NHLPA: “Winnipeg (Ice And Fans) Is Good”

The National Hockey League Players Association released their annual “Players Poll” on Wednesday and while the results may have been a bit predictable (BREAKING: Even fellow players think Connor McDavid is good) there were a couple of results that likely catch the eye of Winnipeg hockey fans.

The survey took place over the course of various team meetings from the start of preseason up until the All-Star break and featured over 20 different questions.

On the topic of “best ice” in the league, it’s probably not a surprise to see teams from northern climates dominate the top five and the ice at Bell MTS Place is right in the middle.

In addition to being in a cold winter climate, Winnipeg along with the other four cities that made the top five feature hockey is the primary tenant of the building and the arena is not shared with another major franchise such as an NBA team (sorry Toronto)

Of course good ice is one thing, but playing in front of good fans is another and NHL players have taken notice of Jets fans and the energy they bring to the rink.

Three Original Six clubs and two relative new kids as Nashville and Winnipeg place into the top five. While Chicago fans likely won’t be able to enjoy playoff hockey this spring, we can still hold out hope for a Predators / Jets series where a battle between fan bases to see who can be the loudest and most passionate could be just as entertaining as the battle on the ice between the two clubs.

One more result from the poll that doesn’t exactly involve Winnipeg or the Jets but that was intersting none the less was the players thoughts on the current point system

The NHL point system and playoff format have been a constant hot button topic for hockey fans for years now going back to the days when it was based on conference top eight seeding and divisions had little to do with the matchups. One question not asked is if the players liked the current format of top three teams in a division qualifying with two extra wild card clubs and it’s a wonder if we’d maybe get a little more of an even vote on that topic.

You can check out the results of the entire poll by checking out the NHLPA’s website.