The last decade has been filled with some franchise-defining moments for the Winnipeg Jets.
Winnipeg's diehard fanbase has gone through a lot of ups and downs since the Jets returned to Manitoba for the 2011-12 season, but things have been trending in the right direction. Analysts have consistently tabbed the Jets to be postseason favorites out of the West for the last few seasons — which is a testament to just how much the franchise has changed from its humble beginnings in Atlanta.
As the decade wraps up with the clock striking midnight on Dec. 31, it's time to reflect look on the last 10 years. Sporting News' presents the top five moments from the last decade for the Winnipeg Jets.
5. Drafting Scheifele
Mark Scheifele was the Winnipeg Jets’ first draft pick after the franchise moved from Atlanta to Manitoba. Heading into the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Central Scouting had him ranked as the 16th-best North American skater; however, that didn’t stop general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who was hired just three weeks before the draft, from taking him seventh overall.
Scheifele had a rocky start that included two trips back to the OHL to hone his skills with the Barrie Colts but had a solid rookie campaign in the 2013-14 season (34 points in 63 games). Over the last few years, he has established himself as one of the best goal-scoring centers in the game and the eight-year, $49 million contract he signed on July 8, 2016, is widely considered one of the best bargains in the league. With Scheifele, the Jets have a top-line center under contract for four more seasons at a cap hit of $6.125 million.
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4. The Blake Wheeler trade
When the Jets were still the Thrashers, general manager Rick Dudley dealt Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart on Feb. 18, 2011. The Bruins made the deal to clear up cap space so that they could acquire Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those deals worked out well for the Bruins — they lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup after a seven-game series against the Vancouver Canucks.
Of course, that deal has also proven to be a big win for the Thrashers/Jets franchise.
MORE: On Dec. 21, Wheeler became the franchise's all-time points leader
Wheeler is just the second captain in the team’s history since the relocation and was the Jets’ most valuable player of the last decade. Over the last ten years, he has led the Jets in scoring five times and has been named an All-Star twice (2018, 2019). A high-volume shooter, averaging 2.92 SOG/GP since the Jets landed in Winnipeg, Wheeler is one of the most underrated playmakers in the game.
3. The 2016 draft lottery
The Jets 2015-16 season was a major disappointment. After making their first postseason appearance in the 2015 playoffs, and getting swept by the Minnesota Wild, expectations were high for the True North. Instead, the team was derailed by injuries to Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd and held back by woeful special teams play; they finished 12th in the conference in 2015-16 with just 78 points.
A silver lining to that crushing year was Winnipeg had a chance at landing an early draft pick. Heading into the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery, Cheveldayoff and the Jets held the sixth-overall pick; but then hockey gods smiled on Winnipeg and it landed the second-overall pick. In that slot, they selected Finnish winger Patrik Laine — who just might have the second-best shot in the NHL behind Alex Ovechkin.
The 36 goals that Laine scored in his rookie campaign in 2016-17 was the second-highest total by any rookie of the last decade. Although there are some questions about what his next contract will look like, Laine is already an integral part of the Jets’ core.
2. Game 7 win against Nashville
After Winnipeg made quick work of the Minnesota Wild in a five-game series, they were tested by the Predators in the second round of the 2018 Playoffs. In the 2017-18 regular season, the Predators were the only team in the Central Division with a better record than the Jets; many had them pegged as favorites to win the Cup out of the Western Conference after they lost to the Penguins in the 2017 Cup Final.
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The Predators and Jets traded wins until the decisive Game 7 in Nashville arrived. It was, without a doubt, the most important game in franchise history. The Jets, led by Scheifele and Paul Stastny’s two-goal performances, and a masterful 36-save game from Connor Hellebuyck, crushed the home team by a score of 5-1 to advance to the Western Conference finals.
While they were dismantled in five games by the Vegas Golden Knights in the conference finals, the 2018 playoffs will forever hold significance to Winnipeg. It marked the franchise's first postseason win on April 11, 2018, by a score of 3-2, and its first two playoff series victories. The city of Winnipeg’s 23-year long thirst for a playoff triumph was finally quenched.
1. Home again
In May of 2011, years of rumors were finally confirmed when True North Sports and Entertainment purchased the Thrashers for $170 million. The deal to move the Thrashers franchise from Atlanta to Winnipeg was approved by the NHL Board of Governors less than a month later. After 15 long years, the Winnipeg Jets arose from the ashes.
True North began its pursuit of bringing an NHL team back to Manitoba in 2007 and were apparently minutes away from bringing the original franchise back from Arizona; however, that deal fell apart when the city of Glendale greed to cover the Coyotes’ losses of $25 million for the 2010-11 campaign. With a little more stability in place in Arizona, the NHL Board of Governors and Gary Bettman moved forward with True North and the Thrashers franchise. The Manitoba Moose (AHL), who had been residents of Bell MTS Place before the deal, moved to St. John’s, Nfld., and were re-branded the IceCaps (the Moose returned to Manitoba in 2015).
Ownership waited until the 2011 draft to reveal the relocated team would indeed be called the Winnipeg Jets. To the surprise of no one, fans embraced the decision and flooded Bell MTS Place to sell out every Jets’ home game of the 2011-12 season. That sellout streak was finally snapped this October at 332 regular season and playoff games.