Committee Chairman
Our All-Time Top 50 Winnipeg Jets have been revised to reflect the last two seasons.
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Winnipeg Jets.
As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the Jets failed to make the playoffs, but as this is our first update in two years, there were three new entries and multiple changes. Please note that Winnipeg technically does not have the lineal history to the original Jets, so this Top 50 is based on the franchise that originated as the Atlanta Thrashers.
As always, we present our top five:
You can find the entire list here.
Wheeler advanced to the top spot, though his time with Winnipeg might be coming to an end. Hellebuyck moved from #5 to #4, overtaking Scheifele, who stayed at #5.
Kyle Connor makes the top ten for the first time, elevating to #9 from #17.
Nikolaj Ehlers, moved up two spots to #12.
Defenseman, Josh Morrissey, reaches #16 from #21.
Center and now New York Ranger, Andrew Copp, rose from #39 to #28.
Our highest debut is Defenseman, Neal Pionk, who enters at #29.
Left Wing, Adam Lowry edged up to #37 from #41.
Forwards, Paul Stastny, who is now with the Carolina Hurricanes, enters at #45, and Pierre-Luc Dubois comes in at #48.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
9. Sergei Bobrovsky
A two-time Vezina winner with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Russian-born Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky signed with Florida as a Free Agent, with the Panthers believing that he was the missing piece of the puzzle.
Bobrovsky’s Florida career did not start off with a bang, as his 3.23 GAA in his debut season with the Panthers was his worst in Hockey. He shaved that down to 2.91 the year after, but his third season was a renaissance for Bobrovsky with a solid 2.67 GAA and a league-leading 39 Wins. Last season, Bobrovsky anchored the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup off of his best season in Florida (2.37 GAA with a third-place finish in Vezina voting). Last season, Bobrovsky was still a top netminder, and he backstopped Florida to a second straight Cup.
He isn't done yet!
32. Pierre-Luc Dubois
Pierre-Luc Dubois began his career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he played three years and change before he requested a trade out of Ohio. He arrived in Winnipeg in January 2021, though that was not necessarily where he wanted to go.
In Dubois's first full year with the Jets, he had his best season since his sophomore campaign with a 28/30/60 line. He followed that with 63 Points, breaking his previous best, but it was well known that he had no intention of staying in Manitoba when his contract expired, so in the 2023 offseason, he was traded to Los Angeles. Dubois had a solid run with 143 Points in 195 Games for Winnipeg.
Minor League Baseball Players Are Now Unionized
Baseball has long enjoyed popularity in America. As one of the top five sports in the country, it’s widely watched and played – so it may come as a surprise to learn that minor league players have only just become unionized.
Having voted to join the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), they can now look forward to several important perks, from improved working conditions and wage packets to better legal representation in court.
We look at what this means for players and the sport.
The lowest-paid sports stars in America
In America, baseball – at all levels – has a huge following. As this infographic shows, it’s the fourth most widely streamed sport in the country, with a notable increase in audience figures since 2017. People watch countrywide, with many Google searches performed by those looking to catch a game online.
However, not all its stars are as well paid as you might imagine. In fact, the wage packets of some would horrify you. Average salaries can be as low as $10,000 per year - and that’s for those who play a full season.
For older professionals who are tossed out in favor of teenage prospects, they may not even make that, ending up unemployed and cast out of a sport they’ve dedicated their entire working lives to.
Luckily, their futures are now set to improve markedly, and that’s all thanks to them joining the MLBPA. After more than a century of being left out in the cold, minor league players have officially become part of a union dedicated to representing their interests.
The point of unions is to better the lives of workers, and they undoubtedly deserve this. While their major league counterparts flourish, securing astronomical wages and long-lasting careers as sports personalities, conditions in the minor league have continued to worsen in recent years.
An overwhelming vote in favor
So, what are the circumstances that have driven this victory and ensured an overwhelming vote in favor? There have been several recent gains by players that have shown the validity of their cause.
Firstly, Major League Baseball agreed to supply players with housing, rather than leaving them to secure their own. There was also a federal lawsuit brought by minor league workers, showing minimum wage laws were frequently ignored. The result was a $185 million settlement split between 23,000 players.
These decisions spurred many minor league individuals to join and push for unionization, which was awarded 17 days after they first began to organize. Certainly, their cause is undeniably worthy, with players having long dealt with conditions that would be considered unacceptable in any other industry or field. Imagine, for example, expecting teachers or doctors or shop workers to slog away for a mere $10,000 a year.
Now, they’ll no longer have to. It’s a historic day for the sport and one that fans around the world should celebrate. After all, it’s hard to continue enjoying something once you’ve spotted its dirty underbelly and the exploitation of men who are the beating heart of it. Today though, baseball, give yourself a very big pat on the back for taking such a positive step forward.