Fansided

Poor Showing For Winnipeg Jets in Top 100 Players

By Anthony Jacob |
Jan 28, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Teemu Selanne (8) skates away from Denis Savard (18) during the celebrity shootout before the 2017 NHL All Star Game skills competition at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Teemu Selanne (8) skates away from Denis Savard (18) during the celebrity shootout before the 2017 NHL All Star Game skills competition at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
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What an event it was. The NHL continues to choose venues for the all-star weekend that do nothing but impress. The all-star celebrity game was fun, and so was the NHL’s unveiling of their 100 Greatest Players Ever. The final 66 players were announced last weekend, and despite the fun of the event, Winnipeg Jets fans may be questioning who made it from their team, and more importantly, the man who did not.

Bobby Hull – LW

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

Sure Bobby Hull only played 18 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets, but having his name in the Top 100 is as close as it can get. Hull dominated for the Winnipeg Jets while they played in the WHA, scoring well over a point-per-game in more than 400 games. He had over 300 goals, in that span. Despite Hull’s incredible career with the Chicago Blackhawks, his nickname still sticks as ‘The Golden Jet’. He formed the greatest line in NHL history alongside Ulf Nilsson, and Anders Hedberg. The Jets won two AVCO cups with Hull. While in the NHL, Hull’s end-to-end rushes, blazing speed, and howling slapshot gave him a reputation as one of the best to ever play the game. In his prime, his clapper was measured at 118.5 MPH, something no one in the NHL can do these days. The Golden Jet is the Jets first nominee.

Teemu Selanne – RW

Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s incredibly easy to forget Teemu played just a mere four seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, and while with them, was just a one time 30 goal scorer. He was still over a point per game in every season. After his glorious rookie season, injuries took over until the Jets decided to trade their all-star. How about that glorious rookie season, making its mark as by far the most incredible rookie season in the history of the NHL. Teemu scored 76 goals in his freshman season. To put into perspective how amazing that is, Alex Ovechkin scored 52 in his rookie season, the second best mark all-time, but still 24 behind Selanne. Only four players in total have scored 40 in their rookie season. “The Finnish Flash” was the second fastest player in NHL history to 100 goals, behind only Mike Bossy. Despite an unfortunate end to the team and players relationship, Selanne will always be considered the Jets best player.

Serge Savard – D

Another Jets alumni picked to the list whose career with the Jets was extremely short. In 123 games with the Jets, Savard scored just 6 goals, and was a -32, ending his career after the 1982-83 season. With the Canadiens, he was the first ever defenseman to win the Conne Smythe Trophy, and won a total of eight Stanley Cups. He also won the Bill Masterton for perseverance to the game. Not a deserving Jet for the job, but one of the best Canadiens defenseman to play the game.

What Could Have Been: Dale Hawerchuk

Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports /

Dale Hawerchuk is not just a well deserving “Hockey Hall of Fame” member, but also the Winnipeg Jets best player ever. In 9 seasons with the Jets, ‘Ducky’ scored 379 goals, and 929 points in 713 games. After being selected as the Jets first overall pick, he was named rookie of the year after becoming the first rookie to 40 goals and 100 points. Despite his incredible goal scoring, he also developed as a premier playmaker. The only downside to his incredible career with the Jets was the teams inability to beat the monsters of the Smythe Division in the playoffs. His stats and awards speak for them self, Dale Hawerchuk should be one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players Ever.

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