We are a few hours away from what will be one of the most emotional events on the NHL calendar this year; the official return of the Winnipeg Jets to the National Hockey League. It has been 15 years since the Jets last skated in a regular season NHL game. For Winnipeg hockey fans today is the day that bad memories of being deserted 15 long years ago will finally be erased, because today marks the inaugural regular season game for the second incarnation of the Jets. Ladd, Kane, and “Big Buff” will soon be skating in front of a sold out MTS Centre and hockey fans from across North America will be watching.
Today marks the end of a 15 year journey that started with Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings eliminating the Jets at the old Winnipeg Arena and ending with today’s game against the Montreal Canadians. There were many milestones along the way like the opening of the MTS Centre, the persistent rumours of potential relocation to Winnipeg, and of course that news conference at the MTS Centre when it was announced the NHL was coming back. Since then the Jets were officially resurrected with the draft day naming announcement, new logos and jerseys were unveiled, preseason games were played, and their first round draft choice has made the big club.
Today’s game against the Canadians is game 1 of 82 and players and fans alike are hoping for more than 82 games this year. It will certainly be a challenge playing in a competitive Southeast Division but it seems no matter where the Jets sit in the standings after the next 82 games fans will be happy that once again they have their team back.
On another front the Los Angeles Kings currently sit at 1 and 1 after their season opening trip in Europe. They will be an interesting team to watch this year and some analysts are picking them to be around well into late May. Mike Richards will certainly be feeling a lot of pressure this year after being shipped out of Philadelphia, but there will be one King who feels it the most. Drew Doughty finally inked a new long term deal days before the start of the season. The ink has just dried on his new 8 year 56 million dollar deal and he now has one of the top deals for NHL defenseman. Doughty has certainly developed into one of the NHLs top defenseman and it is now up to him to play up to his potential.
He is coming off a 40 point season and will be looked to for solid defence and for scoring from the backend. The Kings have had a very active offseason and are hoping that they have made the moves to finally win their first Stanley Cup.
To see how Doughty compares to other top tier NHL defenseman:
| Player | Team | Contract | Cap Hit and Salary for 2011-2012 Season |
| Shea Weber | Nashville Predators | 1 year-7.5 Million | 7.5 million |
| Brian Campbell | Florida Panthers | 8 year-57.143 Million | 7.142 Million |
| Drew Doughty | Los Angeles Kings | 8 year-56 Million | 6 million Salary-Cap Hit:7 Million |
| Zdeno Chara | Boston Bruins | 5 year-37.5 Million | 8.5 Million Salary-Cap Hit: 6.916 Million |
| Jay Bouwmeester | Calgary Flames | 5 year-33.4 Million | 6.6 Million Salary-Cap Hit:6.68 million |
| *Ranked by Salary Cap Hit, contract length is the length of the deal when it was first signed, all slary/cap information retrieved from capgeek.com |
Hockey is finally back and it looks like we have a great season ahead of us. There will be lots of great story lines that develop over the course of the season but a few that I will be keeping my eye on: The potential discussions surrounding the CBA, the potential conclusion to the Phoenix Coyote soap opera, and the development of the Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore Civil suit.