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Thursday, October 13, 2005
Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets
Today while bored i was reading more of my NHL trivia book entitled, "The Unofficial Guide to the Best and Worse of Hockey Firsts" by Don Weekes & Kerry Banks..on page 90, a trivia question went something like this:
The Only Team To Go Winless in 30 Consecutive Games, One Season:
Answer: Winnipeg Jets from October 18th to December 20th, 1980
The NHL was a reality check for the Winnipeg Jets after dominating the rival WHA. In their second NHL season, the Jets won only nine games and suffered the longest winless streak ever, losing 23 and tying 7 in a nine week ride of desperation.
Oh my how soon they forget eh? Or is it something that they wanna forget?
What the hell am i talking about? Quote this from the above passage:
"The NHL was a reality check for the Winnipeg Jets after dominating the rival WHA."
Ummm hell authors, yup these are two marks for the NHL, happy to make such a foolish statement, now for those of you who were born too late or have been busy eating Granny Goose Potato Chips, the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979-80, ending a seven year war between the two rival leagues, but there was a catch to Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec and Winnipeg joining the NHL..ah ha! A player dispersal draft which meant the four new teams could only protect four players each, all of their players were to go back to their former NHL teams that drafted them.
What a crock of shit
This ruined any dreams of inter-league play, something fans had been dreaming about for the final few years of the WHA existance
The NHL saved its ass
The last thing it wanted was the talented, three-time WHA champs to upset the Habs or Islanders in the finals to take home the Stanley Cup, the NHL had spent seven yrs telling everyone how the WHA sucked, how it was inferior to the NHL
I guess if it was not for the WHA, we would never have seen the birth of the careers of superstars like Gretzky and Messier
And the excitement the Oilers would bring us in becoming the five-time Stanley Cup Champions during the 1980s
And we wonder why the NHL is so backwards, such decisions make the league look bush
And two authors who should think before they talk
But who does that? Nuff said
Hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteNew England thanks you for sending us the likes of Johnny Bucyk from your fair country.
:)