The Jets have apparently been cleared for take off. While nobody can seem to agree on exactly when the formal announcement will take place, it is all but certain that NHL hockey will be returning to Winnipeg next season when the Atlanta Thrashers move north.
No matter what you think about the viability of hockey in Atlanta, you have to be happy for long-suffering Winnipeg hockey fans. They never gave up on the NHL, even after the devastation of losing their beloved Jets at the end of the 1995-96 season. Fifteen long years later, their loyalty is about to be rewarded.
But while Winnipeg hockey fans have every reason to be excited, they may be in for a shock. After all, the NHL is a very different league today than it was the last time the Jets were on the ice. Winnipeg fans are in for a major adjustment.
I want to help. So as a service to Winnipeg-based readers, here is a handy guide to the various ways the league has changed since the last time you pulled on your Jets jersey and went to a game.
1996 The Atlanta Thrashers don
No matter what you think about the viability of hockey in Atlanta, you have to be happy for long-suffering Winnipeg hockey fans. They never gave up on the NHL, even after the devastation of losing their beloved Jets at the end of the 1995-96 season. Fifteen long years later, their loyalty is about to be rewarded.
But while Winnipeg hockey fans have every reason to be excited, they may be in for a shock. After all, the NHL is a very different league today than it was the last time the Jets were on the ice. Winnipeg fans are in for a major adjustment.
I want to help. So as a service to Winnipeg-based readers, here is a handy guide to the various ways the league has changed since the last time you pulled on your Jets jersey and went to a game.
1996 The Atlanta Thrashers don