104-453: The Avco World Trophy , also known as the Avco Cup , is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association , which operated from 1972 until 1979 . The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name originally derived from "Aviation Company"), a defense contractor who bought the rights to advertise their consumer finance division. The trophy
208-501: A Stanley Cup dynasty, winning five Cups in its first eleven seasons. The Jets of the 1980s, decimated by the dispersal draft, developed a solid nucleus of players that helped the club achieve respectable regular-season finishes. After missing the playoffs in their first NHL season, the Nordiques quickly became competitive, advancing as far as the third round of the playoffs in their third season. Quebec developed an intense rivalry with
312-416: A "Reverse Retro" jersey was introduced in collaboration with Adidas. The jersey was designed to emulate the original Jets' 1979–90 look but used colors of the current Jets. Before the 2021–22 season , the blue WHA-era uniform the modern-day Jets wore in the 2019 Heritage Classic became the team's third jersey. A second "Reverse Retro" jersey, this time a recoloured version of the 1990–96 Jets white uniform,
416-664: A 1977 plan to merge six WHA teams (the Edmonton Oilers , New England Whalers , Quebec Nordiques , Cincinnati Stingers , Houston Aeros , and Winnipeg Jets ) into the NHL before a 1979 merger was approved. As a result, the WHA ceased operations, and four teams joined the NHL for the 1979–80 season : the Edmonton Oilers, New England (renamed Hartford) Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets. Of these four teams, two of
520-538: A 7–3 Jets win. The 1976, 1978 and 1979 Avco Cup winning Winnipeg Jets were inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in the team category. By 1978–79 , the vast majority of the WHA's teams had folded, but the Jets were still going strong. After the season, the Jets were absorbed into the NHL along with the Nordiques, Oilers and Hartford Whalers . Pre-merger inter-league exhibitions had shown that
624-551: A decimated roster, the Jets finished dead last in the league for their first two seasons in the NHL, including a horrendous nine-win season in 1980–81 that still ranks as the worst in Jets/Coyotes history. This stands in marked contrast to the other 1979 Avco Cup finalist, the Oilers, who went on to dominate the league during the second half of the 1980s. The Jets' first two wretched NHL seasons did net them high draft picks; in
728-551: A five-year, one million dollar contract with a one million dollar signing bonus. Hull accepted the Jets' offer, sealing the deal in an elaborate signing ceremony at Portage and Main . Hull's move to the upstart league attracted a few other top stars such as Cheevers, Sanderson, and Tremblay. The WHA officially made its debut on October 11, 1972 , at the Ottawa Civic Centre , when the Alberta Oilers defeated
832-509: A lengthy prison term for fraud and tax evasion and was unable to intervene; but by the time the Toros played their first game, Ballard had been paroled and had regained control of the Gardens. Much to Bassett's outrage, the arena was dim for the first game. Ballard also ordered the cushions from the home bench removed for Toros' games (he told an arena worker, "Let 'em buy their own cushions!"). It
936-474: A linesman for the WHA and retired at the end of the 2008–09 NHL season . The WHA instituted sudden death overtime for regular season games to break ties. If no team scored during a 10-minute overtime period, the game ended in a tie. In the 1983–84 season, the NHL then instituted a 5-minute sudden death overtime period to break regular season ties. The WHA had experimented with blue colored pucks, which were supposedly easier for fans to see. The NHL did not adopt
1040-453: A major league, and stayed away from Spurs games. However, halfway through the season, the NHL's Kansas City Scouts began serious talks about moving to Denver. Knowing he could not even begin to compete with an NHL team, Mullenix began talks with a group of Ottawa businessmen who insisted the Spurs move immediately as a condition of further talks. As a result, the Spurs abruptly moved to become
1144-646: A merger, or he would attempt to purchase an existing club and relocate it to Houston. Neither came to fruition, and as a result the Aeros elected to fold on July 6, 1978. Another proposal had the Edmonton Oilers and the New England Whalers moving to the NHL, with the Winnipeg Jets following a year later, but this was also not accepted by the NHL. The final two seasons of the WHA saw the debut of many superstars, some of whom became hockey legends in
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#17327838504201248-747: A professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg . They began play in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972. The club joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1979 after the NHL merged with the WHA. Due to mounting financial troubles, in 1996 the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes (the former name of the now inactive Arizona Coyotes ). The team played their home games at Winnipeg Arena . On December 27, 1971, Winnipeg
1352-561: A relatively small geographical area, having moved 100 miles (160 km) from Boston to Hartford. Of the original 12 WHA franchises, only the Winnipeg Jets remained for all seven seasons without relocating, changing team names, or folding. Every season of the World Hockey Association had an All-Star game, but the format changed with regularity. Winnipeg Jets (1972%E2%80%931996) The Winnipeg Jets were
1456-526: A restraining order filed against Hull and the Jets pending the outcome of legal action the Black Hawks were taking against the WHA. The new league was eager for the court action, intending to challenge the legality of the reserve clause. In November 1972, Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia placed an injunction against the NHL, preventing it from enforcing
1560-537: A series of bids for the financially-troubled Coyotes in October 2009, which were taken seriously enough that the league drew up a tentative schedule with Winnipeg in place of Phoenix. The NHL shelved the bid after securing a large subsidy from the Coyotes' municipal government. As True North's low-key approach was praised by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman , this placed True North in a favorable position once question of
1664-462: A ten-year, $ 2.7 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets , the largest in hockey history at the time, and one that lent the league instant credibility. The NHL tried to block several of the defections. The Boston Bruins attempted to restrain Sanderson and Cheevers from joining the WHA, though a United States federal court refused to prohibit the signings. The Black Hawks were successful in having
1768-541: A two-year retirement for the chance to play alongside his sons, Mark and Marty , who opted to turn pro a year ahead of their NHL draft eligibility. In the 1974–75 season , to broaden a depleted talent pool, the WHA began signing European players, which the NHL had largely ignored up to that time, in serious numbers, including stars such as Swedish Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson and Czech center Vaclav Nedomansky , who had just defected from Czechoslovakia . Winnipeg especially loaded up with Scandinavian players and became
1872-584: The 1974 Summit Series against the Soviets, giving an opportunity for Hull and 46-year-old Gordie Howe to play for Canada against the Soviet team, which the Soviets won 4-1-3. In the 1976 Canada Cup , the NHL and NHLPA broadened the scope of the competition, inviting to the tournament a number of hockey countries and allowing each invited country to send the best possible team they could muster, so this time WHA players were permitted. WHA players played on four of
1976-551: The 1979 NHL expansion draft , they opted to protect defenceman Scott Campbell , who had shown a good deal of promise in the last WHA season. However, Campbell suffered from chronic asthma that was only exacerbated by Winnipeg's frigid weather. The asthma drove him out of the league entirely by 1982. Upon entering the NHL, the Jets were based in the Smythe Division of the Campbell Conference . However, with
2080-412: The 1980 draft they picked Dave Babych second overall and in 1981 they drafted future Hall of Fame member Dale Hawerchuk first overall. The team developed a solid core of players by the mid-1980s, with Hawerchuk, Thomas Steen , Paul MacLean , Randy Carlyle , Laurie Boschman , Doug Smail , and David Ellett providing a strong nucleus. Also in 1981, a league-wide realignment placed the Jets with
2184-743: The Colorado Avalanche , where they have won the Stanley Cup three times (1996, 2001, 2022), the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996 and became the Phoenix Coyotes , and the Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina in 1997 and became the Carolina Hurricanes , where they have won the Stanley Cup in 2006. To date, the Oilers remain as the last ex-WHA team still in its original city, where they have won
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#17327838504202288-522: The Hockey Hall of Fame : This is a list of the trophies and awards handed out annually by the World Hockey Association. Three Canadian teams completed all seven WHA seasons based in the same city, and were the same three Canadian teams that ultimately joined the NHL. The other WHA team to enter the NHL, the Whalers, were the only other WHA team to play all of its home games over seven seasons within
2392-736: The Montreal Canadiens . The Whalers had similar rivalries with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers , and skated to the 1986–87 Adams Division title. In the 1990s, the former WHA clubs suffered from escalating player salaries (ironically, the same trend that was instigated by the WHA). The ex-WHA clubs based in Canada were also hit hard by the declining value of the Canadian dollar . The Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 and became
2496-579: The NHL and WHA . Note: This list includes draft picks from both the NHL and WHA . The original Winnipeg Jets retired two numbers in their history. When the Jets relocated to Arizona, the banners of these players also made the move, and these numbers originally remain retired with the Arizona Coyotes , in Jets' colors. Beginning with the 2014–15 season, those numbers were unretired and brought back to circulation; they were still inducted as part of
2600-500: The NHL's competitive equals, winning more games than they lost in interleague exhibition games. The WHA had many lasting effects on NHL hockey. The NHL used to recruit virtually all its players from Canada, but following the success of the Jets' Hedberg and Nilsson, scouts began looking overseas for the best players that Europe could offer. Teams such as the Whalers and Fighting Saints offered excellent opportunities for young American players, and several U.S.-born or -raised NHL stars of
2704-492: The New England Whalers won the league's inaugural championship in 1973 the trophy had not yet been completed, and the Whalers were forced to skate their divisional championship trophy around the ice surface. World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association ( French : Association mondiale de hockey ) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979 . It
2808-711: The Ottawa Civics while on a road trip. After only seven games as the Civics, the franchise folded when it became clear that the Ottawa group did not have nearly enough financing to buy the team. The Spurs/Civics franchise only played 41 games total, making them easily the shortest-lived franchise in WHA history. The NHL soon fulfilled its promise to Denver by moving the Scouts there to become the Colorado Rockies in
2912-632: The Ottawa Nationals 7–4. Although the quality of hockey in the early years was predictably below that of the NHL, the WHA had indeed made stars out of many players that had little or no playing time in the NHL. The New England Whalers eventually won the WHA's inaugural championship, later renamed the Avco World Trophy when the Avco Financial Services Corporation became its main sponsor. However,
3016-570: The Philadelphia Blazers and the Cleveland Crusaders . Although the league had many players under contract by June 1972, including a few NHL stars such as Bernie Parent, many of them were career minor league and college players. The new league was not considered much of a threat, until Bobby Hull , arguably the NHL's top forward at the time, jumped over. Hull had not been thought to be seriously considering signing with
3120-473: The Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver as the Colorado Avalanche in 1995–96 . Despite a loyal fan following, serious doubts were raised about whether Winnipeg could continue to support an NHL team. Additionally, their home arena, Winnipeg Arena , was over 40 years old, had no luxury suites, and numerous obstructed-view seats. Faced with mounting losses, Jets owner Barry Shenkarow agreed to sell
3224-522: The Toronto Toros ' lease terms at Maple Leaf Gardens as difficult as possible after they moved from Ottawa. The Toros were owned by John F. Bassett, son of Canadian media mogul John Bassett . The older Bassett had formerly been part-owner of the Leafs with Ballard and Stafford Smythe before falling out with his two partners. At the time of the Toros' lease at Maple Leaf Gardens, Ballard was serving
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3328-550: The United States Congress , the public, and the Supreme Court ." The WHA also promised much higher salaries than the NHL offered, and by the time the league began play, it had lured 67 former NHL players to its league, including Bernie Parent , Gerry Cheevers , Derek Sanderson , J. C. Tremblay , and Ted Green . The biggest name signed was former Chicago Black Hawks star Bobby Hull , who agreed to
3432-433: The 1976 offseason. Part of the financial trouble was attributed to the high player salaries. For instance, the Philadelphia Blazers signed Derek Sanderson for $ 2.6 million, which surpassed that of Brazilian soccer star, Pelé , making him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time. Unfortunately, his play did not live up to the expectations of his salary, and between an early-season injury, intemperate remarks to
3536-464: The 1978–79 WHA Jets were the competitive equal of most NHL teams, with the possible exceptions of the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens and the rising New York Islanders . However, the Jets had to pay a very high price for a berth in the more established league. They had to give up three of their top six scorers – the core of the last WHA champion – in a reclamation draft. They were also forced to draft 18th out of 21 teams. In
3640-670: The 1995–96 season, it eventually became apparent that the Spirit of Manitoba consortium was far too undercapitalized to purchase the franchise and underwrite expected losses while a proposed new arena was built. Meanwhile, Gluckstern and Burke failed to reach an agreement with the City of Minneapolis to share the Target Center with the NBA 's Minnesota Timberwolves . They purchased the team nevertheless, but with no suitable alternate venues in
3744-573: The Arizona Coyotes Ring of Honor. After the move to Arizona, number 10 was inducted in honor of Dale Hawerchuk , number 7 was inducted for Keith Tkachuk , and number 27 was inducted for Teppo Numminen . Shane Doan 's number 19 was the only number officially retired by the Coyotes. The current Winnipeg Jets (formerly Atlanta Thrashers ) also honoured both numbers in the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame. Notes: These are
3848-623: The Central was at least the competitive equal of the re-named Pacific Division and the strict division-based playoff bracket had been abandoned. As the NHL expanded in the United States and free agency rules were liberalized, operating costs and salaries grew rapidly; players had the leverage to demand being paid in U.S. dollars league-wide. Until about the early 1990s, Canadian teams were able to pay their players in Canadian dollars, with
3952-542: The Coliseum for their own use from 1972 onwards. The Raiders were first forced to rent space at Madison Square Garden , where they were tenants to the Rangers. The situation rapidly became untenable, with an onerous lease and poor attendance, so the three original owners defaulted and the league ended up taking control of the team midway through the season. The Raiders were sold after their inaugural season. They were renamed
4056-618: The Coyotes and thus controlled the Jets' trademarks. However, the franchise's records still belong to the Coyotes. In April 2024, after years of instability, the Coyotes suspended operations, with their assets (including players and hockey operations staff) being transferred to the new Utah Hockey Club . Unlike the Thrashers' relocation to Winnipeg (which saw all records transferred), the Coyotes entered inactivity, with their intellectual property remaining in Phoenix. Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo
4160-744: The Dayton Arrows and the San Francisco Sharks , relocated before the first season began, becoming the Houston Aeros and Quebec Nordiques , respectively. The Calgary Broncos and the Miami Screaming Eagles, folded outright before the first puck dropped, being replaced by the Philadelphia Blazers and the Cleveland Crusaders . The New York Raiders , initially intended to be the WHA's flagship team, suffered from numerous problems. While they planned to play in
4264-562: The Flames in six games, and fans wore white for every home playoff game thereafter. Fans dubbed it the "White Out" which is a prairie term for a winter snow storm. Marketing for the team during the playoff referred to the "charge of the white brigade." In later years, marketing referred to the White Out as "White Noise." Fans of the AHL franchise Manitoba Moose also continued this tradition when
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4368-720: The Islanders, the WHA moved the Golden Blades to New Jersey soon after taking control. Renamed the Jersey Knights, they played at the Cherry Hill Arena which had a slope in the ice surface, causing pucks to shoot upward from results of a pass or shot, chain link fencing instead of Plexiglas surrounding the rink, and inadequate, cramped changing and dressing facilities. Ahead of the 1973–74 season, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard deliberately made
4472-427: The Jets donned their "classic" look, ditching the contrast-colour nameplates and unveiling their famous roundel logo. In 1977 the Jets added a white shoulder yoke on the blue uniform, and the following season, switched from red to blue pants. Upon moving to the NHL in 1979, the Jets unveiled new uniforms. Then-general manager John Ferguson Sr. had been derided for changing the classic New York Rangers uniforms during
4576-555: The NHL (and to still be with the franchise) upon his retirement in 2017. The only other former original Jet playing professionally by that time was Deron Quint , who played in the German DEL in Germany until 2017. The current Winnipeg Jets have acknowledged the original Jets' history on a number of occasions. The original franchise's division and Avco Cup championships currently hang atop the rafters of Canada Life Centre , as are
4680-561: The NHL in early 1979. Under the deal, four WHA clubs – the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers (renamed the Hartford Whalers), Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets – joined the NHL. The other two WHA teams, the Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls , were paid $ 1.5 million apiece in compensation. The NHL treated the new clubs' arrival as an expansion, not a merger, and refused to recognize any WHA records. While
4784-469: The NHL in the same way the Vancouver Canucks and California Golden Seals had in the preceding decade. When the NHL reneged on the agreement, and Spurs owner Ivan Mullenix was unable to negotiate an early entry into the NHL, he accepted an offer to join the WHA for the 1975–76 season. However, Denver residents felt betrayed after three years of hype for an NHL team. They did not consider the WHA
4888-438: The NHL, including Wayne Gretzky , Mark Messier , Mike Liut , and Mike Gartner . The Birmingham Bulls alone featured future NHLers Rick Vaive , Michel Goulet , Rob Ramage , Ken Linseman , Craig Hartsburg , Rod Langway , Mark Napier , Pat Riggin and Gaston Gingras . By the end of the final season, only six teams remained. Facing financial difficulty and unable to meet payrolls, the WHA finally came to an agreement with
4992-495: The National Hockey League were first initiated, with Houston, Cincinnati, Winnipeg, New England, Quebec, and Edmonton applying for entry to the NHL, who voted the proposal down. Merger discussions resumed in 1978, but Houston was not part of the proposal this time. During the final series of talks, Aeros owner Kenneth Schnitzer suggested to the NHL that either his team be admitted as an expansion team independent of
5096-474: The New York Golden Blades for the 1973–74 season, but were forced into a Sundays-only home schedule due to the high price of rent and scheduling conflicts with other events at Madison Square Garden. This was not enough to save the team, and the league was forced to take over the franchise again 24 games into the second season. Realizing that it could not hope to compete with both the Rangers and
5200-528: The Norris, the relocation of the Colorado Rockies to New Jersey compelled Winnipeg to return to the more competitive Smythe Division along with the Oilers and Calgary Flames – by some accounts, the two best teams in the league during the second half of the 1980s. Due to the way the playoffs were structured at the time, whenever the Jets made the playoffs, they faced the near-certainty of having to beat either
5304-428: The Oilers or the Flames (or both) to get to the Campbell Conference finals. At the time, the top four teams in each division made the playoffs, with the regular-season division winner playing against the fourth-place team and the regular-season runner-up playing the third-place team in the division semifinals. The division semifinals winners advanced to the division finals, and the two division final winners would meet in
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#17327838504205408-547: The Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup . The Jets won only one more playoff series, in 1987 (defeating Calgary in the division semifinal before losing to Edmonton in the division final). It was not until the 1993–94 season that further expansion and re-alignment permitted the original Jets to return to the re-branded Central Division (the former Norris Division) of the Western Conference. By this time however,
5512-468: The Oilers. While they managed to dispatch the Flames (with the league's fifth-best record) in four games in the best-of-five division semifinal, they were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Oilers in the division final. In fact, Winnipeg and Edmonton played each other in the playoffs six times between 1983 and 1990 . The Oilers not only won every series, but also held the Jets to only four total victories. Five times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990),
5616-700: The Soviets, did not permit WHA players, due to the decision of series organizer Alan Eagleson , an NHL agent who was influential in forming the Canadian team. Bobby Hull , one of the best WHA players, was ruled ineligible to play because of his defection from the NHL, despite being initially selected by coach Harry Sinden . Dennis Hull initially planned to boycott the event as well as a show of support for his older brother, but Bobby persuaded him to stay on Team Canada. Other WHA stars turned down included Gerry Cheevers , J.C. Tremblay and Derek Sanderson . Some NHL owners also threatened not to free their players to participate if WHA players were permitted. The WHA organized
5720-599: The Stanley Cup five times. Only the Jets (later the Arizona Coyotes) franchise never won the Cup, with their furthest advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs being the Western Conference Finals in 2012. Because of arena issues the Jets/Coyotes franchise suspended operations in 2024, the franchise folded two months later after a land auction was cancelled. List of WHA players and executives inducted into
5824-458: The Thrashers' relocation came up. The new Jets, despite reclaiming the name and subsequently the original franchise's logos, retained the Thrashers franchise records rather than the records of the original Jets. During their history, the Jets retired two numbers: Bobby Hull's #9 and Thomas Steen 's #25. The Coyotes have continued to honor those numbers, and hang their banners in the Jets' old blue-red-white colour scheme. Dale Hawerchuk 's No. 10
5928-441: The Twin Cities area, the Jets' new owners reached an agreement with Jerry Colangelo , owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns , to move the team to Phoenix and become the Phoenix Coyotes . The Jets managed to qualify for the playoffs in their final season in Winnipeg, and played their last game on April 28, 1996, a home playoff loss to the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 4–1. Norm Maciver scored the last goal in Jets history. Winnipeg
6032-443: The WHA wearing blue and white uniforms with red trim. White uniforms featured a blue shoulder yoke, blue numbers and blue-white-red-white-blue waist, sock and sleeve stripes. The blue uniforms were the inverse of their white counterparts minus the contrasting yoke and used red numbers. In the franchise's first season, the uniforms featured the futuristic "Jets" wordmark in front along with red or white player nameplates. Starting in 1974,
6136-404: The WHA, even though he was in contentious salary negotiations with the Chicago Black Hawks , and when he told reporters that he would only move to the WHA "for a million dollars", it was both intended by Hull and taken by his audience to be a joke since a million dollars at that time was considered to be a ridiculous amount of money for a hockey player. Nevertheless, the Winnipeg Jets offered Hull
6240-430: The WHA, including Mark Howe , Wayne Gretzky , Mike Gartner , Mike Liut , and Mark Messier , who was the last WHA veteran to play in the NHL; he opened his professional career with 52 games with the Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers in 1978–79 , and played his last NHL game on April 3, 2004. The final active player and official in any on-ice capacity for the league was referee Don Koharski , who started as
6344-422: The Whalers and Oilers earning playoff berths. The Oilers chose to protect Wayne Gretzky in the dispersal draft, which would prove fortuitous. Gretzky and the Whalers' Gordie Howe were selected to the mid-season All-Star Game, respectively the second-youngest and the oldest ever to play in the match. The 1980s was a successful period for the former WHA teams. The Oilers shattered numerous NHL records and amassed
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#17327838504206448-427: The Whalers. Los Angeles and Vancouver feared losing home dates with NHL teams from the East. Montreal and Toronto were not enamored at the prospect of having to split revenue from Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts six ways rather than three. When a second vote was held in Chicago on March 22, 1979, Montreal and Vancouver changed their votes, allowing the deal to go forward. Vancouver and Los Angeles were won over by
6552-409: The best players by paying more than NHL owners would. The WHA successfully challenged the NHL's reserve clause , which had bound players to their NHL teams even without a valid contract, allowing players in both leagues greater freedom of movement. Sixty-seven players jumped from the NHL to the WHA in the first year, led by star forward Bobby Hull , whose ten-year, $ 2.75 million contract was a record at
6656-427: The blue pucks, but any remaining blue WHA pucks are highly sought after collectors' items . The former WHA clubs, by the terms of the expansion, could protect only two goalies and two skaters each in the player dispersal draft . The Jets posted a dismal nine wins in their second season (second-fewest all-time for a season in the NHL), and finished last. The other WHA teams did respectably well in their first year, with
6760-411: The brand new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum , Nassau County did not consider the WHA a major league and wanted nothing to do with the Raiders. The county recruited William Shea , leader of New York City's successful lobbying campaign to get baseball's National League to expand following the 1957 departures of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants . Working with the NHL, Shea swiftly won over
6864-401: The class of the league, with Hedberg and Nilsson combining with Bobby Hull to form one of hockey's most formidable forward lines. Along with the mass import of European stars, Vancouver attempted unsuccessfully to lure Phil Esposito away from the NHL by offering a contract similar to that of Bobby Hull, with a million dollars upfront. The 1972 Summit Series , which pitted Team Canada against
6968-412: The conference finals. For example, in 1984–85 , they finished with the fourth-best record in the entire league (behind only Philadelphia , Edmonton and Washington ). They also notched 96 points, which would remain the franchise's best as an NHL team until the 2009–10 Coyotes racked up the franchise's second 100-point season (and first as an NHL team). However, they finished second in the Smythe behind
7072-461: The deal. The NHL had originally been willing to take only the Oilers, Whalers, and Jets, but the WHA insisted that the Nordiques be included as well. Third, although the NHL had insisted on treating the deal as an expansion, it agreed to freeze the expansion fee for each team at $ 6 million U.S., the same fee paid by every other team that had joined the NHL in the 1970s. By comparison, when the Atlanta Flames were sold and moved to Calgary one year later,
7176-452: The early 1980s (such as Mark Howe , Rod Langway , Dave Langevin , Robbie Ftorek , and Paul Holmgren ) had begun their pro careers in the WHA. As a result, the NHL evolved into a truly cosmopolitan league during the 1980s. The WHA ended the NHL policy of paying its players only a fraction of the league's profits and, combined with the abolition of the reserve clause, led to much higher player salaries. Many great stars began their careers in
7280-416: The exceptions being contracts acquired in trades from U.S. teams. However, since the Canadian teams still collected most of their revenue in Canadian dollars, having to pay players in U.S. dollars proved to be a serious drain on finances given the declining value of the Canadian dollar. For most of their NHL tenure, Winnipeg was the league's second-smallest market, and was set to become the smallest market after
7384-434: The exclusive beer supplier for the Oilers' and Jets' arenas; it is probable that this concession was made in exchange for the Canadiens' vote. The agreement officially took effect on June 22, 1979 (three months to the day after the deciding vote). On that day, the WHA folded and the NHL formally granted expansion franchises to Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec City, and Winnipeg. On the ice, the WHA teams had proven themselves to be
7488-493: The expansion Utah Hockey Club . The Whalers later moved from Hartford to Raleigh, North Carolina , and were renamed the Carolina Hurricanes . The Oilers are the only WHA merger team to retain both their original nickname and city. The final WHA game was played on May 20, 1979, as the Jets defeated the Oilers to win their third Avco World Trophy . The World Hockey Association was founded in 1971 by American promoters Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson . The men had previously been
7592-518: The founder and first president of the American Basketball Association , respectively. They quickly recruited Bill Hunter , president of the junior Western Canada Hockey League . Hunter and Murphy traveled across North America recruiting franchise owners, and by September 1971, had announced that the league would begin in 1972 with ten teams, each having paid $ 25,000 for their franchise. The average NHL salary in 1972
7696-432: The four new clubs were allowed to stock their rosters through the expansion draft , NHL teams were allowed to reclaim players who had jumped to the WHA. The WHA was able to extract three key concessions. First, the WHA teams were allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skaters to keep their rosters from being completely stripped clean by the NHL teams. Second, the NHL allowed all of the WHA's Canadian teams to be part of
7800-467: The honoured numbers of the original Jets who were inducted into the current Jets' Hall of Fame . They have also worn throwback uniforms of the original Jets on a few occasions, and brought back the Whiteout tradition in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The new franchise acquired the trademarks to the name and logo of the original Jets from the NHL when it moved to Winnipeg – at the time, the league directly owned
7904-542: The initially reluctant president of the New York Rangers , Bill Jennings , who was persuaded that it would be better to accept competition from an NHL team that would at least be willing to pay his club compensation for sharing the Rangers' territory as opposed to a WHA team that would owe his franchise nothing. The NHL quickly awarded a franchise to Long Island, the New York Islanders , who locked up
8008-406: The late 1970s, so he brought most elements of that design to the Jets. Both uniforms featured a thick shoulder stripe that extended through the sleeves, along with another thick stripe on the waist. In addition, the blue uniforms now featured white numbers with red trim and a white inverse of the team's logo in front. In 1987, the Jets added a "Goals for Kids" patch which remained a prominent figure on
8112-559: The league's final season against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers . Another notable accomplishment was the Jets' 5–3 victory over the Soviet National team on January 5, 1978. In the WHA's last season, Kent Nilsson scored 107 points, while Morris Lukowich had 65 goals, and Peter Sullivan had 46 goals and 86 points. During the Avco Cup Finals, Gary Smith gave up the last goal in WHA history to Dave Semenko in
8216-486: The league's other Central Time Zone teams in the Norris Division , which over the course of the decade would become the weakest division in the league. Led by Hawerchuk, Steen, Babych and Carlyle, the Jets returned to respectability fairly quickly, and made the playoffs 11 times in the next 15 years. However, regular-season success did not transfer over into the playoffs. This was because after just one season in
8320-645: The new league in 1972 along with approximately $ 500,000 by the Avco Financial Services Corporation, and became the first major sports league championship trophy to bear the name of a private corporation. Three Avco trophies exist; besides the one that is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame , the others are in Winnipeg at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum , and in the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in Halifax . The trophy
8424-522: The press, and Blazer financial troubles, Sanderson's contract was bought out before the end of the season. As well, big stars lacked supporting players and the quality of the on-ice product suffered. The WHA won several key victories, including a court ruling that prevented the NHL from binding players to its teams via the reserve clause, and the signings of more NHL stars such as Gordie Howe , Andre Lacroix , Marc Tardif , and in later years, Frank Mahovlich and Paul Henderson . Howe had been lured out of
8528-547: The promise of a balanced schedule, with each team playing the others twice at home and twice on the road. The Canadiens' owners, Molson Breweries , were feeling the effects of a massive boycott that originated in Edmonton, Quebec City, and Winnipeg and spread across Canada. With the boycott severely hurting Molson's sales, the brewer reached agreement with the owners of the three Canadian WHA teams to have Molson replace their competitors (and Nordiques owners) Carling O'Keefe as
8632-507: The reserve clause and freeing all players who had restraining orders against them, including Hull, to play with their WHA clubs. The decision effectively ended the NHL's monopoly on major league professional hockey talent. On November 1, 1971, twelve teams were formally announced. They included cities without NHL teams such as the Miami Screaming Eagles , as well as teams in cities where the league's promoters believed there
8736-565: The rest of the WHA's teams, gave the league instant credibility and paved the way for other NHL stars to bolt to the upstart league. The Jets were the first North American club to seriously explore Europe as a source of hockey talent. Winnipeg's fortunes were bolstered by acquisitions such as Swedish forwards Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson , who starred with Hull on the WHA's most famous and successful forward line (nicknamed "the Hot Line"), and defenceman Lars-Erik Sjoberg , who would serve as
8840-570: The sale was $ 16 million U.S. The deal came up for a vote at the NHL Board of Governors meeting in Key Largo, Florida on March 8, 1979. The final tally was 12–5, one vote short of passage, as a three-quarters majority was required to permit a merger. The Boston Bruins , Los Angeles Kings , Montreal Canadiens , Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks voted against the deal. The Bruins were not pleased with having to share New England with
8944-572: The team briefly relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland, as the St. John's IceCaps , as did fans of the "IceCap's White Out" and "Coyotes White Out", respectively. When the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg as the second incarnation of the Jets, they brought back the White Out tradition for all playoff appearances for the Jets. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties minutes Notes: Note: This list includes Jets captains from both
9048-632: The team to American businessmen Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke for $ 65 million. They planned to move the team to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region (which had lost the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas in 1993. In response, a local consortium called the Spirit of Manitoba was assembled. While they persuaded Shenkarow to delay the proposed sale to American interests long enough that the Jets ultimately remained in Winnipeg for
9152-447: The team's captain and win accolades as the WHA's best defenceman. Behind these players and other European stars such as Willy Lindstrom , Kent Nilsson , Veli-Pekka Ketola , leavened by players such as Peter Sullivan , Norm Beaudin and goaltender Joe Daley , the Jets were the most successful team in the short-lived WHA. The team made the finals in five of the WHA's seven seasons, winning the Avco World Trophy three times, including in
9256-540: The three Canadian teams — the Nordiques and Jets — eventually moved south to Denver and Phoenix , respectively, although the NHL would return to Winnipeg with the 2011 relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers , who would rename themselves to become the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets . The Arizona Coyotes suspended operations following the 2023–24 season with the team's hockey assets being sold to
9360-515: The time. The WHA took the initiative to sign European players, ushering in a new era in North American hockey. The WHA was chronically unstable, with franchises occasionally relocating or folding in the middle of the season. It had an acrimonious relationship with the NHL, resulting in numerous legal battles, as well as competition for control of players and markets. In spite of this, merger talks began almost immediately. NHL owners voted down
9464-612: The tournament's six teams. In December 1976 and January 1977, the Super Series '76-77 tournament took place, opposing the HC CSKA Moscow (Red Army) and WHA teams. The Red Army won the series 6–2. By the 1976–77 season , it had become evident that many of the WHA's franchises were teetering on the verge of financial collapse, and that the (at one time) combined 32 teams of the NHL and WHA had badly strained professional hockey's talent pool. In 1977, merger discussions with
9568-411: The trophy had not yet been completed, and the Whalers skated their divisional championship trophy around the ice surface, much to the embarrassment of the WHA office. Right from the start, the league was plagued with problems. Many teams often found themselves in financial difficulty, folding or moving from one city to another, sometimes mid-season. Citing arena troubles, two of the original twelve teams,
9672-403: The uniforms until the relocation. In 1990, the Jets unveiled their final uniform design, featuring the updated crest in front and contrasting sleeve and waist stripes. They also switched back to red pants. The current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets employs a different uniform design and logo, although they occasionally use the "old" Jets uniform as an alternate jersey . For the 2021 season ,
9776-410: Was $ 25,000, the lowest of the four major sports, while each player was bound by a reserve clause , that automatically extended their contract by one year when it expired, tying them to their team for the life of their career. In October 1972, the WHA announced that it would not use the reserve clause, stating that "The reserve clause won't stand up to the scrutiny of ... players, players associations,
9880-425: Was added in 2006, in the Coyotes' current sand-red-black scheme. Another tradition that was retained when the franchise moved to Phoenix was the "whiteout", in which fans wore all white to home playoff games. Shane Doan , drafted seventh overall by the Jets in the 1995 NHL entry draft prior to their last season in Winnipeg, and who played his rookie season in Winnipeg, was the last original Jet to still be active in
9984-413: Was granted a five-year window to construct a new arena in the Phoenix area, upon which automatic expansion would have been triggered to "re-activate" the Coyotes. However, in late June, Meruelo opted to discontinue his efforts to build an arena and re-activate the team, ceding the Coyotes intellectual property back to the NHL, and leaving the fate of the Jets/Coyotes records uncertain. The Jets debuted in
10088-586: Was granted one of the founding franchises in the WHA. The original owner was Ben Hatskin , a local figure who made his wealth in cardboard shipping containers. The team took their name from the Winnipeg Jets of the Western Canada Hockey League . The Jets' first signing was Norm Beaudin (earning the player the moniker of "the Original Jet"), while the first major signing was Bobby Hull . Hull's acquisition, partially financed by
10192-409: Was mocked by some for its corporate sponsorship and never developed anything approaching the significance and sentiment of the Stanley Cup , its National Hockey League rival. Still, the cup's design was often seen as creative in that it involved a freely-floating etched crystal globe embedded in the "stem" of the cup. The cup was designed by Frank Bonnerkopf of Boise, Idaho. The trophy was donated to
10296-663: Was not left without a professional ice hockey team for the 1996–97 season as the International Hockey League 's Minnesota Moose moved to Winnipeg to become the Manitoba Moose a few months after the Jets left town. The NHL ultimately returned to Winnipeg 15 years later, with the Atlanta Thrashers relocating to become the second incarnation of the Jets franchise which is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment . Prior to this, True North submitted
10400-471: Was obvious that Ballard was angered at the WHA being figuratively in his backyard, and took out his frustration with the renegade league on the Toros. These terms compelled Bassett to move the team to Birmingham after three seasons. The league bottomed out in 1975–76 with its third expansion team, the Denver Spurs . A mainstay of the minor Western Hockey League , they were originally supposed to join
10504-491: Was released in the 2022–23 season . The Winnipeg White Out is a hockey tradition that dates back to 1987 when fans were asked to wear white clothing to home playoff games, creating a very intimidating effect and atmosphere. It was created as a response to the "C of Red" created by fans of the Calgary Flames , whom the home-town Jets were facing in the first round of the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs . The Jets eliminated
10608-404: Was retired after the WHA ceased operations in 1979. Led by Bobby Hull , the Winnipeg Jets claimed the trophy on three occasions, including the final league championship against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers . Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros vied for the trophy three times, winning twice. The Avco Trophy in fact may have been most famous, or perhaps infamous, in its absence. When
10712-568: Was room for more than one team, such as the Los Angeles Aces , Chicago Cougars , and New York Raiders . Two of the original twelve teams moved before the first season started: the Dayton Arrows became the Houston Aeros and the San Francisco Sharks became the Quebec Nordiques . The Los Angeles franchise then took the nickname Sharks to replace Aces. The Calgary Broncos and the Screaming Eagles folded outright, replaced by
10816-516: Was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era. The WHA tried to capitalize on the lack of hockey teams in a number of major American cities and mid-level Canadian cities, and also hoped to attract
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