In 1995, the American forward became the face of the “Save the Jets” campaign when he landed in Winnipeg, the third stop of his 15-year NHL career. During that time, Eddie Olczyk played twice as a first-year member of the Winnipeg Jets.
Olczyk’s career includes stops at many of the NHL’s major and historic franchises, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.
But he also tells us that Winnipeg, the smallest of the NHL markets, could put you at risk just by giving this city a chance. Passionate hockey fan. Authentic hockey climate. His arena in Winnipeg, where the Jets played, is an old, old barn, especially known for the giant portrait of Queen Elizabeth at one end of the arena.
Unfortunately, that big old barn was part of the reason the Jets moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix in the summer of 1996, a difficult time for all small market teams in Canada.
On Tuesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman visited Winnipeg, where Jets 2.0 faced many of the same obstacles that caused the exodus of the original Jets, who joined the NHL in 1979 as part of the World Hockey Association merger. confronting.
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But the main difference between then and now is the building.
Winnipeg was under Barry Shenkarow’s ownership in 1996, but was unable to obtain funding for a new building to replace the historic but aging Winnipeg Arena. Mr. Shenkalow had neither the financial means nor the interest to do it on his own, and obtaining government assistance at the time was ultimately not achievable.
If there’s one single most important factor that led to the departure of the original Jets, it’s that the arena, built in 1955, needed to compete financially in the NHL 40 years later, primarily through the sale of private suites. It didn’t generate the necessary ancillary income. .
“This game has become very large financially, and unfortunately in Winnipeg, we haven’t been able to maintain or find a way to generate the revenue that we need in that building,” Olczyk said. Told. “That was a huge reason for what ultimately happened. That’s what I remember most vividly.”
The current Jets play at the modestly sized Canada Life Center, which has a capacity of 15,225 people. This center was originally built in 2004 to house an AHL team. When the ownership coalition led by David Thomson and Mark Chipman bought the Atlanta Thrashers for $170 million and moved them to Winnipeg, they knew the arena would be the league’s smallest building. (It has since moved up to No. 31 behind Mallett Arena in Tempe, Ariz., the Coyotes’ interim home base).
But in the early days of Jets 2.0, the size of the building was manageable as they sold out in their first season back in Winnipeg. If the Jets were able to fill all those seats today, they’d probably be fine. The building isn’t perfect, but it’s proven to be completely manageable for a market the size of Winnipeg.
According to Chipman, the slump in paid employee attendance is the biggest obstacle to survival.
Many of Chipman’s laments sounded familiar to Olczyk, who was a popular national broadcaster on ESPN and the Seattle Kraken’s local stations and remains a big supporter of Winnipeg hockey.
Olczyk said getting fans into seats for his final season in Winnipeg wasn’t an issue. The community rallied behind the club, thinking this might be his last and best chance to watch NHL hockey.
Olczyk described the crowd as “amazing,” but added, “The problem was on the company side. The cooperation from companies was huge. The year before we left, we were wondering whether the team would stay or leave. We didn’t get it. But then they did the Save the Jets campaign and the fans came out and we knew we were coming back. There was even a feeling that perhaps we would stay here for an extended period of time.
“But going into the season, things looked less and less good. And when we traveled to Arizona during the All-Star break (to tour housing and schools in advance of a potential relocation), it was clear that It seemed like it was only a matter of time before it became official.”
currency crisis
An ongoing issue related to the Jets’ financial issues in 1996 and 2024 is the fluctuating Canadian dollar. Canadian teams earn most of their revenue in Canadian dollars, but salaries are paid in U.S. dollars, so a decline in the Canadian dollar hurts profitability.
In 1996, as part of its response to the exodus of Winnipeg and Quebec City to the United States, the NHL introduced the Canadian Currency Assistance Program, which was intended to cushion the effects of the weakening Canadian dollar.
The program was sponsored by Harley Hotchkiss, then the NHL’s chairman of the board and a member of the Calgary Flames’ ownership group. The program ran from 2004 until just before the 2005 lockout, and in most years four teams (Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Vancouver) qualified for the subsidy, which was distributed per team annually. It was worth about $2.7 million. Payments were conditional on teams selling at least 13,000 season tickets.
When discussing the Jets’ current predicament, it’s easy to overlook how badly the Canadian dollar has depreciated since moving to Atlanta in 2011.
On the day the Thrashers were sold to the Jets, their price was trading as high as 96.86 cents. According to Exchange-Rates.org. On the day his 2011 regular season opened, things got even better in terms of exchange. The Canadian dollar was trading above its face value of $1.04 at one point, making early profitability significantly higher.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the Canadian dollar has fallen significantly since then, trading at $0.73 as of this week.
This means that the Jets not only lost 25 percent of their original season ticket base (which Chipman estimated was reduced from 13,000 tickets to 9,500 tickets), but also lost an additional 25 percent of their revenue compared to 2011. means lost. Canadian Dollar.
In fact, it’s this double financial blow that has gotten the Jets to where they are today.
“All of a sudden, it seems like the same problems and challenges and obstacles that were going on in the mid-1990s are back. It’s kind of crazy,” Olczyk said.
So the NHL lockout didn’t solve these problems?
In 1996, the NHL was operating without a salary cap, or “cost certainty,” as Bettman often called it, as he fought the players’ association for a hard cap.
At the December 2001 board meeting, Bettman warned that this was not the first time and would not be the last time the league would need to negotiate a financial system with the PA. We need to ensure that all our clubs are competitive and economically viable where they are. ”
In the end, the players’ association opposed the cap system, so the NHL locked them out and kept them out for an entire year, which is the first time North American professional sports leagues have sacrificed a full season to pursue a collective bargaining agreement. It was my first time. Ultimately, the two sides reached an agreement on a salary cap system that included revenue-sharing provisions aimed at helping smaller markets such as Winnipeg.
In theory, that salary cap system was supposed to ensure that every team could survive in the current market.
This has been a priority for Bettman throughout his tenure, especially as it relates to the Arizona Coyotes, who have been the biggest financial strain on the entire league since the salary cap was implemented.
It remains to be seen whether the current system, which was supposed to give every team a chance to survive financially, will prove enough to save the Jets this time.
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Soaring ticket prices
One thing that isn’t often talked about in the room is cost. Because Olczyk comes from a blue-collar background, NHL tickets are expensive, and even if you want to go to an NHL game, not everyone can go, or even if you can, you can only do so to a limited extent. I understand that. .
“It’s expensive,” Olczyk said. “Everything is expensive, from gas to groceries to schooling to children’s programs. Whether it’s entertainment or education, there’s a line. There’s only so much of the pie to distribute. Many families spend 5 You want to have one or ten game packages, but you can probably only do two or three. You have to make a decision.”
Olczyk ultimately witnessed a successful franchise-saving moment occur in Pittsburgh. When he joined the organization as Penguins coach in 2003, the team was on financial welfare. Just as he was once the Jets’ biggest cheerleader, he has once again assumed that role with the Penguins. Olczyk coached the Penguins for 113 games, 82 before the 2004-2005 lockout and 31 after, during the Penguins’ most difficult period.
“It was great to see them stabilize and get a building in Pittsburgh and see their success over the years,” Olczyk said. “But the threat of retirement does exist, and I’ve experienced that threat twice, once as a player in Winnipeg and once as a coach in Pittsburgh.”
meanwhile, video clip Footage of an enthusiastic Olczyk as the Jets bid farewell to town, at one point cheerleading for the Jets’ return, remains a YouTube staple. Olczyk said his two best friends in the hockey world, Glenn Healy and Ray Ferraro, always tease him about hockey.
“I’ll say it again and I’ll do it again,” Olczyk said. “Because it was said organically and with passion and with a heavy heart. It was very personal for many of us as we were giving a sendoff. We wanted to give a big message to the community. I loved it there and made many friends there.
“Did you ever think the NHL would come back to Winnipeg? Yes, it did. I felt like maybe there would be a fix and someone like Mr. Thomson and Mark’s group would bring the Jets back. There. I loved it. I still love it. I know forever is a long time, but it would be great to know that the Jets are where they’re supposed to be.
“I just hope they can figure this out.”
(Top photo of Eddie Olczyk of the Winnipeg Jets: Focus on Sports / Getty Images)
