Winnipeg Jets: Then and Now

SI Staff | Oct 20, 2011

Winnipeg Jets: Then and Now

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Khabibulin spent his first two NHL season in Winnipeg, going 34-29-7 while splitting time with Tim Cheveldae. He started all six 1996 first-round playoffs games in a loss to the Red Wings and moved with the team to Phoenix. Pavelec was a second-round pick by the Thrashers in 2005, his playing time gradually increasing each of the last five seasons. He entered this year as the No. 1 in net after going 21-23-9 with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage, both career bests, in 2010-11.

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Zhamnov broke into the NHL at 22 with the Jets in 1992 after winning an Olympic gold medal with the Unified Team. He scored 103 goals over four seasons, leading the team in goals (30) and assists (35) in 1994-95. He was traded to the Blackhawks for Jeremy Roenick in the summer of 1996. Antropov joined the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009 after parts of nine seasons with the Maple Leafs. He scored the new Jets' first goal in a 5-1 loss to the Canadiens at the MTS Centre.

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The 19th overall pick in the 1990 draft, Tkachuk debuted at age 19 in 1991. He would be a staple of the Jets' attack the following four seasons and the American face of the franchise as it moved to Phoenix, racking up 98 points in the final Winnipeg season. Kane was the fourth pick of the 2009 draft and played his first game for the Thrashers at age 18 that same year. One of the NHL's bright young players, he had 19 goals and 24 assists last season. Kane respectfully asked Jets legend Bobby Hull for permission to wear the No. 9 jersey.

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Selanne led the NHL with a rookie record 72 goals in winning the Calder Trophy in 1992-93 and would make three All-Star teams as a Jet before being dealt to the Mighty Ducks for Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky midway through the final season in Winnipeg. Back with the Ducks, Selanne gets his Winnipeg homecoming Dec. 17. Wheeler was the fifth overall pick of the 2004 draft by, ironically, the Coyotes before a stint with the Bruins. He was traded to the Thrashers in February and scored seven goals with 10 assists in the final 23 games of the season.

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Numminen was drafted by the Jets in 1986 but didn't leave Finland until 1988. He made his Jets debut in 1988 and played 547 games for Winnipeg, fifth in team history. Byfuglien is the most recognizable player on the new Jets, becoming a household hockey name during the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup run in 2010. Big Buff was traded to Atlanta in June 2010 and was an All-Star in 2011.

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Cheveldae was traded to Winnipeg for the franchise's all-time wins leader, Bob Essensa, in 1994 and bridged the gap to Nikolai Khabibulin, eventually being traded to the Flyers in 1996. Mason spent time with Nashville and St. Louis before joining the Thrashers for the 2010-11 season. Mason had been a starter in St. Louis but posted a 3.39 GAA and an .892 save percentage last season, giving way to Ondrej Pavelec.

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Now a commentator for NBC/Versus, Olczyk came to Winnipeg in 1990 after a promising start to his career in Chicago and Toronto. Olczyk would be dealt to the Rangers in 1992, winning a Cup in New York, before being traded back to Winnipeg, where he left after the team moved to Phoenix. Little has only played for one franchise in his brief career. Little, the 12th overall pick in the 2006 draft, scored 81 goals with 68 assists in 282 games in Atlanta.

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Drake came to Winnipeg as part of the Bob Essensa-Tim Cheveldae trade in 1994. He played the next two full seasons in Winnipeg and followed the franchise to Phoenix, totaling 382 games as one of its mainstays during the relocation period. Ladd, re-signed to a five-year, $22 million deal over the summer, is the first captain of the new Jets. Like Dustin Byfuglien before him, Ladd was traded by the Blackhawks to the Thrashers after Chicago's Cup win in 2010. He led Atlanta in goals (29) and points (59) last season.

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Doan is the all-time games played leader for the Jets/Coyotes franchise with more than 1,100 and counting. Doan, the last remaining Jet-Coyote, was drafted seventh overall by Winnipeg in 1995. His only season in Winnipeg was the final season. He played 74 games as a 19-year-old. Burmistrov was the 10th overall pick in the 2010 draft and, like Doan, played 74 games in his first season. Turning 20 on Oct. 21, Burmistrov has a bright future ahead.

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Tverdovsky, the No. 2 overall pick in 1994, played 31 games for the Jets in their final Winnipeg season after coming over from the Ducks in the Teemu Selanne trade. He would later be traded back to Anaheim in 1999. Enstrom has enjoyed quite an early start to a career for a defenseman drafted in the eighth round in 2003. He finally left Sweden for Atlanta in 2007, played 82 games three straight seasons, reached 50 points in the final two years and made the 2011 All-Star team.

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Simpson took over coaching duties from GM John Paddock in the 1994-95 season and then led the club to the playoffs in the final Winnipeg season in 1995-96. He's reacting to the dubious Teemu Selanne trade in this photo. Noel got his first NHL head coaching gig with an interim tag, taking over for Ken Hitchcock in Columbus for the final 24 games of the 2009-10 season. Noel then coached Winnipeg's Manitoba Moose in 2010-11. When the team relocated to accommodate the Jets' return, Noel stayed, securing his first full-time NHL head coaching gig.