There has been quite the hubbub about hockey here in Winnipeg over the last few weeks. Apparently, the City of Winnipeg had issued a letter to Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, asking him to consider relocating the struggling franchise back here in The Peg, to the delight of an entire city. Well, almost an entire city. Days later, Super Mario declined that offer and all hope seemed lost. However, there appears to be another team that is looking to move back to Winnipeg... just who it is remains a mystery for now.

Hockey in post-Jets Winnipeg has been sorry at best. I've been to see our resident Moose twice since they showed up, and I've been unimpressed to say the least. The AHL just can't hold a candle to the NHL, even though some of us pretend that it does. Once you've tasted the big leagues there's no way you can go back, I say. Most of us would rather sit at home and cheer for the Canucks or Leafs than go to see a farm team play.

Winnipeg definitely is a hockey city. We love hockey. Take a look outside and you'll see why. It's like a giant zamboni cleaned off a glacier-sized Rink of the Gods and dropped the shavings all over town. We've certainly got more fans here than Pittsburgh, Nashville, or Carolina to name a few. We've got our new MTS Centre under construction, so we'll have a brand new arena to house them. So why shouldn't we get a team?

Well, I have to ask whether or not we can actually support this team. If the uber-rich city of Ottawa can't afford their team, how are we supposed to? The Jets had one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL with the third highest season ticket sales in their final season with us. If a salary cap comes in to play, then perhaps we can talk. But with the NHL in its current form, I don't see it happening.

If we get a team back, they better not be called the Jets. They certainly won't be the Jets, no matter how hard we wish them to be. This city is horrible for taking things for granted - that's how we lost our team in the first place. I fear that in calling them the Jets, we'll be giving ourselves the illusion of having lost nothing in the first place.

I'm not sure how I stand on this. I don't like the NHL anymore, as my passion for the league went south with the team. I'd like to get back in touch with my inner hockey fan, but I'm not sure how receptive he's going to be. For all the fans in this city - and believe me there's a lot of them, I hope this happens. And for all the players potentially coming here, I hope we don't screw the pooch again.

- Colin (invincibleironman@hotmail.com)

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