Winnipeg Jets
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| The Winnipeg Jets gave the infant WHA instant credibility when owner Ben Hatskin signed superstar winger Bobby Hull to a contract, luring him away from the NHL's Chicago Black Hawks. Led by Hull, a pair of strong goaltenders and a cast of veterans, the Jets advanced to the finals in their first season, only to lose out to the New England Whalers. The following year, however, the Jets' fortunes took a nosedive and they were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Houston Aeros. That off-season, the Jets became pro hockey's first community-owned team when the citizens of Winnipeg broke open their piggy banks and chipped in to make the down payment to purchase the team and keep it from being moved. On the ice, the Jets signed a number of players from Sweden and Finland, including Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg, to boost a sagging roster. That season, the Jets dazzled opponents and the “Hot Line,” as the trio of Hull, Nilsson and Hedberg had been dubbed, established itself as one of the most feared combinations in all of pro hockey. However, a mid-season slump ultimately kept them out of the playoff picture. In 1975-1976, the Jets added more talent from overseas as well as coach Bobby Kromm and they rocketed to the top of the league's standings. They needed only one game above the minimum to breeze through the playoffs and defeat the two-time defending champion Aeros to capture their first AVCO Cup championship. The next season, a rash of injuries and a last-minute trip to Moscow to compete in the Izvestia tournament ultimately cost the Jets as they fell two periods short of repeating as champions. After losing coach Kromm during the off-season, they added Kent Nilsson, another budding Swedish star, and the Jets regained their form, only to have the community ownership group run out of money late in the season. Private ownership stepped forward and purchased the team and the Jets didn't miss a beat as they went on to recapture the championship with an impressive sweep of the New England Whalers. Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg departed for the NHL's New York Rangers, but the new owners pulled off a coup when they purchased the remaining players under contract to the defunct Aeros. The reassembled Jets roster struggled through the 1978-79 season, but gelled late in the season under new coach Tom McVie and defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games to win their third AVCO Cup championship. Like the other three former WHA teams who were admitted into the NHL for the 1979-80 season, the Jets' roster was stripped bare by the NHL, and the franchise never again achieved the level of success it had during its time in the WHA. After 17 mostly mediocre NHL seasons, the Jets were sold and moved to Phoenix, Arizona for the 1996-97 season. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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