Yesterday we unleashed our first ever Jets Nation Fan Favorite Tournament because it’s July and if we sit around thinking about a Jacob Trouba contract that has yet to arrive, we may drive ourselves crazy, so this is to help occupy our time. Today we take our first steps into the Jets 1.0 side of the tournament bracket to see a battle between guys who in all honesty we’re probably more popular in other NHL cities than they were in The Peg. A pair of defensemen who had fine if not underrated careers.

Dave Babych was the second overall pick by the Jets in the 1980 draft. In hindsight, three hall of fame players were picked in the next four picks after him, but at least the Jets weren’t saddled with the guy who went first overall, Doug Wickenheiser. Babych was an anchor defenseman for the Jets in the early 80’s as he made the jump straight out of junior hockey and into the NHL lineup as he led Jets defensemen in scoring in his rookie year with six goals and 44 points. He was a two time all-star in 1983 and 1984 but was traded in November 1985 for Ray Nufield. Babych went on to play 13 more seasons in the NHL, most notably seven of them being with the Vancouver Canucks.

Teppo Numminen was a second round pick of the Jets in 1986 and joined the club in 1988. He was a steady presence for Winnipeg making safe, dependable plays on the blueline, though his offense was still a work in progress as he developed. It wasn’t until the Jets final season in Winnipeg that Teppo had really started to come into his own as one of the league’s best defensemen. The 1995-96 season saw him have career highs with 11 goals, 54 points as he gathered consideration for the Norris Trophy as well as end of the year all-star honors. His rise continued as the team moved south to Arizona where he became a three time all-star and at that time set a franchise record for most games played as a Jet/Coyote with 1,098 games played. The Coyotes retired his 27 in Janurary 2010.

Dave Babych ended up having one of the most famous mustaches in all of hockey, but how do you argue against Teppo and that fantastic song?