Dale Hawerchuk has a statue outside Canada Life Centre but the team that plays inside the arena has no records belonging to him. Now, according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, that could one day change.
Bettman revealed on Wednesday that Winnipeg Jets owner Mark Chipman has asked the NHL to consolidate their current record books with the original version of the franchise. But, Bettman added, there will need to be some work done before the request can be fulfilled.
"It's not as simple as just doing it ... it is something we're looking into," Bettman said in response to a question about the logistics. "It's not so much a process as it's what the end result would look like and can we make it make sense?"
The original Jets played in the WHA from 1972-79 before joining the NHL. They stayed in Manitoba's capital until financial troubles led to a relocation to Phoenix to become the Coyotes in 1996. All of the Jets 1.0's records, including the many exploits of stars like Hawerchuk and Thomas Steen, went to Arizona in the move.
The current Jets arrived in Winnipeg in 2011 after the Atlanta Thrashers relocated, and Winnipeg's current archives show that former team's accolades.
But in 2024, the Coyotes were folded and the club's hockey operations were sold to Ryan and Ashley Smith, who relaunched the team in Utah. However, the Coyotes/Jets 1.0 records remained in Arizona as part of that transaction in the hopes that former owner Alex Meruelo would re-establish a team after building an arena. Meruelo has since relinquished those rights and the NHL has no immediate plans to return to Arizona, leaving the records dormant.
Oddly, former Coyotes captain Shane Doan is Jets 1.0's official all-time leader in goals (402), points (972) and games (1,540) while only playing 74 games in a Jets uniform after he was drafted seventh overall in 1995.
Current forward Mark Scheifele is pacing the new edition in both points (842) and games (908) — though Jets fans will state Hawerchuk, who registered all of his points during the Jets' first stay in Winnipeg, is their true leading scorer.
Hawerchuk posted 919 points (379 goals, 550 assists) in 713 games over nine seasons from 1981-1990 to claim the Jets’ unofficial crown. In Atlanta, Ilya Kovalchuk holds the unofficial title with 615 points (328 goals, 287 assists) in 594 games with the club.
There are cases of records changing hands in other North American pro-sports leagues. In 2002, the original Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans and became the Pelicans. The NBA returned to Charlotte in 2004 with the expansion Bobcats, and the NBA granted the new team the first club's original records in 2013.
