True North brings back the Jets

Winnipeg’s NHL team will go by its old name, but will get a new look.

True North Sports and Entertainment, the franchise owners, confirmed late Friday that the hockey team will called the Winnipeg Jets, putting an end to weeks of speculation following the announcement that the Atlanta Thrashers had been purchased by True North and would move to the Manitoba capital.

The name was announced as the team made its first-round pick at the league’s entry draft in St. Paul, MN. But unlike the rookies selected by every other team in the league, Winnipeg’s Mark Sheifele did not pull on his new team’s jersey: the Centre from the Barrie Colts had to wear a generic league jersey, because the new Jets’ new look is still being worked on.

"Logos and jerseys are still in the process of being developed and will be unveiled at a later date," True North said in a statement Friday night.

Winnipeg’s pro hockey team was known as the Jets from 1972 to 1979 in the World Hockey Association and from 1979 to 1996 in the National Hockey League.

The former Jets moved to Phoenix where they became the Coyotes. The two teams are scheduled to play each other during the upcoming season.

The reincarnated Winnipeg Jets will play their first home game at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg against the Montreal Canadiens, October 9th.