Jets Schedule Highlights…Finally
10 years ago
Yeah yeah we are a little late to the “schedule release party”. We have lives too. Sorry. It’s here now, so enjoy it for what it’s worth okay? Plus, now we aren’t clumped in with all the other schedule explosion pieces. We like to show up fashionably late some times. But yeah, without any further delay, here are some of the major points and what you need to know from the Jets 2013-14 schedule:
- The Jets open the season October 1st in Edmonton. It’s the boys first flight out to Oil Country, and it will be a part of Hockey Night in Canada’s season opening broadcast. Puck drop is at 9:00 on a Tuesday, so get the kids to bed early and enjoy the game.
- They then fly home for the home opener on October 4th, when the Kings come to town in an attempt to score their first goal against the new Jets. It’ll be the Kings second trip out to Peg City, and the first time for Jets fans to see all the (2) new faces.
- The Jets exciting start to the season then continues on Sunday October 6th, when the Ducks come to town for what could be the second coming of Teemu Selanne. The Finnish Flash is yet to announce what his plans are for next season, but you have to think most Jets fans are hoping for one more appearance back home.
- The next game on October 10th finds the Jets making their first trip down to Minneapolis. Devin Setoguchi will make his first trip back to his old home in what many expect to be the first game of a budding divisional rivalry.
- Speaking of Divisions, the Jets will be in the ‘Central’ division. Real original NHL. But hey, it’s better than the Metropolitan…
- November 2nd marks the first visit of the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, along with hometown kid Jonathan Toews.
- Interestingly enough and a problem that is likely only really cared about in Winnipeg, that November 2nd game starts at 2:00pm in the afternoon. While that is a common occurrence throughout the season, on this particular date the Bombers just happen to be closing out their season with a game against Hamilton that day, with kickoff at 1:00. I’m kind of (but not really) surprised to see that this actually happened, but expect the Bombers to already be talking to TNSE about getting that puck drop pushed to a later time.
- The Jets Olympic Break will start following a February 8th game in St. Louis, and end with a home game against the Coyotes on February 27th. There could be a few Jets representing their home countries during that span (we’ll have more on that later this week), but get yourself ready for a lot of early mornings.
- I seriously doubt this was done on purpose, but you have to laugh at the Jets “April Fools” game in Phoenix on April 1st. Good one NHL schedule maker, good one indeed.
- The regular season will wrap up with a game in Calgary on April 11th, so even if the Jets don’t make the playoffs, we can at least expect the season to end with a win.
- The Jets longest home stand lasts for 6 games from October 11th to 22nd, featuring match-ups against the Stars, Devils, Canadiens, Blues, Predators and Capitals.
- The Jets longest road stretch also lasts 6 games, spanning from Novembers 25th to December 7th, featuring games in New Jersey, New York (Islanders), Philadelphia, New York (Rangers), Florida and Tampa Bay.
- By day of the week, the Jets play on 12 Mondays, 14 Tuesdays, 4 Wednesdays (don’t expect many TSN national broadcasts), 14 Thursdays, 11 Fridays, 15 Saturdays, and 12 Sundays. They also only play 9 back-to-backs throughout the year.
- The Jets may have 15 Saturday games, but only 6 are evening/night games, and only 1 is in October. There will be 14 games broadcast on CBC, one of which is the Tuesday night opener, one is a Thursday, and one is a Sunday. Honestly, I’m not complaining, as I really don’t like the guys who CBC usually assigns to Jets games, and Glenn Healy is probably the worst hockey “analyst” known to man. Too bad we miss out on a lot of montages though.
So there it is. From the Southeast, to a lockout, to an Olympic year. Three seasons, three schedules, and the Jets are still yet to play what many would consider a “regular” NHL schedule. None the less the sooner actual hockey games get started the better, so mark your calendars, prepare your loved ones, and for those of you lucky enough to have season tickets, get to scalping, because the season is fast approaching.
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