On Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show, former columnist, Hockey Night in Canada commentator, and Hockey Hall of Fame journalist, Al Strachan came on the show to discuss the latest in hockey.

The outspoken commentator provided the insight and analysis that he has become known for throughout his hall of fame writing career.

On Brian Burke’s free pass in Toronto”

“They fired the wrong guy, you look at what Burke has done over the years it’s all smoke and mirrors. It’s like the Wizard of Oz, there’s all this thunder and lightning coming from behind the curtain and when you get behind the curtain, really there’s nothing much there.”

“He won the one cup in Anaheim with a team that was built by Bryan Murray except for two defenseman, one of whom wanted to come play with his brother, that was Niedermayer, and one of whom walked out on a valid contract in Edmonton because he wanted to keep his marriage alive, that was Pronger. Those two fell into his lap.”

On the future of Montreal

“Part of the problem in Montreal is that they insist it being a Quebecois team, that really limits your options. Because the Quebecois aren’t as dominant in hockey as they used to be. That was fine in the 50s and 60s when a large proportion of the players, especially the elite players came out of Quebec. But now that’s no longer the case.”

“Really, who do you want (as Head Coach), who is a French speaker to come in there, you had Jacques Martin, you know his style of hockey. There’s simply aren’t that many available. There was one good one available; he went to Tampa (Guy Boucher). What do you want to do, bring in Patrick Roy? You think you’ve had fun before in Montreal, wait until you bring him in.”

On the situation in Phoenix

“I think they’re going to move it to Seattle, the plans have been well underway long before the announcement of this building. I heard about this months ago, financiers who are trying to put together a package to move that team to Seattle, that building that’s coming around now is part of that concept. The league would be very happy to do that, it’s a shame because that building (Jobing.com arena) is probably the best building for a fan in the entire league. It has magnificent sight-lines, wide concourses, plenty of parking….it’s a shame really because it’s a pretty good team, they haven’t been among the league’s worst for the past five or six years. They’re a good team this year, yet they don’t have that kind of support.”

“The big problem that Gary faces the people who build buildings are big money people, these are people who have their own way of operating, and they really don’t like it if somebody among their group, which is an elite financial group in the world, gets shafted by a league. They don’t like it when a building gets built and the league walks away from it. They think that the league has a responsibility to maintain something in that building, so the people who built that building, don’t get left holding the bag. It looks like that the league is going to do that in Phoenix, and there’s talk that they may do the same thing in New Jersey, and that is causing some troubles for the NHL in the upper financial circles”

On Scott Howson calling out Rick Nash

“It is a strange sort of thing, Rick Nash has done yeoman’s service in Columbus and is really the only player probably from that franchise you can name over the years. That’s another market where it’s a shame to see that happen. When they first moved in there, that team really had solid support.  Hockey caught on there for the first three or four years. Rinks were springing up all over that part of Ohio, and something other than Ohio State University was getting attention in the media. But the team never got better, fans will come to watch a bad team for a while if it’s a new team, but when that novelty wears off, you have to start doing something else. That was the second level, that was what Columbus never did.”

“Rick Nash is the least of their problems, it doesn’t really matter that much, if Howson puts a decent team on the ice, then the fans won’t worry about what he said about Rick Nash.”

On Tim Thomas comments

“They’re professionals; people should be allowed to say what they want. I was distressed by what went on, not by what Tim said, but the response to it. There were all these suggestions, oh he’s an athlete, why is he commenting. What are we suggesting now, if you’re an athlete, you’re an idiot? That you don’t have the right to comment on things. Should we take away the athlete’s right to vote perhaps? Because he’s a stupid lug who makes his living physically.”

On respect in the league

 “I think there has been awareness among the players that you have to be more careful about things. As for respect, that’s more in the media world, than in the real world. You saw what just happened with the New Orleans Saints having a bounty on hurting the opposition. That doesn’t exist in hockey, but there is certainly the attitude that if you can hit a guy and hurt him, you don’t back off. That is changing a little bit, I don’t know if it is respect for each other, but fear of getting suspended. For that we have to thank Shanny, and Coli Campbell.”

On the next CBA negotiations

“This time, I don’t see the resolve on either side, and especially on the part of the players. I’m not saying there won’t be some sort of stoppage, there might be some posturing. For the most part I don’t see the resolve in the players that was there in the other two occasions.”

The entire interview is available here at Illegal Curve, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Now that supply has been set out above, let’s examine demand.  In other words, how many free agent goalies will be available to sign without giving up any compensation, aside from money (age in parenthesis)?

1. Tomas Vokoun (35);
2. Martin Brodeur (39);
3. Josh Harding (27);
4. Jonas Gustavsson (27);
5. Evgeni Nabokov (36); and
6. Ben Bishop (25).

A few of the above netminders likely won’t be relied on to start in the NHL but a couple of them may step in to log significant minutes in some team’s crease.  Never mind the fact that we have not yet taken into account quality backup netminders on certain teams like Vancouver (Schneider) and Los Angeles (Bernier).  Simply put, there is hardly a market for netminders in the NHL.

This, of course, works in Kevin Cheveldayoff’s favour.  Think about it; there is more supply than demand for netminders in the NHL.

The question then becomes, what is Ondrej Pavelec’s negotiating ploy?

He has the following options:

1. Arbitration;
2. Demand trade;
3. Offer sheet; and
4. Hold out

However, the options of demanding a trade or receiving an offer sheet are virtually remote, as the market is saturated with goaltending talent.  Also, the option of holding out is extremely rare because the player very possibly will never recoup the lost salary, never mind the risk that another netminder begins to perform and the need for the player decreases thereby hurting his market value and leverage. In essence, Pavelec’s leverage centers on arbitration.

Arbitration is an experience that both player and team generally hope to avoid, as it sometimes results in hurt feelings.  Former Devils center Bobby Holik documented just that on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show a few weeks ago.

In reality, it is in both the team and player’s interests to come to an agreement prior to an arbitration hearing.   Of course, that requires reasonable positions on both sides, which, for the purposes of this article, is an assumption we are going to rely on.

It is extremely interesting that three of the above netminders are also closing in on restricted free agent status.  Not surprisingly, these are the three netminders that were drafted in the same entry class as Pavelec.  Fascinatingly, all of Price, Rask and Pavelec signed two-year contacts after the expiration of their respective entry-level contracts.

Here were their second contracts:

On the other hand, Quick signed a three-year deal after his entry-level contract expired—a deal that appears quite team friendly at this time.  Varlamov did the same; signing a three-year deal after his entry-level contact was complete.

Halak signed a four-year deal that takes him to UFA status, but this was the Slovak netminder’s third NHL contract.  With Pavelec also looking for a third NHL contract, similarities can be drawn from their respective situations.

What had Jaroslav Halak accomplished prior to his third NHL contract?

Halak had obviously played less games than Pavelec heading into his third NHL contract, however, he also had a longer track record in professional hockey (69 games in AHL with Hamilton, never posting save percentage below .927), started for Slovakia in the Olympics and led the Habs on an incredible run to the Conference Finals after upsetting both the Penguins and Capitals in the first two rounds).

Considering Pavelec’s statistics do not really compare favourably to any of the goaltenders listed above (aside from Semyon Varlamov), his agent (Allan Walsh) has a more challenging argument on his hands.

Available Contract Options

In any contract negotiation, there are many options available for both sides.  Both the team and player will likely entertain the possibility of both short-term and long-term possibilities.

Pavelec only has two seasons after this season until he becomes a UFA.  This provides both Kevin Cheveldayoff and Allan Walsh with options with respect to term.

Players and teams generally do not opt for one-year contracts for young up-and-coming players.  Take for example the two-year contracts signed by Blake Wheeler and Zach Bogosian this off-season.  Two-year deals were determined to be a sensible middle ground for both player and team.  One-year deals, on the other hand, provide salary cap uncertainty for the team and pressure on the player to perform at exceptional levels to increase his value (something that can work both for the player and against the player depending on his makeup).

It is also important to point out that some teams may prefer a longer term deal, if it really believes the player is worth that type of term, because they can structure a deal in such a way as to keep the cap hit consistent from year-to-year.  For example, if the team signs Pavelec to a two-year contract for $5.0 million, the resulting cap hit would be $2.5 million per season.  If after the two-year contract expires, the team subsequently signs him to a three-year deal worth $15.0 million, the resulting cap hit for the subsequent contract would be $5.0 million per season.  Alternatively, if the team signed the player to a five-year deal for $20 million at the outset, the player would receive the same amount of money over the five year term ($20 million) but the team could lock in a cap hit of $4.0 million.  Obviously there is risk inherent in a long-term deal for the team, but some teams may prefer one option to the other.

Andrew Ladd signed a five-year contract with the Jets in the summer of 2011, so let’s assume for the purposes of this article that the team will not hand out a contract of greater length than that of the proverbial face of the franchise (there is also the issue/uncertainty of a new CBA this off-season, but that did not seem to deter the Jets from committing to Ladd long-term).  As a result, let’s work within the framework of a one-year contract through to a five-year contract for Pavelec.

Projected Contract(s)

Before moving further, we should also mention the highest paid NHL netminder, in terms of cap hit, is Henrik Lundqvist at $6.875 million.  Only four goalies in the NHL have a cap hit of $6.0 million and higher (Ryan Miller, Niklas Backtrom and Cam Ward.  Moreover, only seven goalies in the NHL make upwards of a $5.0 million cap hit per season.

The ceiling for Pavelec on any contract is likely $5.0 million.  Here are some interesting averages for the goaltenders that carry a $5.0 million cap hit and above this season:

Not one of the eleven netminders who carry a cap hit of $5.0 million and above have a career save percentage lower than Ondrej Pavelec’s.  That is not to say Pavelec won’t eventually reach their production levels, but the goaltenders getting paid are generally older and more seasoned—and, of course, UFA eligible. As mentioned in the Evander Kane piece, UFA years have the most value to a player because the player no longer is “restricted” from signing wherever he may choose.  A player’s UFA years are his most valuable financially and provide the player with the highest form of leverage—playing one team off against another for his services.

That digression aside, using $5.0 million as a ceiling for Pavelec’s value, then what is the floor?  Pavelec is unquestionably going to be tendered a qualifying offer this off-season, but his contract for 2012-13 will not be in and around $1.15 million.

As a starting point, let’s average the cap hits of Jonathan Quick for next season ($1.8 million) and the contract of Semyon Varlamov for next season ($2.83 million).  This total of $2.3 million seems like a reasonable starting point for Pavelec.  Quick is probably better than his contract, Varlamov is probably worse.  Pavelec probably finds himself somewhere in the middle, so a reasonable $2.3 million starting salary for his second last RFA year seems sensible.

Moving forward, using Jaroslav Halak as a barometer may fit quite well.  Halak has superior numbers but has also not logged over 45 games in a season on two occasions.  Moreover, the average annual salary continues to increase annually, so contracts signed two years later generally take that into account.  We would also be remiss if we did not point out that Halak has played in more goaltender friendly systems (Montreal and St. Louis for defensive coaches in Jacques Martin and Ken Hitchcock).  Just ask Miikka Kiprusoff how defensive coaches change your statistical output—specifically, his years playing under the offensively oriented Mike Keenan (.906 and .903 save percentages in those two seasons).

With that in mind, and with countless factors taken into account, let’s attempt to project Pavelec’s earning capacity moving forward:

Needless to say, the Jets will have an interesting off-season with Evander Kane and Ondrej Pavelec up for free agency.  Of most interest to some is the compensation these players garner from the Jets brass; however, we may learn more about the future of the franchise by observing the course of action GM Kevin Cheveldayoff takes in handling these negotiations.

**Thanks to capgeek.com for all of the contract data**

First, some background.

Back on February 11th, due to an afternoon Jets-Penguins game, The Illegal Curve Hockey Show went on air at 7 a.m. on TSN 1290, five hours earlier than the normal start time.

Due to an unintentional cell phone alarm clock malfunction, Ezzy pulled a Tyler Seguin, slept in and missed the first 25-30 minutes of the show.

Admittedly, this was not the first time Ezzy missed an early morning Illegal Curve Hockey Show, as back on November 19th, he missed the first hour and a half of a show that also started in the early hours of the morning (8 a.m. CST).

On this past Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show, IC Host Drew Mindell was previewing our next show (February 25th), and stated that there was no way that Ezzy was going to be able to wake up on time, as the show is once again scheduled for 7:00 a.m. CST.

Drew put his money where his mouth is, by stating that he would donate $50 to a local charity if Ezra arrives on time. Conversely, Ezra matched that challenge, by agreeing to donate $50 to a local charity if he sleeps in and arrives late. Richard Pollock then joined the fun, saying that he didn’t believe Ezra would show up on time either, thus joining Team Drew, and formally establishing the battle lines.

Illegal Curve has selected Pass It Forward as our charitable organization and we will donate $50 to them, either from Team Ezzy or Team Drew/Richy, depending on who is proven to be correct.

Pass It Forward was created in 2009, to help youth in Winnipeg who wish to play hockey but require help getting the necessary equipment. Each September they undertake a hockey equipment drive to help in this cause, in addition to accepting donations throughout the entire calendar year.

If you would like to throw your support behind a specific Illegal Curve team, join in on our charitable endeavour, and help support a worthwhile Winnipeg charity, e-mail Ezra or Drew and we will provide you with all of the relevant information.

Even if you aren’t able to donate, we encourage you to participate in this fun competition and pick a side. Volunteers are needed to be Ezzy’s personal alarm clock for Saturday morning (for team Ezzy members) or by lavishing him with copious amounts of alcohol on Friday night (for team Drew/Richy members.)

Who will prove victorious? You will have to tune to The Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio Winnipeg, Saturday at 7:00 AM to find out.

The intriguing element of Kane’s potential was the limited knowledge fans had of the 2009 fourth overall NHL Draft selection.  In usual cases, fans see their team draft a player in June and spend the remainder of the summer endlessly consuming information (both relevant and irrelevant) about him.  If the player is exceptional, the fans may luck out and catch a snippet of that particular player in the proceeding season.  If, instead, he resembles the majority of players his age, he is returned to the CHL, NCAA or Europe and followed by fans intensely for one, two or even three to four seasons.

In Evander Kane’s case, however, the British Columbia native was fairly unknown to Jets fans.  The NHL’s return to Winnipeg was only formalized at the end of May.  That left the remainder of the summer to get to know the entire Thrashers roster.  Fans did not have the luxury of two plus years to become familiar with Evander Kane; instead, they had a whole three months until training camp hit.  His goal totals, a simple yet indicative performance indicator, were more than respectable over the past two seasons (14 and 19 respectively), but just what was his ceiling?

Much has been gathered from the Jets’ season thus far; the team lacks depth and skill at forward, relies on Ondrej Pavelec significantly and has some stellar talent on the blue line.  However, one other aspect of the team has stood out most of all: Evander Kane, at 20 years old, is the team’s top forward and, arguably, top player.

So far this season, Kane has demonstrated he has a top ten NHL wrist shot, blazing speed and strength that matches up against any tough opposing defenseman.  This success (31 points in 46 games) has resulted in fan excitement but also a modicum of apprehension.  This apprehension is based upon Kane’s pending free agency.  Reassuringly, this free agency is restricted free agency which allows the Jets to match any free agent offer the former Vancouver Giant may receive on or after July 1.

While this article could point to some concern over the relationship between Jets coach Claude Noel and Evander Kane, or Kane’s reputation with the Winnipeg fan base, that is not so much the point.  Rather, the purpose of this article is to attempt to gauge Evander Kane’s value as a free agent.  More specifically, it is an attempt to estimate a realistic figure in terms of both term and salary for the potential 40-goal scorer.

(a)        Comparables

Evander Kane was drafted in 2009, as mentioned above, directly behind John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene.  Naturally, Tavares, a player who has also played just over two full NHL seasons, for a poor Eastern Conference squad serves as a comparable.  Importantly, at least from an analysis perspective is the fact that Tavares recently re-upped with the Islanders for a six-year, $33 million contract.  Of most concern is Tavares’s annual cap hit which is $5.5 million.

Now that we have seen Tavares’s extension, let’s examine his career production thus far:

By comparison, here are Kane’s numbers:

Tavares and Kane are comparable to the extent that they were drafted in the same year and have had a similar career course.  Their overall skill packages are both exceptional but particularly different.  Tavares is not a great skater (although his skating has improved significantly from his first season) but has tremendous hands, vision and passing skills.  Tavares is more of an east/west player, as opposed to Kane’s north/south style that allows him to utilize his speed to his and his team’s advantage.

It is hard to imagine Kane matching a contract both of the quantum and term of Tavares.  So, Kevin Cheveldayoff could easily reference Tavares as a far-fetched ceiling when sitting down with Kane’s agent, Craig Oster of Newport Sports Management.  Winnipeggers may find it interesting to note that Oster attended the University of Manitoba and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce prior to securing his LLB (now JD) from the University of Western Ontario.

Now that we have established a ceiling to Kane’s value, at least over a four or five-year term, that leaves other comparables who are hopefully more similar in terms of both the type of player they are and their career course to this point.  The three most logical comparisons that come to mind are:

1. Logan Couture;
2. James Neal; and
3. Phil Kessel

Couture is probably the least comparable of the bunch in terms of his style of play and the fact he is now relied on as primarily a center in San Jose.  However, for comparison’s sake, it does not hurt to include him in this analysis.

Neal and Kessel, on the other hand, seem to be very reasonable comparables; both players are shoot-first, ala Kane, play wing, skate well and have terrific shots.

Let’s examine their respective statistical output through their first three NHL seasons (as Kane is currently completing his third NHL season):

Logan Couture:

**All other advanced statistical categories included were based upon a minimum of 30 games played in that particular season.  For Couture’s first season, an exception was made for the above chart and adjusted to a minimum of 20 games to provide context (albeit limited) for his performance.

James Neal:

Phil Kessel:

Click here to read the 2nd part of Richard’s analysis of Evander Kane’s fair market value.

Of course knowing that tickets are a hot commodity, they took to the Winnipeg Jets section of the HF Message Boards to spread the word of their arrival and to inquire with locals as to what is the best means of procuring tickets.  Almost 200 comments and 7000+ views later, Peggers’ were offering advice on everything from hotels to whether to rent a car and where to eat.  Brad, a gracious and quite generous member of the HF Jets community even gave the cousins a pair of seats in the 105 section.  Not only that but he picked them up at the airport and dropped them off at their hotel.  If that doesn’t define ‘Friendly Manitoba’ I don’t know what does.

We had the chance to ask the cousins some questions about why they chose Winnipeg and their preliminary thoughts on our fair city.

Q.  How did you guys start this tradition?

A.  My Cousin and I had lost touch for most of our lives.  When we started talking after years had gone by, we found out that we both LOVED hockey.  This may not sound like a huge deal in Canada, but in California it may as well have been a bonafide miracle.  We started going to games together (Sharks mostly, though Mike also had Fresno Falcons/ECHL season tickets).  We began by driving to the teams closest to us (Anaheim mostly) but it wasn’t really a tradition.  We just decided one year after a “How cool would this be” conversation that it would be awesome to see the Sharks play all of the NHL venues before we died.  Instead of continuing to talk, we just decided to book the trip. So far, we’ve done Winnipeg 2011, Calgary / Edmonton / Los Angeles 2010, Phoenix 2009, Anaheim 2008 and 2005.  I’ve also been to Carolina and Washington DC, but those don’t count against our goal since the Sharks weren’t playing at the time.  It has been one of the best decisions we have ever made and a worthy life-long goal to achieve.  We get to see the world and we’ve made friends in nearly every city we’ve visited.  I’ve had two sons in the last two years and I hope that in a few years, I’ll be able to share this adventure with them.  As far as my wife is concerned, she should be granted sainthood for taking care of our little ones and being OK with me doing this.  Thank you Mary, I Love You!

Q.   Why Winnipeg?

A.  When we committed to doing at least one trip a year, Mike’s first pick this year was Winnipeg.  You only get so many chances to see a new (or reborn) team play in the NHL in their first year.  We almost booked Chicago due to the considerably smaller travel expense, but in the end we came to our senses and booked Winnipeg.  Besides, the Canadian trips are the most fun right?

Q.  What did you think when you got offered everything from free drinks to free lower bowl  tickets on HF Boards?

A.  To be honest, we thought you all were playing a joke on the gullible Americans!  I still to this very moment sitting here in our hotel room cannot believe what has been provided to us, a pair of total strangers.  From the FREE premium tickets OVERNIGHTED to us by Brad (ps241), to having Brad show up at the airport as a surprise to drive us to our hotel, it still all seems too good to be true.  I have to say that this is my fourth trip in to Canada and on every occasion, we have been welcomed with open arms by our Canadian hosts.  The hospitality and generosity of Manitobans has been unparallelled by any other experience in my 32 years.  Even at lunch today a woman gave us a hug and welcomed us to Winnipeg.  We talked with her and her friends all through lunch and they thanked us for coming here.  I have never experienced anything like this.  We couldn’t possibly be more humbled and grateful.  There is no possible way for us to ever fairly repay the favor.  I also think that if I accept all of the free drinks offered, I’m not going to be able to walk very well after the game

Q.  When you heard Winnipeg in January, did you have any idea what to expect?  What have your first impressions been like?

A.  Cold. Cold. More cold.  From the replies on my hfboards.com topic, people couldn’t believe that we would come from sunny California to the frozen tundra of Winnipeg at this time of year.  For us, the icy weather and scenery is a welcome treat.  My very first impression of Winnipeg came on the airplane as we approached YWG.  Looking out the window I could see rink after outdoor rink peppered across the land with kids skating.  That is an alien sight to those of us living in California.  Very cool.  Everything else we’ve seen in our 10 hours here so far has been beautfiul.  The Forks area is beautiful.

Q.  What was it like hanging with the Sharks at Earls Main?

A.  Earlier in the day, we were walking around the Forks area wearing our jerseys.  A group of people walked by us and yelled “Hey Sharks fans!.”  As we braced for our heckling, one of them shouted “My friend here plays for the Sharks…him…the tall one!”  We thought they were just messing with us and kept walking.  After reconsidering though, we felt like we missed a great, and possibly only, chance to meet a Shark player on this trip.  Brad told us to head to Earl’s tonight and that the Sharks might be there.  We had no idea that he would be 100% right.  We took a seat at the bar and noticed after a few double-takes that Logan Couture, Antti Niemi, James Sheppard, Colin White, Benn Ferriero, Douglas Murray were sitting right behind us!  We spent a good 40 minutes trying to find a way to approach them without annoying them too much.  Finally I called their waitress over and asked her to let us buy them a round of drinks and to tell them good luck tomorrow.  They were very cool with us and spent a considerable amount of time talking with us.  When it was time to settle our bill at the end of the night, we had found that they had bought us several rounds without saying anything.  Thanks guys!  They were appreciative that we would travel this distance to see them.  All of them treated us like regular, down-to-Earth guys.  It was an absolute pleasure.

Q.  What has made this trip unique from the other road trips you’ve taken?

A.  I think the main stand-out features of this trip have been the hospitality shown by Jets’ fans and the punch-in-the-face cold outside.  The other difference is that we get to see your Jets in their first year!  We may not get that kind of opportunity again for decades to come, if ever.  Considering many people cannot even get tickets without spending a month’s wage, we can’t believe we’ll be sitting center ice.

Q.  What are your expectations of the MTS Centre crowd?

A.  Last year in Calgary, as we were leaving the game, a lady grabbed us and snuck us back down to the ice.  She had heard that we were in from San Jose.  As it turns out, the Sharks were meeting friends and family after the game and we got to spend time talking and taking pictures with them.  Another supremely nice deed from a Canadian stranger.  Before that, a nice little old lady on the airplane drew us a paper map of how to drive from Calgary to Edmonton.  She spent a lot of time on it,  It must be in your blood!  It’s something for us to try to live up to when we see traveling fans visiting the HP Pavilion in San Jose.  It really sets an example of how to treat guests on your home ice.

I have to say again that we are eternally grateful to the Jets fans from hfboards.com and Brad in particular.  They have taken two totally foreign strangers and made us feel like we hit the hockey lottery!  We’re just two regular hockey fans from the states, but as Mike and I discussed today, we feel like we have finally come home.  The term “Friendly Manitoba” is a gross understatement.

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On Friday, we will get the guys thoughts on the game, the MTS Centre crowd and their overall impression of the trip to Winnipeg.  If you see them tonight, be sure to give Mike and Bryan a ‘Friendly Manitoba’ hello!!

Here is the 2nd part of the Q & A.

Goals were picked based on the wow factor of the goal, the significance of the game they occurred in, and how they impacted the outcome of the game.

10. Blake Wheeler, December 22 vs. Montreal (PPG 03:18 in 1st)

In one of the more dominating wins of the year, this was the second of four games against the Habs. After some nice passing on the powerplay, Dustin Byfuglien picked up a rebound in front of the net, passed it cross crease to Wheeler who shot into the open cage. It was Blake Wheeler’s best game of the year, he earned the first star with two goals and one assist leading the Jets to avenge the opening night loss to the Habs.

9. Alexander Burmistrov, December 17 vs. Anaheim (00:31 in 2nd)

This game rivaled opening night in terms of fan emotion in the building. It was extremely loud all night. The Ducks were playing their second game in two nights, and the Jets got off to a quick 2-0 start. It looked like they were going to cruise to victory when the Ducks roared back (or quacked back?) late in the first. The Jets got off to a quick start in the second when Evander Kane fed Alexander Burmistrov through the neutral zone. He walked in to the top of the circle and fired a wrister that put the Jets ahead for good. This was one of the nicest snipes of the year, a well placed shot that went top left corner over the shoulder of Jonas Hiller who was later pulled from the game. The Jets went on to win on a historic night.

8. Evander Kane, November 3, 2011 @ New York Islanders (04:21 in 1st)

This was the first goal and the winner in a 3-0 win by the Jets on their long road trip that went through October and November. Evander Kane had a great individual effort beating defenseman Travis Hamonic, who was having trouble with Kane all night, and after taking a couple of wacks at the puck he beat Andrew McDonald too. Finally the puck ended up in the net and the Jets were up 1-0 and cruised to victory.

7. Bryan Little, December 6 vs. Boston (04:50 in 3rd)

The Boston Bruins came in to Winnipeg having not lost in regulation in fifteen games. This was the second night of back-to-back games, and leading point scorer Tyler Seguin was sitting after having missed a morning breakfast. The atmosphere in the building was electric. It was the first game of the season that had a significant number of away jerseys. After Mark Stuart was hit in the corner of the Jets zone, the faceoff following the play was just outside the Jets blue line. Bryan Little won over 50% of his face-off’s that night, and on this draw, he won it to himself, skated up the ice and put the puck between the legs of goaltender Tukka Rask. This was the winning goal in possibly the Jets biggest win of the season, and the crowd erupted in one of the biggest ovations of the year..

6. Evander Kane, November 26 @ Boston (09:31 in 1st)

After defeating Carolina on Friday the 25th, the Jets traveled to Boston for the match up on the 26th. The Jets got up on the defending Stanley Cup Champions early with a perfectly executed break-out that ended with a 2 on 1. Blake Wheeler had the puck entering the attacking zone, made a great pass to Kane who deked Conn Smythe Winner Tim Thomas for the first goal of the night. While Boston would eventually come back to defeat the Jets in that game, this was one of the prettier goals of the season.

5. Blake Wheeler, November 17 vs. Washington (PPG 08:31 2nd)

This was the first visit by the reigning Southeast division champions to Winnipeg. Blake Wheeler had gone eighteen games without a goal at that point, and was sick of talking about it every day with the media. Fans wondered when it would come and he was being labelled as a disappointment. The play started when Brooks Laich shot the puck on a 2 on 1, he had thought he scored, but the puck actually went over the net and wrapped around to Wheeler. Who then carried the puck with blazing speed into the offensive end, blew past defenseman Roman Hamrlik and drove hard to the net simultaneously crashing with Evander Kane. Wheeler slid the puck past Michal Neuvirth for his first of the season. He then let out eighteen games of frustration by jumping into the boards shoulder first.

4. Andrew Ladd, October 27 @ Philadelphia (18:54 in 3rd)

In what was one of the most exciting and highest goal scoring games in recent history, it looked like the Jets were going to blow two four goal leads to begin their long two week road trip. Captain Andrew Ladd came to the rescue with just over a minute to play in the third period. After some nice cycling by Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler, Wheeler fed Andrew Ladd who was moving towards the slot, who put the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. Fans around Winnipeg rejoiced after a wild game.

3. Evander Kane, October 27 @ Philadelphia (PPG, 10:39 in 2nd)

Another goal from the crazy 9-8 Jets victory in Philadelphia. This was one of the prettier goals of the season. Bogosian had the puck at the point, went over to Stapleton at the other point, who passed to Burmistrov on the half-wall, down to Nik Antropov at the side of the net, who made the between the legs pass to Kane to put the Jets up 6-2.

2. Kyle Wellwood, vs. Pittsburgh (00:08 in 1st)

It was the first game at MTS Centre since the October 9 home opener. The Jets had just come back from a road trip that left them 0-3 on the season still searching for their first win. The MTS Centre crowd was extremely loud to start the game and the Jets didn’t disappoint. After a face-off win, and a trip by Pens’ defenseman Zybanek Michalek the Jets were on a 3 on 1 which was executed perfectly. When it looked like they would not be able to capitalize on the opportunity, Wellwood took the puck off his skate and put it into the net to put the Jets up 1-0 who were on their way to the first win of the season.

1. Nik Antropov, vs. Montreal (02:27 in 3rd)

It was a historic night in Winnipeg who hosted their first regular season game in over fifteen years. The Jets did not get off to a good start, and were down 2-0 to start the 3rd period. While the score what somewhat close, the team appeared unorganized and out of sync, and it looked liked fans would not even get to see them score. Nik Antropov ended the shutout in the 3rd period when he put a rebound off of a point shot by Mark Stuart into the cage behind goaltender Carey Price. The Jets had earned their first goal in franchise history, which would end up on it’s own postage stamp.

Those are my picks for the top ten Winnipeg Jets’ goals of 2011, if you agree or disagree, post your thoughts in the comments.

How much do the plates cost?

The plates cost $70 including GST.

Who gets the money?

The Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation will receive $30 from every purchase. Manitoba Public Insurance will also receive $30 (production costs, operating costs, cost recovery for implementation expenses). The Province of Manitoba will receive $10, as they do on all new licence plate purchases.

What is the True North Foundation?

The Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation is the charitable arm of the Winnipeg Jets and the “charity of choice” for the MTS Centre. The Foundation allows players, their partners, coaches, board members and the True North staff to contribute to the community of Manitoba in a concerted and centralized manner.

When can I get my plates?

Customers can go to any Autopac agent starting Monday, December 12.

Can I pre-order mine?

Pre-orders will not be accepted. Customers will be able to purchase the plates on and after December 12 from any Autopac agent.

Will I be able to personalize the plates?

No.  Like the Bomber plates, the Jet plates are a pre-established set of letters and numbers.

I already own a set of Bomber plates. Once the football season is over, can I replace them with my Winnipeg Jets plates?

Yes.  Fans who own a Winnipeg Blue Bombers licence plate are still eligible to purchase the new Winnipeg Jets plates. You can even change the plates in between seasons at no extra charge. However, because the plate numbers on the front and rear of your vehicle must match at all times, you will not be allowed to use the Blue Bombers plate and the Jets plate simultaneously (i.e. you cannot have a Jets plate on the front of your vehicle and a Bombers plate on the rear).

How many plates can I buy?

If you are the registered owner of one or more vehicles that qualify, you can apply for the Winnipeg Jets licence plates for all of them. Only one set of Jets plates will be issued per vehicle.

What types of vehicles qualify for the plates?

All passenger vehicles such as cars, trucks, farm trucks, vans and motor-homes qualify for the Winnipeg Jets licence plates. Commercial trucks, motorcycles, mopeds and other non-passenger vehicles to not qualify.

I want to buy the plates as a souvenir keepsake. Is that allowed or do they have to be affixed to a vehicle?

Customers wanting to use the plates as a souvenir keepsake can still purchase them at a cost of $70.  However, there will be an additional charge of $15 for administrative and processing fees.

Why have the jets been chosen for these specialty plates? Why not the Goldeyes or other groups?

The return of the National Hockey League and the jets was a significant milestone in the sporting history of Manitoba. The overwhelming success of the sale earlier this summer of Winnipeg Blue Bomber plates also showed that Manitoba sporting fans are receptive to purchase a specialized plate. In 2004, the Province of Manitoba approved the issuing of a specialty licence plate to honour veterans.

How many will be made available?

According to Scott Brown there will be as many available as demand will allow. If there are more than the 9999, the “J” will be removed to add another number, and then the “W” will be removed if necessary.

1.    Spencer Machacek (St. John’s IceCaps) – Machacek put up four points (all assists) as the IceCaps twice defeated the visiting Connecticut Whale. The two wins improved the IceCaps record to 11-2-3 for a league leading 25 points.

2.  Michael Forney (Colorado Eagles)- The Eagles had another so so weekend in losing a 5-4 game to Utah and then dropping them 3-1 on Saturday night. Forney figured prominently in both games, notching 2 goals Friday night and a goal and an assist in the Saturday night win. He is performing at a high level and may yet see time in St. John’s. I am pulling for him, as he had a promising future not long ago.

3.  Zach Yuen (Tri-City Americans)- The Americans had a good week, piling up wins over Medicine Hat, Kootenay and Lethbridge. Yuen, a Jets’ 4th rounder, went 1-1 and a +2 with 6 PIMs, in helping his team keep pace with the Saskatoon Blades.

In my own experience, I grew up an Oiler fan in a very small town in Saskatchewan. Given that I did most of my growing up in the 1980’s, most of the kids in town were Oilers fans, along with a few Flames fans, a couple Flyers fans and the odd Bruins and Canadiens fans sprinkled here and there. But not my little brother. He was a Jets’ guy through and through.

He bled the colours, knew the players and loved every chance we got to Winnipeg and see our cousins and a Jets game. His first (and mine) was a 4-4 tie between Buffalo and the Jets. He was hooked and I just wanted to go back when Gretzky and Co. were playing.

Keith (my brother) would always want to be Dave Ellett whenever the town kids got together for shinny. The teams would always be the Oilers kids versus the leftovers (Jets, Flyers, Habs, Bruins, etc.), so you would have Messier, Tikkanen (me), Gretzky and Fuhr (again, not many kids in town) versus Dave Ellett, Tony Tanti (my other brother), Ilkka Sinisalo and Pelle Lindberg (RIP). My brother played the same game, more or less, as Ellett and he remains his favourite player to this day.

Naturally, there was great excitement in Keith’s house when the announcements came out. He prepared his Jets chairs (two seats from the old Arena) and watched the first game from the comfort (?) of those wooden nightmares. To him, the return of the Jets rights a wrong, a sentiment shared by others, including Eric Burton of Goon’s World.

Burton, a resident of Grand Forks, ND, also remembers fondly the Jets of old, making several trips to Winnipeg to see the Jets with UND classmates and family members. Given that the Jets were the closest NHL team to Grand Forks, there was healthy competition for fan loyalty between the North Stars and Jets.  Part of the reason Burton was happy to attend Jets games was the ease of getting very reasonably priced tickets, often for under $20.

The final observations are from Brad Wentzel of Minneapolis, who is a big Jets fan and holds no grudge for Winnipeg stealing the IHL/AHL Moose from the Land of 10000 Lakes.

Wentzel, who can be found on Twitter @nhlhockeynut, remembers the days when the Jets were rumoured to be going to Minnesota, only have them end up in Phoenix. Feeling that Bettman stole the team from Manitoba, he was very pleased to hear about the return and has now focused his energy on thinking goods thoughts for Quebec City.

Pleased to hear that the team had chosen to revive the Jets moniker, Wentzel and a friend will be making the trip north in December to see the Wild take on the Jets.

Though it should come as no surprise that people are excited about the return of the Jets, Winnipeggers should take note of just how many people outside of Manitoba were happy about the team coming back. Friend of the blog AllyK00 is just one example of the devoted fans who will end up at MTS at some point this winter. Take a minute and talk to the out-of-towners and I bet you would be surprised at the stories you hear.

If you happen to see me, I would be happy to tell you about my trip to Winnipeg as a 16 year old to see the Oilers, only to end up sitting by a drunken cougar and chickening out of taking her offer to “see her room” at the Viscount Gort.

Editor’s Note:  As Kyle said there are many good stories of fans from elsewhere either planning on attending games at the MTS Centre or supporting the Jets when they come to their town(as we saw with the NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota).

Share your plans with us.

Here is your 23 man Winnipeg Jets roster with our projected lines* and defensive pairings*.

Goalies:

Ondrej Pavelec

Chris Mason

Defencemen:

Pair 1:  Tobias Enstrom, Dustin Byfuglien
Pair 2:  Mark Stuart, Zach Bogosian
Pair 3:  Johnny Oduya, Ron Hainsey

7th & 8th D-men: Randy Jones, Derek Meech (can also fill in as 14th forward)

Forwards:

Line 1:  Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler

Line 2: Evander Kane, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Wellwood
Line 3: Brett MacLean, Alex Burmistrov,Nik Antropov
Line 4: Tanner Glass, Jim Slater, Chris Thorburn

**Updated: Patrice Cormier has been sent to the AHL and the Jets have claimed Brett MacLean off waivers from Phoenix.

13th Forward:  Tim Stapleton

*These are the projected lines and defensive pairings according to Illegal Curve, which we’ve observed throughout training camp.  Once we have the definitive list, we will make any changes (if need be).