It’s Winnipeg or bust for McVie

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2016 (2890 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

 

You might say Tom McVie has a passing interest in standing behind the Winnipeg Jets alumni bench during this fall’s Heritage Classic.

“I’m coming to Winnipeg if I have to hitchhike there,” said the man who coached the WHA Jets to the last AVCO Cup championship in 1979 and now lives in Boston.

“I’ve been looking for a coaching job since Fergie (general manager John Ferguson) fired me for Christ’s sake.”

Nothing has been finalized in terms of the rosters for the alumni game, which will be played on an outdoor rink at Investors Group Field Oct. 22. All we know is longtime Jets captain Dale Hawerchuk is picking the team, Teemu Selanne is confirmed and Hawerchuk has contacted former teammates Dave Babych and Dave Ellett about suiting up. The Hot Line of Bobby Hull, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg will be there, too, although only Hedberg has said he might be able to play.

True North has a budget to fly in former players or other members of the original franchise, which operated in the WHA from 1972-79 and in the NHL from 1979-96.

Nothing has been announced regarding who will be coaching the team.

“That was the last time Winnipeg won a championship and I was part of it,” McVie said. “I loved coaching there. I hated to leave. If they had left that team together and they went into the NHL, they would have done something.

“I’ve still got my AVCO Cup, I’m looking at it right now, and I’ve got my ring. I have a tremendous amount of memories.”

In addition to coaching the Jets early in their NHL existence (they went 20-67-18 until he was fired early in the 1980-81 season), McVie also came in as a mid-season replacement for the Washington Capitals during the team’s second season (his record was 8-31-5). They won just 65 games over the ensuing three years before he was fired again.

“I’m just as a good coach as Scotty Bowman. His job selection is just way better,” he said.

And what about the broadcast booth?

Original play-by-play man, Ken Nicolson, died in 1992, but his replacement, Curt Kielback, still lives in town.

“(Working the Heritage Classic) never crossed my mind but it would be fun,” he said.

Kielback, who followed the Jets to Phoenix in 1996 but has been semi-retired for several years, has kept his pipes in shape by doing some junior games over the past few years.

His two favourite seasons were 1984-85, where the Jets had six 30-goal scorers, and Selanne’s rookie campaign of 1992-93,

“Any time you hear any of those names, Hawerchuk, (Paul) MacLean, (Brian) Mullen, (Thomas) Steen, (Bob) Essensa and Selanne, you immediately have memories because there was an awful lot of travel and being in the same space as them and calling every move they made,” he said.

“I called every one of Selanne’s goals, all 76 of them. So many of his goals were breakaways. He took passes from (Phil) Housley and he was gone.”

The president of the Winnipeg Jets alumni hopes Heritage Classic organizers will throw a bone to the many former players who want to play but can’t due to overwhelming demand.

Jordy Douglas, who played with the Jets for parts of two seasons in the early ’80s, said his fellow alums know there will be far more players wanting to play than there are uniforms, but they want to come to Winnipeg for the week-long festivities anyway.

“It would be nice if they could give us the opportunity to have a pick-up game, either Friday night or Saturday morning, and be part of being in the facility and skating on the ice,” he said.

“It should be a celebration and festive in acknowledging the past. We have a significant history here in Manitoba and this is all about the opportunity to introduce the alumni to the province and Jets fans. I think (True North) should use everybody who comes in to the best of their abilities.”

Douglas said he realizes it will be impossible for Hawerchuk to satisfy every player who once wore the original Jets logo on their chests and even the new logo over the past five years (Kyle Wellwood, anyone?)

“It’s a tough nut to crack for Dale,” he said.

The Jets will release ticket details in a couple of weeks for the alumni game and the regular season contest between the Jets and Oilers, which will be held Oct. 23. The full schedule of events will be unveiled in August.

Some other events, likely charitable in nature and separate from the official ones, are also in the works by other organizers.

Oilers alumni captain Wayne Gretzky has said he has recruited former teammates Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr and Paul Coffey. He’s also going to be flanked by his longtime bodyguard, Dave Semenko.

Who’s going to provide the muscle on the Jets’ side? Kim Clackson is more than willing. The defenceman played the last two seasons with the WHA Jets, winning a pair of AVCO Cups, as he provided the insurance policy for the likes of the Hot Line, Kent Nilsson, Willy Lindstrom and his other highly skilled teammates.

Clackson and Semenko tangled a few times while he was with the Jets but they also squared off after he had moved on to Pittsburgh following the 1979 expansion draft.

“One night in Pittsburgh, we went three times. I gave it to him real good. He was a good fighter.

“I closed both his eyes in that last fight I had with him. The next night the Oilers had to play in Buffalo and he was all puffy,” he said.

Clackson said he’d love to play in the alumni game, but even if he’s not selected, he plans to come back to Winnipeg that week anyway to partake in whatever events he can.

“It’s a chance to support Winnipeg, try to help the Jets and be with the guys. Winnipeg has a great hockey culture. The talent that has gone through there, it was incredible. It’s great that they have a team back. It’s a shame that they ever left,” he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca