Hellebuyck Signs For One Year, $2.5 M

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets avoided salary arbitration by agreeing on a one-year, $2.5 million contract.

Hellebuyck was scheduled for arbitration on Aug. 1.

Jets After The Drafts and Free Agency

What's Going to happen next season with this Jets roster?

         

Mason Appleton Signs Three-Year Entry Level Deal

Winnipeg Jets 2015 sixth-round draft pick, Mason Appleton, has decided to forgo his third year of university at Michigan State to begin his professional hockey career and sign a three-year, two-way, entry-level deal with the Jets.

In his two years as a Spartan, he has compiled 72 goals, 36 assists for 53 points in 72 games.  That's a goal-a-game guy.  Not bad.

Lipon Signs One Year Deal

Forward JC Lipon, who was selected 91st overall at the 2013 Entry Draft, has signed a one-year, two-way deal that will see him paid $650,000 annually.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck remains the only restricted free agent on the Jets roster.

Jets Re-sign Copp

The Winnipeg Jets have re-signed forward Andrew Copp to a two-year, $2 million extension.

Jets Announce ECHL Affiliation With Jacksonville Icemen

The Winnipeg Jets  have announced that their, and the Manitoba Moose-new ECHL affiliation is the Jacksonville Icemen of Jacksonville, Florida.

Tanev Signs One Year Deal

The Winnipeg Jets have signed Brandon Tanev to a one year, one-way extension, worth $700,000.

I have to take umbrage with this article when it states that Tanev "was one of the Jets worst forwards last season."  and about him being "not highly successful in that area," when it comes to his role as a penalty-killer.


Although he was never in danger of  burning out the goal-light, Tanev was in my opinion, a very good penalty killer, and his speed was a big reason for that.  He scored two goals against Detroit at Joe Louis Arena, including the game winner, and scored a short-handed goal in back-to-back games in late April.

He'll be alright.

Hellebuyck Files For Arbitration

Twenty-four-year-old goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has filed for arbitration (among the 30 players that did) after he and the Winnipeg Jets failed to reach an agreement on a deal before the 5:00 PM EST arbitration deadline.

Apparently, Helle wants to be paid like an NHL starter.

FREE AGENCY UPDATE: Jets Sign Schilling

The Winnipeg Jets have signed another free agent.  Defenseman Cameron Schilling, formerly of the American Hockey League's Rockford Ice Hogs (Chicago), Ontario Reign (Los Angeles) and the Hershey Bears for a two-way deal at a term of one year for $650,000.

The Jets also lost defenseman and minor-leaguer Brian Starit, who signed last July 1st, to the New Jersey Devils.  No loss.  Not even one game played for the Jets.

Mason, Kulikov, Sgrbossa, Robinson Sign With Jets

Free agent goaltender, Steve Mason has signed a two-year, $8.2 million deal with the Winnipeg Jets.  The Jets also reached an agreement with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov that will pay him $12.99 million over three years.

And the Jets signed forward Michael Sgarbossa to a one-year, $650,000 contract that will probably see Sgarbossa start the 2017-18 season with the Jets' AHL affiliate, Manitoba Moose.

The Jets got their goalie, a former Calder Trophy winner, in Mason.  will he help the Jets achieve a playoff spot?  Hopefully, with Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and possibly Adam Lowry making strides, with Mark Scheifele continuing his upward projection, they should be in decent shape.  Unfortunately for Michael Hutchinson, it looks like he'll be spending more time with the Moose in a tandem with Eric Comrie.

And surprise, surprise, Ondrej Pavelec has been signed to the New York Rangers as a back-up to Henrik Lundqvist.  I'm glad Pavy's career will be extended in the NHL.  I've always liked Pavelec and hoped he would improve while with the Jets, but unfortunately, the writing had been on the wall for a while with his numbers just not what the Jets (or any other club expecting NHL numbers for a starter) expected since the move from Atlanta.

The Jets also lost Anthony Peluso to the Washington Capitals on a one-year $650,000 deal, as well as Paul Postma, going to the Boston Bruins for one year at $750,000.
Although he wasn't a Jet any longer, Alexander Burmistrov has found a home with the Vancouver Canucks, signing a one-year $900,000 contract.  And forward, Chris Thorburn (selected by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights) was not signed by Vegas only to be picked up by the St. Louis Blues for two years at $1.8 million.

And, just as I was writing this, the Jets have just signed winger, Buddy Robinson from the Ottawa Senators at a term of one year at a hit of $650,000.  Like Sgarbossa, Robinson is most likely headed to the Moose.

So, the Jets got a veteran goalie to mentor Connor Hellebuyck.  Not quite the guy the Jets were looking to commit to, however, with Brian Elliott, Anti Niemi, Ryan Miller and Antti Raanta off the market, Mason was the only real viable choice.  I guess reports of Elliott "making preperations to live in Winnipeg" were a little north of bogus.

Ask A Jet: Dylan Samberg

Winnipeg Jets second-round pick, defenseman, Dylan Samberg sat down with JetsTV and answered a quick couple of questions for Jets Nation.

Selanne Hall Of Fame Bound

Former Winnipeg Jet great and Stanley Cup champion with the Anaheim Ducks, Teemu Selanne is going into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

As anyone with a memory better than 10 years (and believe me, I know that's pushing it for some of us) Teemu Selanne was one of the greatest hockey players in history.  Not just in the National Hockey League, but in Finland and in international competition.

He utterly destroyed the rookie goal and points record established in the 1977-78 NHL season by Mike Bossy (enthralling Winnipeg hockey fans, as well as the rest of the hockey world with his 76 goals and 132 point output in his first season in the NHL.

He enthralled Winnipeg hockey fans for just a short two years until the idiot (then) owners of the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes had him traded to save money?  To save money?  Did they realize what he had just accomplished?  76 golas as a rookie?  132 points?  Forget the fact that they traded future Hall-Of-Famer Teemu Selanne to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Oleg Teverdosky and Chad Kilger.  Who?  Exactly.

Did these brain-dead, so-called "hockey men" know that he would double the gate, not to mention merchandise sales?  Idiots!!!

They could have claimed the man responsible for 684 goals, 773 assists for 1457 points in 1451 games played.  A mark that will not be touched in any of our lifetimes. He is the highest scoring Finn in league history.  Not to mention he is also in the International Ice Hockey Federeation (IIHF) Hall Of Fame as the leading points-getter in international hockey history with 43 points.

Teemu Selanne, one of the greatest players in hockey history, and certainly one of the three greatest players in Winnipeg Jets history will be going into the Hockey Hall Of Fame along with Paul Kariya, Mark Recchi and Dave Andreychuck.  Team Canada Women's gold-medal member Danielle Goyette is also being inducted.

Congrats to the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne.  A great hockey player and an even better gentleman and ambassador for the game.

And still, forever a Jet.

Jets Draft Picks: Rounds 2-7

After selecting big Finnish forward Kristian Vesalainen with their first pick (after trading down from 13th to 24th with Vegas to protect Toby Enstrom) the Winnipeg Jets finished their 2017 entry draft selections along with the rest of the league.
After the first round was completed, all teams reverted back to their original pre-lottery draft positions, so the Jets selected 12th in every successive rounds, barring any trades and/or selection swaps.

Round 2:  Pick #12, 43rd overall:  Dylan Samberg  D  USA  6'3  211 lbs.  Hermantown, MN (High School)

Round 3:  Pick #12, 74th overall: Johnathan Kovacevic   D  CAN  6'4 208 lbs.  Merrimack

Round 4:  Pick #12, 104th overall:  Santeri Virtanen  C   FIN  6'1  194lbs.   TPS JR.  (FIN)

Round 5:  Pick #12, 136th overall:  Leon Gawanke    D   DEU   6'0  186lbs.   Cape Breton  QMJHL

Round 6:  Pick #12, 167th overall: Arvid Holm     G    SWE   6'4   213 lbs.    Karlscrona, Jr.  (SWE)

Round 7:  Pick #12, 198th overall:  Skyler McKenzie   LW    CAN   5'7   154lbs.   Portland   WHL


And that's it for 2017.   There doesn't seem to be any standouts this year.  The Jets claim they got their first pick, Vesalainen, at #24 when they would have grabbed him at #13 if they were still in that slot.

Maybe the Jets have found one of those, kind of, rare diamonds in the rough like many teams have such as the Detroit |Red Wings with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.  Or like the New York Rangers when they found and unselected Henrik Lundqvist.  It can happen.  The Jets could use one.

Here's a post-draft interview with second-round pick, Dylan Samberg on being selected by the Jets:

Jets Re-Sign Chiarot To Two Year Deal

The Winnipeg Jets have extended the contract of defenseman Ben Chiarot for another two years at $2.8 million.

In 59 games last year, Chiarot scored two goals and 10 assists for 12 points.
He is coming off a two-year, $1.7 million deal with a cap hit of $850,000.

Jets Select Fin Vesalainen With First Pick

With their first pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Winnipeg Jets selected Kristian Vesalainen from the Frolunda Indians in the Swedish Elite League (SHL).  Vesalainen helped Frolunda win the Swedish Elite title and the European Champions Hockey League championship.  His production dipped a bit in his second season with Frolunda, but his IIHF U-18 tournament contributions, helping Finland win the silver medal, put him back in the scouts field of vision.






The question now becomes, what number will he wear?  True North will allow him to wear #10, as they did with Evander Kane (and Andrew Copp) and Bobby Hull's old #9.  Kane did personally ask Hill for permission.  Bryan Little wore #10 in Atlanta before relocating to Winnipeg in 2011, but, out of respect for Dale Hawerchuck, Little changed to his current number 18.  Will Vesalainen do the same?  I hope so.  Personally, I don't think anyone who wears a Winnipeg Jets jersey now or in the future should wear 9, 10, 14, 15 or 25.  (Hull, Hawerchuck, Ulf Nillsson, Anders Hedberg or Thomas Steen)  Teemu Selanne would be a no-brainer for this list if he had played anymore time with the Jets.

The Jets won't retire any numbers in the future.  They will, however, much like the Toronto Maple Leafs, have "honoured numbers" that will hang from the rafters at Bell MTS Place.

Golden Knights Select Chris Thorburn From Jets

The 2017-18 expansion Vegas Golden Knights have their "original" NHL roster complete fresh from the National Hockey League Expansion Draft to complete the entry to the league of the new franchise.

  Forward Chris Thorburn was the player the Winnipeg Jets lost to the Golden Knights last night.
Thorny, is the the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader in regular-season, all-time games played with 709.  He accumulated 49 goals,  72 assists for 121 points.

Obviously, and it has since been confirmed, that Kevin Cheveldayoff  (along with numerous other GMs) made a deal with Knights' GM George MacPhee to lay off selecting veteran defenseman Toby Enstrom.  There may have been further discussion in the same regards towards Marko Dano and/or Shawn Matthias.  The Knights get the Jets first-round pick this season (#13) and about $4 million saved, while the Jets keep Enstrom and slip way down to pick #24 (via a trade made earlier with the Columbus Blue Jackets)

So, look at it this way Jets fans, it's like we made it into the second round of the playoffs (and I would have won a bet) and wound up in 24th spot and we get to keep a veteran defenseman from being plucked from the roster.  Who would the Jets have gotten at the 13th pick?  The draft class is arguably a little thin this year, and the Jets aren't wanting for fire-power or a top-6 defenseman (maybe a top-4 would be nice) and other than a top-10 goalie (which wouldn't be available at 13) who did the Jets have their eyes on at the position?

So, I say good job Chevy.

The Golden Knights, not surprisingly, took three-time Stanley Cup champion, Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh Penguins (I still  can't believe that guy was available), James Neal from the Nashville Predators, Calvin Pickard from the Colorado Avalanche (Poor Avs.  First they lose the number-one pick and now their best goalie that shouldn't have been available) aaannnd...that's about it.  The reason being, as stated, GMs simply couldn't protect every player they wanted to.  As a result, not only did the Golden Knights select Fleury from the Penguins, but they also received a 2020 second-round pick for taking the contract off of their hands.

Trades and deals resulting from the expansion Golden Knights holding all the cards (?)

So Thornburn is gone and Enstrom will be at training camp in September.  I'm actually glad to say the same about Dano.  He clearly has potential, and I want to see him flourish with the Jets.
Thorburn will certainly be missed in the dressing room.  He didn't produce very often but when he did, they were clutch and beauty and/or lucky blasts.  He was the Jets top enforcer and acquired 832 penalty minutes over the course of 10 seasons for the franchise.  I liked Thorny.  He is of good character and a team-player.  I wish him well.

Now watch as he wins the cup with Vegas (or whoever) within three years.

Dale Hawerchuck To Be Enshrined In The Jets HOF

Finally!

Dale Hawerchuck, the greatest Jet ever, is finally being inducted into the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame.

Now, to be fair to True North, they only started this honour last season to show appreciation for the history of hockey in Winnipeg (the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame already honoured past teams such as the first Olympic gold medal-winning Winnipeg Falcons, multiple Memorial Cup champion-Winnipeg Braves and Monarchs and of course, the Stanley Cup winning teams of the Winnipeg Victorias along with Winnipeg Arena's original tenant in 1955-the Winnipeg Warriors)

The Winnipeg Jets 1.0 owned by Barry Shenkarow from 1979-1996 should have had Hawerchuck's number 10 hanging from the rosters much, much earlier.  Hawerchuck is the all-time leading Winnipeg Jets scoring leader with 379 goals, 550 assists for 929 points in 713 games played.

It's a real historical shame that not only did Winnipeg Jets fans lose their team in 1996, but it never got to see one of (if not the) greatest player to wear a Jets uniform honoured in front of them like he should have been.

Standing alone wearing his Winnipeg Jets jersey in the middle of the ice in Jobing.com Arena (now Gila River Arena) being honoured by (at the time) the Phoenix Coyotes, to their credit, was just ridiculous for Jets fans.  Then to have his name and number raised to the rafters in Coyotes colours, along with other Jets that never played a single, solitary game in Phoenix.  That includes Bobby Hull and Thomas Steen, who never played for any other organization other than the Winnipeg Jets.  By that logic, I'm surprised the Coyotes don't claim Teemu Selanne as one of their own.  I mean, why not throw his number 13 up there as well?



This goes along with my theory on letting the Jets have their history back.  Things like this wouldn't happen.  So, so stupid.

But Dale "Ducky" Hawerchuck will finally be having his name and number hanging from the rafters at Bell MTS Place along with Bobby Hull, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nillsson.
I'm actually surprised Hawerchuck is being inducted by himself (there might be others added to this class before the season starts) because I fully expected Thomas Steen and Teemu Selanne to be standing at center ice with him.

Congratulations Ducky!  It's about time.

Jets Draft History 2011-2017

Here is the Winnipeg NHL Entry Draft history since the return of the team to Winnipeg in 2011.

Are The Jets Headed For Budget Issues?

Oh boy.  Here we go again.  Isn't this the problem the Winnipeg Jets had in the 90s?  Bad Canadian dollar, high salaries and other lost revenue due to the lack of vision and greed of Winnipeg Enterprises?  The only, and most specific difference, is Mark Chipman and True North Sports & Entertainment actually own the arena they occupy.  That means revenue that the Jets 1.0 never got. Revenue such as parking, concessions, plus non-hockey related revenue such as concerts, circuses, awards shows (the Junos, for example) and other activities.  That's the difference this time around. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have one of the richest men in the world as a co-owner.  That of course being David Thomson, Third Thomson of Fleet.

Fancy title, huh?  Well, it should be, his net worth is an estimated $27.2 billion.  Yes, that's billion with a B.

Thompson isn't expected to just hand over cash to Mark Chipman whenever there may be a financial dip in the Jets financial fortunes, but I doubt the Jets will face the financial crisis that forced them to move like the the team that was born in Winnipeg in 1972 and was forced out to Arizona (losing eventual Stanley Cup champion and Hall of Famer and probably Jet-for-life Teemu Selanne in the process, in what was still one of the most dumbest trades in NHL history) in 1996.  Afterall, in one of his rare public appearances, the Jets silent partner/owner went pretty much all-in when asked for a comment during True North's press conference in 2011. stating, in effect, the Jet are more than just a hockey team to Winnipeggers; it's a symbol of the community, their identifier.  It's something that the city has rallied around since 1972 (minus of course 1996-2011) and never really let it go.

One example of that never-say-die attitude of wishing a team back is Darren Ford and his "Jets Owner" website in which he, for years, championed the return of the Winnipeg Jets, acknowledging the need for a new, stable, wealthy owner and a new, downtown, centralized arena and a salary cap. Despite a lucid, economically thought out theory on how to attract a prospective owner in an already hockey-rabid market, especially when by 2007/2008, all of Phoenix, Carolina, Florida and Atlanta were in financial turmoil, made public by the NHL or not; Ford saw the reality of a well-run hockey club in Winnipeg once again.

He received more than his fair share of criticism and mockery over the years for his prophetic vision, but on May 31, 2011, I wonder who was laughing the hardest.

When referring to the return of the team at the press conference back in May of 2011, Thomson said, "It's time."

For the life of me, I wish I could find the full quote from the press conference.

I actually just found an old article from 2011 at the HuffPost Canada, although it isn't exactly what I was looking for, meaning the Thomson quote.

So, while the Jets are in no real trouble of moving (as some nay-sayers predicted as soon as True North made the announcement about purchase and re-location) they still face the trials and tribulations of a small-market, lower-cap team.  Not to mention the stigma that accompanies every players reason for not wanting to play there.

That will change.  When this team is built into a contender and is finally seen as a legitimate destination for players wanting to win, the culture will be one of professionalism, dedication and victory.

But, for the sake of 80s Jets fans, let's hurry it along, shall we?

MTS Centre Gets Name Change

The MTS Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets and AHL's Manitoba Moose has had its name changed with the Bell Canada's acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) the arena is now called BellMTS Place.