The History of the Winnipeg Jets

In 1979, while Michael Gobuty was majority owner and president of the Winnipeg Arena, their home arena, expanded to contain 15 250 seats. The Jets also entered the Smythe Division of the NHL. However, according to the provisions of the merger, they had to sacrifice 10 players. They won only 29 games during their first two seasons in the NHL, but thanks to Coach Tom Watt (since replaced), they pull themselves together and finished in second place in 1981-82. In 1981, with the development of Dale Hawerchuk, the Jets got their first offensive star, but it was not enough to guarantee their success. They had their best season in 1984-85 and ranked fourth in the league with 96 points. They failed to proceed past the preliminaries of the Smythe Division, which consisted of powerful teams (Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames).

As the Jets failed to make it to the finals, they accumulated losses and concerns increased that the team would be sold to American interests. In 1991, the team was sold to a Canadian group that received financial aid from the province, which promised to keep the team in Winnipeg. With the expansion of the NHL, the Jets got moved to the Central Division of the Western Conference in 1993-94.

The absence of a modern stadium and pay increases for better players lead to the team going bankrupt.

In 1995, the Jets were about to be sold to Minneapolis. Even if the three levels of government agreed to build another stadium, a new group of buyers was need. A new group formed in 1995 but was not able raise the funds necessary for the survival of the team. The Jets then passed into the hands of American interests and on 1 July 1996, they officially renamed the team the Phoenix Coyotes.