Are you a die-hard Winnipeg Jets 2.0 fan? Think you know everything there is to know about the current incarnation of the NHL team? Let’s find out. We’ve looked through their nine-year history to create three rounds of trivia about the great Jets players, moments, and records they’ve set since relocating from Atlanta in 2011.
Be sure to scroll slowly, or you’ll ruin the fun for yourself!
Round 1: Easy
1) Who scored the first regular-season goal in Winnipeg Jets 2.0 history?
A: Kyle Wellwood
B: Nikolaj Antropov
C: Evander Kane
D: Tanner Glass
Answer:
B: Nikolaj Antropov. The goal came at 2:27 of the third period of a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at MTS Centre on Oct. 9, 2011, when Antropov picked up a loose puck in front of the net generated from a Mark Stuart point shot and backhanded it past Carey Price.
Related: Winnipeg Jets 2.0 — Reliving Their Firsts
Taken out by a sprawling Josh Gorges near simultaneous with the goal, Antropov fell on his back and lifted both arms in celebration, knowing he’d just etched his name in the Jets’ history book.
2) Who Was the Jets 2.0’s first-ever draft pick?
A: Mark Scheifele
B: Jacob Trouba
C: Adam Lowry
D: Connor Hellebuyck
Answer:
A: Mark Scheifele, and it was a controversial choice for new general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, as Sean Couturier was the consensus selection and deemed the best-overall player to select at seventh overall.
Related: Jets’ Scheifele Soars Past Couturier
But on the advice of Jets 1.0 legend and at that time the head coach of Barrie Colts Dale Hawerchuk — who had overseen Scheifele for the past two seasons — Cheveldayoff went off the board to take the centre, and it worked out marvellously.
While he took a little while to develop, Scheifele has blossomed into one of the NHL’s best and most dedicated players. He’s recorded 444 points in 519 career games, has served as an alternate captain since 2016-17, and is poised to be a point-per-game player for the next number of seasons.
3) Who Is the Jets’ Current All-Time Points Leader?
A: Andrew Ladd
B: Bryan Little
C: Dustin Byfuglien
D: Blake Wheeler
Answer:
D: Blake Wheeler. The captain has notched 222 goals and 459 assists for 814 points in nine seasons with the Jets, and has 698 points with the Thrashers/Jets organization in 762 games overall.
One of the NHL’s best playmakers, Wheeler had his best statistical seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19 as the man making things happen from the right side wall for Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.
On Dec. 2019, he overtook Ilya Kovalchuk for the franchise points lead with an assist on a Patrik Laine goal in a 5-0 win over the Minnesota Wild, one of the Jets’ most exciting games of the 2019-20 season to that point.
Mark Scheifele is second, with 444.
4) Who Holds the Jets’ Single-Game Record For Goals Scored in a Single Game With Five?
A: Kyle Connor
B: Patrik Laine
C: Mathieu Perreault
D: Devin Setoguchi
Answer:
B: Patrik Laine. The Finnish Phenom ripped five past Jake Allen in an 8-4 win on Nov. 24, 2018. It was the explosive end to an incredible month for the young sniper, who racked up three hat tricks and no fewer 19 goals in 12 games.
Related: Laine’s November a Month to Remember
With the historic performance in St. Louis, he:
- became the first player to score five goals in a single game since Johan Franzen in 2011 and just the third player in the 21st century to accomplish the feat.
- joined Don Murdoch and Wayne Gretzky as the third player in NHL history to have a five-goal game before his 21st birthday.
- broke his own record for most goals scored by a single player in one month (12) since relocation to Winnipeg when he scored his second of the night.
- broke the Thrashers/Jets franchise record of 14 goals in a single month, which was set by Ilya Kovalchuk in Nov. 2007, when he scored his fourth of the game.
- became just the fifth player since 1959-60 (the year shots started being tracked) to score five goals on five shots.
- became the first-ever Jets 2.0 player to score five goals in one game (Willy Lindstrom and Alexei Zhamnov did it for the Jets 1.0.)
- became the ninth player in NHL history to score 11 goals over four consecutive team games played (among Joe Malone, Mario Lemieux, Alexander Mogilny, and others.)
The big night also meant a big windfall for Winnipegger Christopher Haley, who won more than one million dollars courtesy of the Safeway/Sobey’s Score & Win contest.
5) In Which Season Did the Jets 2.0 Qualify for the Playoffs For the First Time?
A: 2013-14
B: 2014-15
C: 2011-12
D: 2015-16
Answer:
B: 2014-15. When Cheveldayoff inherited the team in 2011, he inherited a thin team with completely empty cupboards when it came to viable prospects due to the Thrashers’ systematic incompetence at the draft table.
Related: Top 5 Draft Busts in Atlanta Thrashers History
It took the Jets a few seasons to become competitive and fans sat through their fare share of poor hockey from the inaugural season through 2013-14. Those fans were finally rewarded with playoff hockey in 2014-15 however when the Jets, lurching toward competitiveness, posted a 43-26-13 record and qualified for the first time since relocation.
Unfortunately, the fans who brought the Whiteout back to Winnipeg saw their team swept by the Anaheim Ducks, a much deeper and more complete team, in the first round.
Round 2: Moderate
1) How Many Players Who Played for the Thrashers Are Left with the Jets Organization?
A: Three
B: Seven
C: Two
D: None
Answer:
C: Two — Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little. In fact, there are only eight former Thrashers left active in the entire NHL.
2) Which Jet Played For the Halifax Mooseheads in juniors?
A: Adam Lowry
B: Jacob Trouba
C: Nikolaj Ehlers
D: Jim Slater
Answer:
C: Nikolaj Ehlers, and the dynamic Dane was a force to be reckoned with in the QMJHL, recording 100-plus points in both of his seasons prior to turning pro in 2015-16.
3) Which Of These Former Jets Players Played More Than 10 Games for the Team?
A: John Albert
B: Par Lindholm
C: Kenndal McCardle
D: Brian Strait
E: None of them
Answer:
E: None of them. Albert played 9, as did McCardle. Strait played 5, and Lindholm played four.
Related: Jets’ 2011-12 “Extra Large” Roster
They’re just four of the 13 former Jets to suit up for less than a handful. Most of them played in the early, more transient seasons.
4) Who Is the Jets Single-Season Penalty Minute Record Holder?
A: Anthony Peluso
B: Mark Stuart
C: Dustin Byfuglien
D: Chris Thorburn
Answer:
C: Dustin Byfuglien. The big bodied, hard-checking, and utterly unique defenceman actually takes the top four spots on the list when it comes to single season PIMs, with his highest being 124 in 2014-15.
Stuart’s highest single season total was 101, Thorburn’s was 95, and Peluso’s was 86.
5) What is the Most Goals the Jets Have Scored in a Single Game?
A: Eight
B: Nine
C: 10
D: 12
Answer:
B, Nine, and they did it twice. They first scored nine before the franchise was even a month old, in an absurd 9-8 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 27, 2011. In fact, it was their first ever road win, and one then-captain Andrew Ladd described as something out of Blades of Steel.
Related: Top 5 Craziest Jets Games
Eight years later, they put up nine against the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 2, 2019. In that game, the Jets scored six in the first period and Jack Roslovic recorded his first-career hat trick.
Round 3: Hard
1) Which of These Jets Players is NOT From Manitoba?
A: Cody Eakin
B: Eric Fehr
C: Derek Meech
D: Eric O’Dell
Answer:
D: Eric O’Dell. The centre who played 41 games for the Jets between 2013 and 2015 and recorded eight points was born in Ottawa.
Eakin and Meech are both from Winnipeg and Fehr, who had a forgettable and injury riddled season for the Jets in their inaugural campaign, is from Winkler.
The only other Manitoban to ever suit up for the Jets is Quinton Howden, who played five games in 2016-17.
2) How Many Goalies Have Seen Regular Season-Action With the Jets?
A: Nine
B: Seven
C: 10
D: 11
Answer:
A, Nine. In alphabetical order: Laurent Brossoit, Eric Comrie, Connor Hellebuyck, Michael Hutchinson, Peter Mannino, Chris Mason, Steve Mason, Al Montoya, and Ondrej Pavelec.
3) Who Scored the Jets’ First-Ever Overtime Game-Winner?
A: Jason Jaffray
B: Randy Jones
C: Evander Kane
D: Tim Stapleton
Answer:
C: Evander Kane. The Jets struggled in the extra frame in the first-half of their first season, losing three in overtime (and going 1-2 in shootouts) before finally winning in a five-minute four-on-four period.
The first time they did so was Dec. 29, 2011 against the Los Angeles Kings, when Evander Kane chopped a puck past Jonathan Bernier 1:09 into overtime to break a scoreless deadlock.
“It’s a great feeling scoring an overtime goal,” said Kane after the game. “The game is over and you’re able to win it for your team, but it was a great effort by all the guys. Our penalty kill deserves a lot of credit, they did a great job. It was a great team effort.”
From ‘Kane scores in OT to defeat Kings,’ Winnipeg Free Press, 12/29/2011.’
Indeed, the Jets’ PK killed off five to force OT in the contest.
4) Who Holds the Jets Record for the Worst Single-Season Plus/Minus?
A: Nic Petan in 2016-17
B: Drew Stafford in 2015-16
C: Patrik Laine in 2018-19
D: Olli Jokinen in 2012-13
Answer:
C: Patrik Laine in 2018-19. He was -24.
Petan was -13 in 2016-17, Stafford was only one better than Laine at -23 in 2015-16, and Jokinen was -19 in 2012-13.
5) How Many Jets Have Scored Hat Tricks?
A: Seven
B: 11
C: 13
D: Nine
Answer:
D: Nine. In alphabetical order, Kyle Connor (twice), Nikolaj Ehlers (four times), Patrik Laine (eight times), Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault (it was a four-goal game), Jack Roslovic, Mark Scheifele (three times), Brandon Tanev, and Blake Wheeler (one hat trick and one four-goal game) have all done it.
Little was the first to it: The Jets 2.0 didn’t record a hat-trick until their fourth season back in Winnipeg until the centre scored three goals in a 6-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 5, 2014.
The first goal needed a video review as Semyon Varlamov appeared to make a glove save, but the puck was past the goal line.
45 seconds into the third period, Little scored his second on a one-timer set up by Wheeler, and 32 second later, Little rifled a loose puck past Varlamov from in front of the net to complete the hatty.
How did You Do?
Did you get most of them right? Did you know more or less about the Jets than you thought? Regardless, we hope you had fun and learned a few things along the way.
Have a hankering for more Jets trivia? Check out our Jets WHA-era and Jets 1.0-era trivia pieces!