Winnipeg Jets celebrate 15th season since return

CTV’s Daniel Halmarson takes a special look at the Winnipeg Jets as they embark on their 15th season since returning to the city.

When the Winnipeg Jets took to the ice Thursday night, it marked the beginning of the team’s 15th season back in Winnipeg.

And from ‘Big Buff’ and the ‘GST Line’ to ‘Helle’ and ‘KFC’, Jets 2.0 has been a wild ride for everyone involved.

“Looking back over the years, just enjoy the moment because 15 years goes by pretty quickly,” Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told CTV News on Tuesday.

True North Sports and Entertainment (TNSE) purchased the Atlanta Thrashers in May 2011 and announced it was moving the team to Winnipeg.

Cheveldayoff was hired only a few weeks after the purchase and said it didn’t take long for the Jets to find their identity.

He drafted forwards Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft – two players who have helped turn the Jets into more of a family than a team.

“Our true leaders were players that we drafted and developed,” Cheveldayoff said. “[They] were part of this organization and part of Winnipeg from day one.”

The term ‘Jet for Life’ has surfaced over the past few years as the team locks up their core for the future. Scheifele, goalie Connor Helleybuyck, and sniper Kyle Connor, have signed long-term contracts to stay in Winnipeg.

“You have to understand them and their needs,” he explained. “And build a place where they want to compete and where they want to be a part of.”

Cheveldayoff said there’s been plenty of great memories over his 14-plus seasons at the helm, and one game may top the list: a triple overtime nail-biter to sweep the Edmonton Oilers during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“We were playing to an empty building, and to have such an iconic moment not to be able to be seen by fans, you know… that would be a regret.”

He admits there’s also been some forgettable moments during his tenure.

“In this job, you feel 100 per cent responsible for things you might have 10 per cent control over sometimes,” he explained. “You have to sit back and understand that some things just happen, and you have to roll with the punches and, you know, do your best.”

Cheveldayoff’s called the Prairies home for most of his life, but said Winnipeg has truly turned into home.

“It’s a great place to raise a family, and the way the fans have a personal connection with you is something that drives you each and every morning.”

And while Cheveldayoff’s goal is to ice a Stanley Cup winner, team president John Olfert’s focus has been getting and keeping fans in the seat.

“Our task [in 2011] was to find the Winnipeg way of operating NHL hockey in what some perceive as a smaller market,” Olfert told CTV News on Wednesday.

Olfert joined True North in 2001 and helped lay the groundwork for the eventual return of the Jets, which included an impressive season ticket drive in 2011.

True North sold 13,500 season ticket packages in only 17 minutes. However, that number plummeted following the COVID-19 pandemic and fueled speculation about the team’s long-term viability in Winnipeg.

“We did bottom out at about 9,000,” Olfert said. “It was concerning, and we had to find ourselves.”

Olfert said that meant investing more into the overall fan experience. He pointed to upgrades throughout the Canada Life Centre to improve food and drink offerings, in-game entertainment, and facility renovations.

“All those things contribute to the game, but more importantly though is the product on the ice,” he said. “And with the success of the team, that’s just something that we have been trying to embrace and leverage on.”

Olfert said that renewed focus on fans has paid off and the Jets’ season ticket base is back to 10,500 heading into the 2025-26 season – and said they’re striving to sell even more.

And as the organization celebrates its 15th season on and off the ice, Olfert said it all comes back to the fans.

“We want to be a source of pride for the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba – and that’s guided our every day.”