What happend to the Winnipeg Jets?

Question

I have really a huge fan of hockey for about 3 years now. My favorite team is Phoenix because of Roenick, Doan, and Nagy but he got traded. I know some of the history of the teams and the players. Gretzky and Lemieux are one of the best players ever pretty soon Crosby and Ovechkin. But I havn't really gotten a chance to figure out what happend to the Winnipeg Jets? I know they replaced them with Phoenix but what happend?

I messed up in the first sentence I ment to say I have really been a huge......

Answer 1

The Winnipeg Jets fell victim to the bugaboo that affects just about all of the Canadian NHL teams. The fact that the majority of their revenue comes in Canadian money; but the players' salaries have to be paid in American funds, in accordance with NHL regulations.

The Jets were owned by a local business entrepreneur in Winnipeg by the name of Barry Shenkarow. Despite the fact that the Jets were selling out each game; Shenkarow was losing money hand over fist with the Jets. He started seriosly the task of shopping the Jets around; since his desire to get a new arena for the team was falling on deaf ears with the local politicians.

His first stop was the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The North Stars had recently bolted Minnesota for Dallas, Texas. Thus the so-called "State of Hockey" had no NHL team to call its own.

Shenkarow was all but ready to sell the Jets to local interests in the Twin Cities, the plan was to relocate the franchise to the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, where they would have shared the arena with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. The Xcel Energy Center, where the Minnesota Wild presently play their home games over in St. Paul, hadn't been built yet.

However, the sticking point of the whole deal came about when (now former) Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, who also privately owned the Target Center; insisted that in exchange for a lease for the hockey team to play in the facility, then either Shenkarow or the Minneapolis interests that the Jets were being sold to must also buy the Target Center. Ratner has since passed away.

This left Shenkarow and the potential Twin Cities ownership group with the options of moving the Jets to the now torn down St. Paul Civic Center (the Xcel Energy Center was since built on that site) and the long since torn down Met Sports Center out in suburban Bloomington, Minn. which was the North Stars home rink until their departure to Dallas.

"Harv and Marv" as they were known; found themselves to be horribly overextended with the debt service on the Target Center. They were desperate to find someone, anyone that would take the Target Center off their hands. Those guys were millionaires on paper; and it really seems their liquidity suffered when they built the Target Center. Most millionaires' actual money is tied up in investments and tax shelters, etc.

So much so that Harv and Marv almost boarded the place up and in the process would have shipped the Timberwolves off to New Orleans. That plan was scratched when Glen Taylor bought the basketball team.

With Shenkarow's deal with the Twin Cities down the toilet; he then set his sights towards Phoenix, where he wound up selling the Jets to a local owner out there and the NHL approved the relocation of the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix. The team, renamed the Phoenix Coyotes, began play in the Valley of the Sun in 1997. Ten years ago.

There is a grass roots effort underway in Winnipeg to bring the NHL back to the Manitoba capital city. Here is a website from that group.

Answer 2

They weren't "replaced" by Phoenix. They were MOVED there. Back in those days there was no salary cap. Well the Jets were in a small market, and didn't have a billionaire owner like Gretzky at that time, and the Canadian Dollar wasn't really good at that time. Well the players are payed in the US Dollar. So put two and two togther. A small market can't afford the team really, espically when the fans won't go to the games. So in short here is what happened. People weren't going to the games. The team wasn't making much money. Then the little money they made was used to pay the players, who were paid in the American dollar. It was like 2 to 1 then or some really rough thing. So without support their was no way the team could stay there. So the owner of the franchise moved them. Have no idea WHY he picked Phoenix though.

Answer 3

The Winnipeg Jets played in the NHL from 1972-1996. They became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996. They had to move because of financial troubles.

Answer 4

The weak Canadian dollar killed the Jets and the Nordiques and put the Senators, Oilers and the Flames on life support in the late 90's early 2000's. The income generated is Canadian but players salaries are paid in American.
The cap and a current strong Canadian dollar has saved the other Canadian franchises but it was to late for Quebec and Winnipeg.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver were unaffected as they have Strong fan base and corporate backing.

Answer 5

Had financial problems and moved to Phoenix in 1996.

Answer 6

They moved to Phoenix. Apparently they thought they could get more money if they moved the team to the US (another one of Bettman's "genius" ideas; have a team leave a very supportive fan base to struggle to get any fans in their new home).

Answer 7

they werent selling in winnipeg