Coyotes should give the Jets back to Winnipeg
Jun 10, 2011, 5:04 PM | Updated: 6:20 pm
If the new NHL franchise in Winnipeg is named the Jets, they won’t own any of the records of the previous organization that carried the same moniker.
That’s because, according to NHL Deputy Commisioner Bill Daly, those records will remain as part of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise and the new Jets would retain the records of the now defunct Atlanta Thrashers.
“One of his concerns about the Jets’ name and identity is that he really doesn’t own his history,” Daly explained. “The Phoenix Coyotes, if you look in their year book … their franchise records are all players who played for the Jets. And they’ll continue to have that. They maintained those rights when they relocated from market to market.”
Here’s a radical idea if you’re the Phoenix Coyotes, sell Winnipeg it’s franchise history back or heck, give it back to them for free (that is if their guardian, the NHL, would let them).
Since relocating to the Valley from the Great White North, the Coyotes have never made it out of the first round of the playoffs and have struggled with relocation rumors and financial issues. In a sport that is known for it’s superstitions, maybe shedding the franchise’s past could be a good thing.
Let Winnipeg have the Jets, Bobby Hull, and the Whiteout and build a tradition all your own in the Valley.
Really, at this point the Coyotes as a franchise should be willing to try anything to turn this thing around. Even if it means sacrificing the past in hopes the good karma can bring a brighter future.
