that summer too.

Just an awesome day to be a sports fan in Winnipeg.

 

[Afterburner]

Man I still remember how miserable it was losing them, just a crushing blow. So happy we got them back, that was a freaking amazing day, thanks TNSE!!! GJG!

 

[TheDeuce]

It's too bad we lost all of the 'Return of the Jets' era posts on HF when they did that upgrade. You could just feel the energy reading through all the threads from May 2011 - August 2011. Especially the shock that was shared when we sold out our season ticket inventory in a few minutes.



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[Jets 31]

Sad day when they left absolutely great day when they came back. 10th year , Ducky number 10 ,can you say team of destiny.

 

[Skidooboy]

ok....so this is a long story for me.

Jets leave I hope and reminisce, and dream for years.
then I stumble on JetsOwner..join, post, read...start to believe!

Then at the 2oo9 a buddy of mine who worked in Winnipeg media(long since moved on) tells me he has a secret....he tells me that in an unrelated interview he was doing about the Moose, someone on the staff, off the record, by accident, let out a slip about dealings with the NHL to my buddy and the reporter he was working with...the gist was, Chipman was legitimately in the running for Phoenix if they needed an emergency out(Still a thing here in 2021)...BUT THE THRASHERS WERE THE PRIMARY TARGET AND THE NHL WAS PRETTY MUCH OK WITH THE TEAM MOVING TO WINNIPEG!!!! WITHIN THE NEXT 3-5 YEARS!!!!!!!... this was 2009...for 2 long cold years I told this story I had heard.I was called crazy, I was dreaming....

jump a head to May 19 2011...Jets buzz is high....but still just rumors and nobody has said a peep about it being official......

here's the key..I needed a new hat. I was gonna buy a A Senators cap as they had been the team I was supporting after the Jets left....but I just couldn't. there was a sweet 1990's logo jets cap on the shelf and I just couldn't NOT BUY it....I just had to have a Jets hat..... I leave the mall and "hand to god" I get home and turn on the TV and Brundt's "rumor" that the deal was done hits the news...

So..If'd I'd bought the Sens cap that day would the Jets be here now?

That's how I saved the Jets. You're Welcome!

 

[King Woodballs]

Happy 10th annual Winnipeg Jets day!

 

[Jetland162702]

ok....so this is a long story for me.

Jets leave I hope and reminisce, and dream for years.
then I stumble on JetsOwner..join, post, read...start to believe!

Then at the 2oo9 a buddy of mine who worked in Winnipeg media(long since moved on) tells me he has a secret....he tells me that in an unrelated interview he was doing about the Moose, someone on the staff, off the record, by accident, let out a slip about dealings with the NHL to my buddy and the reporter he was working with...the gist was, Chipman was legitimately in the running for Phoenix if they needed an emergency out(Still a thing here in 2021)...BUT THE THRASHERS WERE THE PRIMARY TARGET AND THE NHL WAS PRETTY MUCH OK WITH THE TEAM MOVING TO WINNIPEG!!!! WITHIN THE NEXT 3-5 YEARS!!!!!!!... this was 2009...for 2 long cold years I told this story I had heard.I was called crazy, I was dreaming....

jump a head to May 19 2011...Jets buzz is high....but still just rumors and nobody has said a peep about it being official......

here's the key..I needed a new hat. I was gonna buy a A Senators cap as they had been the team I was supporting after the Jets left....but I just couldn't. there was a sweet 1990's logo jets cap on the shelf and I just couldn't NOT BUY it....I just had to have a Jets hat..... I leave the mall and "hand to god" I get home and turn on the TV and LeBrun's "rumor" that the deal was done hits the news...

So..If'd I'd bought the Sens cap that day would the Jets be here now?

That's how I saved the Jets. You're Welcome!

THANKS.

Not only would the Jets not be back but you would still be cheering for the Senators.

 

[jetsmooseice]

It's amazing to look back at it. In those few years after the Jets left, it felt like they would never come back. But in hindsight, you could see with politicians getting on board with it by 07, 08, 09 it looked like something was cooking. Then in 2010 with the press conference cancelled at the 11th hour and the huge hullabaloo over that at Jetsowner.com, we knew it was just a matter of time.

We were lucky it worked out thanks to Chipman's hard work. We had a 15 year gap that felt like forever, but pretty soon Quebec will have been waiting for twice that long... an entire generation. Don't get me wrong, I hope they get their team back someday too. But it's clearly not an easy feat.

 

[Gnova]

I was going through through an awful time in my life that summer and the Jets returning made it bearable.
I remember all of the excitement on the HFJets board during that summer as the team came together and the logo was revealed.
I also remember watching the entire prior season of the Thrashers so that I would have a better knowledge of the team.

Early season one memories.
6 goal Hainsley predictions
Ran_y Jones
GST
Scheifele talk
Thinking Pavs was a good goalie
Buff being Buff

 

[Neuf]

My first 2.0 NHL game I walked into MTS centre and immediately saw Dale Hawerchuk and it finally hit me

 

[Guardian17]

My Dad took my brother and I to the last WHA game where the Jets won the Avco Cup and I've been a Jets fan ever since.


I remember watching Glendale City Council meetings on the old Jetsowner Forum.

The ALL NEW HOME of the Return of the Jets Campaign


Then there was that beer commercial with a familiar logo.

Then, on May 19, 2011, Brunt broke the news that a deal had been completed.





https://illegalcurve.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/globe-interview.mp3

Brunt: Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg; stands by story, conflicting reports


And then the deal was finally announced.

 

[Guardian17]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-10-years-1.6045957

 

[wraithsonwings]

HAPPY JETSMAS!!

 

[Jedub]

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the very first home opener. What a feeling, the whole city was electric. Didn't matter that we lost, it was just such a great outpouring of emotion from everyone. Ended up running into a very sheepish Alex Steen at a scuzzy main street vendor after.

I had a friend who mocked me for saying we'd have a team again in the next 10 years...in 2009. I often wonder if he remembers just how wrong he was. I hope so

Happy birthday Jets and here's to many more decades of hockey in Winnipeg.

 

[Buffdog]

Not sure if anyone remembers, but after the announcement we had near perfect weather and almost zero mosquitos

What a glorious summer

 

[LucianoBorsato]

Some people that I knew at the time said they would move again in 3 years....HAHA!

Started cheering for the Jets in 1981-82 (Hawerchuk). Just obsessed with them after that. During the '96 playoffs one of my friends committed suicide at 22, so that combined with those last few Jets games vs Detroit made for an extra special shitty grief and heartbreak filled week. I really lost interest in hockey for awhile, I could not cheer for Phoenix. I would jump on a Canadian team bandwagon during playoffs (but not the Leafs) when convenient.

2011 was a real rollercoaster year for me....my Grandfather died in April, then the NHL return was announced (jubilation!) and I scored my half-season tickets during the drive to 13. Anticipation all summer for the season to start, what would the team be called (Jets! YES!), who is Mark Scheifele etc etc. Then my Dad got sick, he passed away in October at the beginning of the season so I had to miss my first couple of games. Terrible time for me over the next year...HOWEVER going to games really helped a lot (as did the Budweiser Bottoms Up beer kiosk that was near my seats, I miss those magnet bottom cups!). The team wasn't very good, but that didn't matter. The atmosphere was electric, Buff was hitting everything in sight and it was a good distraction that kept me going through a dark time. Everyone was just so happy to be back in the big leagues again. So thank-you, Jets!

 

[Killer Orcas]

This Canuck was and is very happy the Jets came back as well. Was a travesty they left but the wrong has been corrected. Go White Out 2021 !!

 

[TheDeuce]

Some people that I knew at the time said they would move again in 3 years....HAHA!

Started cheering for the Jets in 1981-82 (Hawerchuk). Just obsessed with them after that. During the '96 playoffs one of my friends committed suicide at 22, so that combined with those last few Jets games vs Detroit made for an extra special shitty grief and heartbreak filled week. I really lost interest in hockey for awhile, I could not cheer for Phoenix. I would jump on a Canadian team bandwagon during playoffs (but not the Leafs) when convenient.

2011 was a real rollercoaster year for me....my Grandfather died in April, then the NHL return was announced (jubilation!) and I scored my half-season tickets during the drive to 13. Anticipation all summer for the season to start, what would the team be called (Jets! YES!), who is Mark Scheifele etc etc. Then my Dad got sick, he passed away in October at the beginning of the season so I had to miss my first couple of games. Terrible time for me over the next year...HOWEVER going to games really helped a lot (as did the Budweiser Bottoms Up beer kiosk that was near my seats, I miss those magnet bottom cups!). The team wasn't very good, but that didn't matter. The atmosphere was electric, Buff was hitting everything in sight and it was a good distraction that kept me going through a dark time. Everyone was just so happy to be back in the big leagues again. So thank-you, Jets!

I remember Nik Kypreos, doing the talking head thing, said that the plan was to park the team in Winnipeg for a few seasons and then move it to become the second Toronto team. Literal SMH. I wish I could find the clip - it was nauseating.



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[WiscoJet]

I loved hockey as a kid, was fortunate enough that my parents could afford to let me play hockey as a kid. Growing up in Wisconsin I never had an NHL team. My dad taped the 1996 All Star Game and I fell in love with the Jets logo. The Jets logo on Teemu's shoulder just stuck to me like glue for some reason. Little did I know Teemu and the Jets would be leaving shortly after. I never really latched on to another team, but always would go to that jetsowner site periodically throughout my middle and high school years. What really brought me back to being all in on the sport was the 2010 Olympics. Congrats to you guys on the gold, I just loved watching Ryan Miller in net during that run.

It just didn't feel right to hop on a bandwagon after the 2010 Olympics. So I was absolutely ecstatic when the Jets were announced to be coming back. They became my team 10 years ago and I still remember watching Scheifele getting drafted. There is just something special about Winnipeg. It reminds me so much of my other favorite team the Green Bay Packers. Sorry to all you that are Vikings fans. I also love that I still get to hate Chicago, Minnesota, and St. Louis fans. It just would feel wrong having something in common with a Minnesota Vikings fan from Minnesota or a St. Louis Cardinals fan.

Alas win or lose, so happy to be apart of the Winnipeg Jets fanbase. I am waiting for my children to get older so I can enjoy a trip with them to Winnipeg. I also have a deal with my current job that if any of my teams win a championship I can take off unannounced to go to the parade. I know that wouldn't work this year but I think about this potential day a lot.

Go Jets go.

 

[Hollywood3]

Remember those lineups for t-shirts?

 

[TheDeuce]

And remember the team name debates? It seems insane to me that True North was not just considering going with another name but has a wildly strong preference to abandon the Jets name. What a marketing gaffe that would have been - right up there with New Coke.

And some of the ideas were really out there: Winnipeg Ice (people inferred this was a possibility when the practice facility was named MTS Iceplex), Manitoba Falcons, Winnipeg Polar Bears, Manitoba Jets was one of them.

Anyone recall other candidates?

I was more excited when Chipman announced the team name at the draft than I was when the relocation was finally made official. I knew that we would be getting a team for years but I was NOT at all certain that they would have been named the Winnipeg Jets. I was genuinely worried that I would be forced to support the Winnipeg Excitement or some such...



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