5 random players you forgot were on the Winnipeg Jets, Atlanta Thrashers

A couple of Chrises who played for Atlanta before or after winning Stanley Cups with multiple other teams lead off a list of forgotten Winnipeg Jets, Atlanta Thrashers alums.

The Winnipeg Jets reboot has existed for almost as long as its Atlanta Thrashers forebear. Success-wise, both on the ice and in terms of general stability, the new location and new look eclipse the predecessor’s.

But in terms of aggregate time, the bygone brand is still ahead for now. Even if you take out the 2004-05 NHL season that never was, the Thrashers logged a full 10 years. The Jets have had nine thus far, with two being delayed or suspended.

As such, it makes sense that Atlanta’s 21st century NHL team has had more notable blink-and-they’re-gone players than Winnipeg’s. Based on the brevity of their time with either version of the franchise and their tenure and achievements elsewhere, these five stick out with their obscurity in the Jets/Thrashers chronicles.

5. Chris Chelios

You could call Chelios the Brett Favre of hockey, but that would not be quite right on two counts.

First, the quarterback spent the late aughts endlessly waffling between retirement and returning. Conversely, the blueliner kept wanting to push on.

Second, whereas Favre played his forgotten first NFL season in Atlanta, Chelios mustered his forgotten final NHL campaign there.

The Thrashers were the Hall of Famer’s last and only non-Original Six of four NHL employers. They were the only team Chelios never played a postseason game, let alone a Stanley Cup Final for. And they were the only team he did not tally a point or break double digits under the GP heading for.

Chelios had won either a Cup or a Norris Trophy with the Canadiens, Blackhawks, and Red Wings, collecting three apiece. After six seasons north of the border, the Chicagoan naturally endeared himself to his local fans for nine years. With Detroit, he effectively established an adopted hometown, as evidenced by his downtown chili restaurant.

Georgians never had a Cheli’s, nor did they get to see its founder skate in their home colors for much of the 47-going-on-48-year-old’s final campaign.

For his 2009-10 swan song, Chelios saw action in seven NHL contests. And whether it was the team’s collective struggle, his own skill set evaporating, or both, his minus-2 rating was only his fourth negative finish in 26 seasons.

Ironically, with the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate in Chicagoland, Chelios spent the bulk of that year back in his native locale. Those phases of the season were far more memorable, as he joined the Wolves on a ride to the 2010 Western Conference Final.