Teemu's definitely still one of the most-loved players from the original Jets here in Peg Sheety. We all still remember the shock/outrage when he was traded just prior to the team being relocated to the desert. Like he said in another interview, neither he nor the fans ever really got a chance to say goodbye, so many of us here still feel like he's "one of our own". Go around the city here, and you'll probably see more people here wearing a Selanne Jets jersey than any other individual player.
Suffice it to say, Winnipegers have been waiting/hoping for a chance to see this specific game, against this specific team for a long, long, LONG time.
One just needs to check out today's local newspaper to see evidence of that:
Selanne gets rock star treatment in Winnipeg
By: Tim Campbell | Posted: 12/17/2011 11:43 AM
WINNIPEG — It was the full rock-star treatment this morning for Teemu Selanne, back in Winnipeg for an NHL game for the first time in almost 16 years.
Selanne, now 41, held a press conference at the Anaheim Ducks’ downtown hotel, addressing reporters for almost 15 minutes. The Ducks meet the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre tonight (6 p.m. CT, CBC, TSN 1290).
When the Ducks arrived in Winnipeg from Chicago after 2 a.m. this morning, there were fans waiting to greet him outside the hotel.
"That was unbelievable," Selanne said this morning. "I wasn’t expecting anybody to be here at 3 o’clock in the morning. It just shows you how much the fans mean to me and and how important the fans are for hockey.
"Obviously those are die-hard fans and it was amazing to see them."
FULL ARTICLE LINK -
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/Selanne-gets-rock-star-treatment-in-Winnipeg-135791153.htmlTeemu trade still galls
Selanne didn't like it and neither did John Paddock
By: Tim Campbell | Posted: 12/17/2011 1:00 AM
Teemu Selanne is back in Winnipeg tonight to say a proper good-bye to Winnipeg fans who once again have an NHL team of their own.
Selanne's abrupt trade on Feb. 7, 1996 still rankles him. It was a trade that then-Jets-GM John Paddock said in the end might have been a mistake, but as sad as it was, one that was pretty much unavoidable.
That's because the team's new owners and their then-hockey-adviser-turned-failed-GM Bobby Smith couldn't afford an expensive team in Phoenix, either.
"It wasn't a very good time, not a fun thing," said Paddock, now the Philadelphia Flyers' assistant GM. "It was somewhat worded to me that we couldn't have three $3-million forwards on the team.
"That's how times have and haven't changed. It was a financial decision; we had to change the money around and it still happens today."
FULL ARTICLE LINK -
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/teemu-trade-still-galls-135787458.htmlGo Flash go
For one night, Jets will have to listen to their fans cheer the enemy
By: Ed Tait | Posted: 12/17/2011 1:00 AM
Mention the name to Eric Fehr, the proud product of Winkler, and he turns the clock back to a time when he worshipped the man and the team.
Mention the name to Antti Miettinen and he thinks of a sporting superstar, a Finnish icon and a player he, too, idolized.
And mention the name to Evander Kane and he tells this story:
"My first NHL jersey was a Mighty Ducks jersey and it had No. 8 on the back, but it had KANE on it as well," said the Jets' burgeoning star. "He was one of my first hockey cards, too. Obviously he's a great player and it's going to be pretty cool to play against him here in Winnipeg."
Honestly, do we really need any further introductions?
FULL ARTICLE LINK -
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/go-flash-go-135787448.htmlTeemu's wife hadn't yet given birth to their first child when he was traded. Now they'll get to see a city and a group of hockey fans that love their dad as much as they do.
Teemu brings own fans
Selanne family returns to the place they once called home
By: Geoff Kirbyson | Posted: 12/17/2011 1:00 AM
FROM L TO R: Eemil, Sirpa, Veera, Eetu and Leevi Selanne
The focus of Saturday night's Jets game against the Anaheim Ducks has been Teemu Selanne, but this is Sirpa Selanne's homecoming, too.
The wife of the Finnish Flash and mother to their four children spent nearly four years of her life here and she had no desire to leave back in February of 1996. That's when her husband was traded to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and she was nine months pregnant with their first child, son Eemil, now 15.
"Teemu left and came back and we delivered Eemil here. We lived here for one week and then moved to California," she said, noting her eldest is the only member of the family with Canadian citizenship.
"The trade was the worst thing that ever happened. There were some rumours, but we were told they were just rumours. We didn't really believe them. It was a really big shock. The timing was so bad for our personal (lives). It was a sad time for hockey here, the team was moving away. The whole spring we were thinking we were going to have to say goodbye," she said.
FULL ARTICLE LINK -
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/teemu-brings-own-fans-135787538.html
For the record, his son Leevi is awesome in his own right:
Leevi, decked out in a new Winnipeg Jets T-shirt, said he'll be dressed in Jets gear for the game. When asked who he'll be cheering for, he paused for a minute before replying, "I'm going to cheer for my dad and the Jets."
"Even though I like Anaheim, the Jets are still my favourite team. I always wanted them to come back. I love the team. The (retro) logo is so sick and the new one is pretty cool, too," he said.
Only thing that would've made tonight even more epic is if the Ducks hadn't fired Randy Carlyle as coach last month, as he is another fixture of the hockey scene here, both as a former Jet and as coach of the (former) Manitoba Moose.
What a pity we won't see Kitty
By: Gary Lawless | Posted: 12/17/2011 1:00 AM
It's fitting fans salute Teemu Selanne tonight and view this game as a celebration, but it's a bit of a disappointment without Randy Carlyle standing behind the Anaheim Ducks bench.
Selanne was a big part of the old Winnipeg Jets and fully deserves the welcome he'll receive. But Carlyle is an integral figure in the return of the NHL to Winnipeg.
If not for the Manitoba Moose and their presence in Winnipeg for 15 years there would be no ownership group consisting of Mark Chipman and David Thomson, no MTS Centre and very likely no return of the Jets.
Carlyle, who served as an assistant coach, head coach, GM and president with the Moose, was fired by the Ducks on Nov. 30 and won't be here when his old team meets his other old team.
"It was going to be a special evening. That's not going to happen. The people will be excited to see Teemu Selanne in the place where he started his career," said Carlyle, when reached at his home in California. "I'm proud and happy with what's happened in Winnipeg. It's a credit to the people that worked extremely hard in building that franchise. It started a long time ago with a lot of work that was going on behind the scenes. Mark Chipman and his group did a heckuva job in securing the franchise and they did it the right way."
Just to clarify for anyone not in the know, "Kitty" was Carlyle's nickname from his days as a player with the Jets.
FULL ARTICLE LINK -
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/what-a-pity-we-wont--see-kitty-135787328.html
Topic: Official NHL Thread (Read 550729 times)