Voice Of The Manitoba Moose Brian Munz Looks At NHL Back In Winnipeg: 05/19/11

Ex-Winnipegger Cameron MacIntosh writes about likely move of Atlanta Thrashers to Manitoba capital:

By Cameron MacIntosh, CBC News Posted: May 25, 2011

I freely admit it: on May 6, 1995, I cried. It was in front of thousands of people. I didn't even mind doing it; 15,000 people around me were all doing the same thing.

We were standing in the Winnipeg Arena watching one of the hardest moments in the city's living memory: the sombre and hasty retirement of the colours and logo of the Winnipeg Jets hockey team.

It was a bitter afternoon, full of sadness, regret and anger. It left an indelible mark on me as I watched the Jets logo raised to the rafters and thought, "What kind of city lets this happen?"

Of course, the reasons for the NHL team leaving the city were complex, and several things conspired to make it happen: the Canadian dollar was down; no one wanted to own the team; the debate over a new arena had dragged on for years.

Worst of all, the NHL, hell-bent on expanding its presence in the southern U.S., didn't seem particularly bothered by it.


The whole thing became such an emotional and political lightning rod, it is hard to see how it could have been resolved any other way.


Skip Ahead to today: True North would own the new team. The company has already pulled off two feats few could have foreseen back in 1996: getting an arena built and now, apparently, getting a team back. Making the NHL's Second Coming successful would be the hat trick. I'm not betting against it.

No, a hockey team doesn't define a city, but it certainly can be a powerful symbol.

If Winnipeggers saw a strong message in the Jets leaving, there is surely an equally powerful one in an NHL team coming back.

If a team does land at Winnipeg's new airport this fall, it remains to be seen whether it will be named the Jets or something else.

Either way, I know I'll be cheering for it.

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