Winnipeg Jets Numbers Retired In Phoenix?
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A Winnipeg Jets Fan In Alberta
I’ve been a Golf Professional at Taber Golf Club for 11 years out here in Southern Alberta. When you’re in a place for a long period of time, you get to know the locals on a more personal level, especially in the service industry. For example, we have a member at the club that owns a home in the southern part of Phoenix and spends his winters there.
Numbers 9, 10 and 25?
One day he says to me “saw your boys Hawerchuk, Hull and Steen’s sweaters hanging from the rafters.” I was instantly irritated. Why might you ask? Well, Thomas Steen played 950 games with 264 goals, 553 assists for 817 points in 14 seasons with the WINNIPEG JETS. Here’s his stat line for Phoenix; 0-0-0-0! How about Dale? Winnipeg: 713 games with 379 goals, 550 assists, 929 points, 0-0-0-0 in the desert. The Golden Jet was retired long before the Coyotes even existed yet their sweaters decorate the ceiling in the Jobing.com arena.
It is an absolute travesty for this to happen. I certainly hope we don’t follow suit and hang Heatley and Kovalchuk’s sweaters from the MTS Centre! I understand that within the agreement the franchise and its history travels with the team but in this case, I think common sense needs to prevail. First of all, if you asked Dale and Thomas where they believe their sweater should be immortalized, I guarantee they would have chosen the Peg. Second, how many US residents in Phoenix even have one memory of any of those guys playing? Finally, I believe what is done in the city stays with the city.
If you ask any player, they’ll say they play for the fans and for the city. Do you think Coyote fans care they own Selanne’s rookie scoring records? A better question is, do they even know that they own that feat? How could they? Teemu never set foot in the Phoenix home dressing room.
What is the purpose behind this ridiculous clause within the agreement? Is it trying to erase what was done prior to the relocation? We know that will never happen.
Winnipeg is a hockey hotbed and our memories are still fresh with Ellett’s OT playoff winner, Teemu shooting down his glove after his 76th or Macoun’s cross-check to Hawerchuk’s ribs that sunk the playoff hopes of many Winnipeg Jets faithful. The NHL needs to do the right thing and leave a city’s legacy with the city regardless of how many years have passed.
Related Article: Do The Phoenix Coyotes Own Winnipeg’s History?
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