For years, hockey history lived in exile. Dale Hawerchuk put up jaw-dropping numbers in a Winnipeg sweater, only to watch those statistics get boxed up, driven south, and parked in the desert.
That absurdity is finally over.
The Winnipeg Jets and the National Hockey League made a long-overdue correction. The official franchise history now includes both eras of the team. The original Winnipeg Jets from 1979 to 1996 are back home in the record books.
Why the Records Were Trapped in the Desert
When the original franchise packed its bags and moved to Phoenix in 1996, the team took everything with it. That included the historical stats, the legacy, and the identity of a proud Canadian hockey market.
For fans in Manitoba, cheering for the relocated Atlanta Thrashers when they arrived in 2011 felt strange. The new Jets franchise had a clean slate. Meanwhile, the historic achievements of legends like Teemu Selanne, Thomas Steen, and Dale Hawerchuk sat quietly in Arizona. Coyotes fans had no generational connection to those players. It was a bizarre administrative quirk that left hockey purists frustrated for decades.
The landscape shifted again when the Coyotes suspended operations and their assets transitioned to Utah. Amid that chaotic shuffle, the NHL and team leadership finally untangled the mess. The inactive Arizona franchise will keep only its records from 1996 to 2024. The Winnipeg Jets now own the complete historical lineage of both the original WHA/NHL franchise and the Atlanta Thrashers years.
Dale Hawerchuk Claims His Rightful Throne
With the historical merger official, Dale Hawerchuk is once again the leading scorer in Winnipeg Jets history.
Hawerchuk, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 57, defined an entire era of hockey in Manitoba. He racked up a franchise-leading 379 goals and 929 points during his dominant run from 1981 to 1990. Seeing his name rightfully restored to the top of the Winnipeg leaderboard feels right. Thomas Steen also reclaims his team lead in assists with 553.
History isn't just sitting still, though. Current Jets star Mark Scheifele is breathing down those exact records. Scheifele sits at 372 goals, 535 assists, and 907 points. He's within striking distance of capturing the crown outright during the upcoming season. Watching Scheifele potentially pass Hawerchuk while wearing the exact same sweater makes total sense now that the continuity has been repaired.
What This Means for Hockey History
Fixing this ledger fixes a broken narrative. Hockey teams are built on community memory. Stripping a city of its past because of a corporate relocation never sat well with anyone who actually cared about the game.
This decision sets a strong precedent for how sports leagues handle orphaned histories. When franchises move, team history belongs to the fans who lived through it. Winnipeg fans can finally walk past the Canada Life Centre, look at the statues outside, and know the numbers inside the record books match the names on the wall.
Check the updated NHL historical guides today to see the restored leaderboards. If you're heading to a Jets game this season, pay attention to the scoreboards. You're watching history that finally spans the whole story.
