Things about the Winnipeg Jets and the NHL that crossed my mind over the weekend —
Some random facts and a few thoughts from this past week about the Winnipeg Jets, the Manitoba Moose and the National Hockey League.
1. Another week has come and gone and still no news regarding Andrew Ladd or Dustin Byfuglien.
2. Congrats to Manitobans Nolan Patrick, Tanner Kaspick, Brett Howden and the rest of Team Canada’s U18 team on winning the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup this past weekend. They defeated Sweden 7-3 in the Gold Medal game.
3. Is it just me or has this been one of the quietest off-seasons in the NHL? And ALL teams, not just the Winnipeg Jets.
4. The big news so far this week is that the Pittsburgh Penguins have offered 41-year-old defenceman, Sergei Gonchar a PTO contract (professional try-out). WOW, stop the presses!
5. In some real hockey news, the Anaheim Ducks have signed RFA, Carl Hagelin to a 4 year, 16 million dollar deal.
6. Jacques Lemaire has been hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as a special assignment coach.
7. I’m a little surprised that Christian Ehrhoff is still a UFA.
8. It was a rough week for the Kanes and I’ll just leave it at that.
9. The streak continues: Canada has won its 8th straight Gold Medal at the U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. (see #2)
10. There are still some pretty darn good UFAs out there that could probably be had on very reasonable contracts!
11. I miss the old days when a players off-ice behavior and life-style were just rumours.
12. If the Toronto Maple Leafs had as many high-profile on-ice signings as their off-ice signings they would have a pretty good team. As Conn Smythe once said, “If you can’t beat ’em in the boardroom, you can’t beat ’em on the ice” or something like that. (see #6)
13. For those of you too young to understand #12, it was a quote from the late Conn Smythe that his players should refuse to be bullied by the opposition. The original quote was:
“If you can’t beat ’em in the alley, you can’t beat ’em on the ice”.
How times have changed!
14. Countdowns:
A. 2015 Young Stars Classic: 25 days (in Penticton, BC)
B. Jets 1st pre-season game: 36 days (vs Minnesota)
C. Jets 1st regular season game: 52 days (at Boston)
D. 2016 World Cup: 396 days (Sept. 17-Oct. 1 in Toronto)
15. Winnipeg Hockey Talk is looking for Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose writers AND we would love somebody to cover the Manitoba Bisons as well. If you or somebody you know is interested, please contact us at:
If you have any thoughts on any of these comments or questions, please let me know. I would love to hear your opinions.
Thanks, Mitch
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Funny how at the U18 Canada wins when they have access to all of their best players
How do you think Canada’s top U18s would do playing as a full-time team in the USHL under a coach like Stan Butler?