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Winnipeg soldiers on without its beloved Jets
Ballparks Virtual Mall Ray Turchansky
Journal Sports WriterWinnipeg - A black curtain hangs around the Winnipeg Arena, literally separating this city's hockey present from its past.
Behind the curtain lie the empty seats that used to be filled by some of the 15,000 fans who watched the NHL Winnipeg Jets before the team was moved to Phoenix.
Now there are 10,530 seats left in front of the curtains at the Winnipeg Arena, more than enough for the Manitoba Moose, who are averaging 5,953 fans a game in the International Hockey League.
Whether Winnipeg and Quebec are joined in the NHL's boneyard by Edmonton hangs in the balance.
The economic effect of the loss of the Jets has been minimal.
"From an economic standpoint, the city and province have continued to prosper; by most economic indicators it's second only to Alberta," said Mark Chipman, who was on the Save The Jets committee and is now owner of the Moose.
A recent study showed that a major sports franchise in a city like Winnipeg or Edmonton contributes one-half of one percent of the city's economy annually.
But the toll has come in civic pride.
"It really has been missed," said Leslie Olson, who works for the Winnipeg School Division. "The Moose have filled a void, but the Jets gave the city a sense of pride. Look around in the malls, people still wear the Jets' jackets and hats. People are still in mourning. And it's not just here. I'm from Brandon originally, and people there are sick and tired of Winnipeg people complaining about losing the Jets. It's their loss, too."
Kevin Fyfe, 10, played in last summer's Brick Super Novice Hockey Tournament at West Edmonton Mall for the Winnipeg Junior Jets, a team that wears sweaters like the old NHL team's. He still treasures a broken stick of goalie Nikolai Khabibulin that he got at the Jets practice.
"Sometimes I use it to play street hockey. I haven't taken off the tape or anything," said Fyfe.
But his memories of the team are starting to fade and the younger generation will soon forget.
"I think it is a big disappointment because they don't really have anybody left to look up to," said Junior Jets coach Tom Zajac.
He is unsure what effect the loss of the Jets has had on minor hockey in Winnipeg.
"I'm not sure it had a real profound effect," said Zajac. "It just was a matter that the kids had no one to identify with. No one could take them to an NHL game to see the Lemieuxs or the Gretzkys. I think they lose that sense of being able to associate with those top players."
Chris Cariou, who was raised in Winnipeg, moved from Edmonton back to Winnipeg last fall.
"I think it would hurt more to lose the team in Edmonton because Winnipeg didn't have the success Edmonton had," said Cariou. "People will always think of Gretzky as an Oiler."
People have gone through different phases since the Jets left.
"Psychologically I think people are hurting at the loss, but I don't know that it's as bad as we thought it would be," said Chipman. "If you look at Hockey Night In Canada numbers, I think they're down across the country, and here I think the majority of people have gotten past it now. Everybody came to the conclusion it wasn't anybody in Winnipeg's fault we lost the team."
Generally, older people who grew up in the WHA days and young people who have little pre-IHL history are accepting the Moose. It's the generation from 25 to 40 who were raised watching the NHL who have taken the loss the hardest.
Winnipeg Sun sports writer Grant Granger said that unlike the way it was with the Jets, people aren't really interested in whether the Moose win or lose, and don't really know the players. They go to the games for the atmosphere, not unlike Triple-A baseball.
There some differences between the Winnipeg and Edmonton NHL situations.
"We didn't have the building," said Chipman. "So the capital cost to keep the team here wasn't only the purchase cost, we also had to spend over $100 million on a building, and that was just too much at the time. ...
But even with governments seemingly willing to come forward to help with a new building, Chipman feels the inevitable would merely have been delayed in Winnipeg, and fears the same in Edmonton.
"The long-term picture -- we were unable to ascertain what it really held. Just in the time frame that it took to try to save the hockey team, the economics of the league changed dramatically. ...
"The salary increases and the general direction of where the league's gone since it left Winnipeg serves to validate the fact we probably couldn't have made it here."
And therein lies the warning for Edmonton, said Chipman.
"In Edmonton they ought to be concerned about the long term. If you were to build a model you would look at the NFL, where there was a recognition that fans want to see parity, and parity comes from having a level playing field ... The NHL is the antithesis, in my opinion it's 28 teams trying to purchase a Stanley Cup.
And while Chipman wishes the Oilers well, he would love to see the Manitoba Moose playing the Edmonton Elks someday. "One of the things that we lack in this league is an overall context of who to hate."
Speaking of Calgary ...
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