The biggest news in Winnipeg this week is of course the return of NHL hockey. How could it be anything but? Losing the Jets was a big deal to Winnipeg. Winnipeggers did everything in their power to attempt to keep them the first time around, but it just wasn’t enough. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise that with the looming return of an NHL franchise, we did everything in our power to make it happen.
Now, I love Manitoba. Our local economy is thriving, our unemployment rates are among the lowest in the country, property values have risen dramatically, and we have a ton more disposable income than we did when we lost the Jets in the first place.
All of this has been covered in the local media to a degree that, and for me, it’s beginning to induce numbness. Call it “local anesthesia”. Here are a few less recycled Winnipeg Jets ideas that I still find somewhat fresh.
Winnipeg needs something to do!
What people elsewhere don’t understand is that Manitoba is a great place to be in the summer. We get more heat and more sun than Vancouver, and we have beaches all over the province. This year, with all of our beachfront under water, and enough stagnant water to breed mosquitos to a degree that brings to mind the Stephen King movie, The Mist… well, it’s really awesome to have the return of the NHL to look forward to.
Cory Schnieder and Dustin Byfuglien
I’ve been a Canucks fan for a few years now, the Manitoba Moose being their AHL affiliate team. I’ve enjoyed watching Ryan Kesler and Cory Schneider climb to the biggies. It would be fantastic if True North was able to bring Cory back to Winnipeg, now that Winnipeg has climbed up to the big league to meet him.
As a Vancouver fan, Dustin Byfuglien royally pissed me off when they eliminated the Canucks in the 2009-2010 playoffs. This past season with the thrashers, he scored a franchise record for goals by a defenseman. As my loyalties realign with my new NHL hometown pride, I’ve found new respect for the man. There’s something deeply satisfying about the fact that he scored his first career hat trick against the Phoenix Coyotes; the Jets of old whose new members didn’t want to come back to Winnipeg. Whether he plays left wing as he did for the Blackhawks or defense as he did in Atlanta, I have no doubt that Byfuglien will be welcomed here with open arms.
Ticket Availability
To those who did not support the Manitoba Moose, who didn’t support the rising talent of the NHL when tickets were $20 per game and seats for a full season were only $800 in the lower bowl, I have little compassion. Now, tickets are five times the price and some of you have sour grapes about not being able to attend a game. If more people had attended Moose games, it may not have been a 15 year wait for the return of NHL hockey to the Peg in the first place. The production value of an AHL Moose home games was high, as was the entertainment value, and you all missed out. There’s more to hockey than the NHL. I was lucky enough to attend a Canucks game earlier this year in Vancouver, and I’ll admit that there is a somewhat noticeable difference in the level of talent between the two leagues. To me, it only means I’ll be able to appreciate the talent of our new NHL franchise all the more when I watch the many NHL home games this season.
Go Jets, Go.
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