Monty Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Garry Lawless' report today in the Winnipeg Free Press this morning. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/city-deserves-a-selanne-statue-288364681.html It's time for a permanent form of tribute to Teemu Selanne to be established here in Winnipeg. While retiring his jersey is problematic, and likely not very fitting, the idea of a bronzed statue of Selanne in his shooting-a-glove-out-of-the-air pose seems perfect. It's arguably the most memorable moment in Winnipeg hockey history and worthy of being forever honoured. Not lost in all the Selanne celebrations this weekend was the connection Winnipeggers still have with the player and in particular his rookie season with the Jets. It's a moment in time that hasn't been tarnished over the years and Selanne's 76 goals as an NHL rookie is an iconic accomplishment. Playing parts of four seasons in Winnipeg and scoring 147 goals and 306 points, however, isn't jersey retiring stuff. Not to mention the thorny subject of "what franchise owns those statistics anyway?" The Jets for which Selanne played were sold to Phoenix. But this isn't a Jets issue. It's a Winnipeg hockey issue. Like the Winnipeg Falcons, the WHA teams and their championships, and Billy Mosienko's three goals in 21 seconds. Selanne's time in Winnipeg was but a flash. Honouring it while adding some permanency seems fitting. Fans would love a statue. They would take pictures with it and they would revere it. It would, like Selanne's rookie season, become a Winnipeg thing. My colleague Randy Turner had this to say about Selanne on Sunday night. "Some are confused about #NHLJets fans affection for Teemu Selanne. It's simple. He was a shining example of what they lost when the NHL left," tweeted Turner. Perfectly said. And well worth remembering. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, how do people outside of Winnipeg feel about this? As someone who grew up watching the Jets, being at the game when Selanne broke Bossy's record, seeing the team leave and come back, I can see why this is something that would go over very well in Winnipeg. The image of Selanne "shooting" his glove is an iconic image, one that is certainly appealing to the eye. On the other hand, this break in character from Selanne was pretty much a one off, as his career was not one of "showboating". More importantly, should a player, even one who had as much of an impact as Selanne had in Winnipeg, really get a statue if he only played 4 seasons with the team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRypien37 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 My thoughts? I think its absolutely ridiculous to have a statue for any professional athlete. Sure they are cool people, potentially help spruce up local economies and bring people together but c'mon. Statues should be reserved for those who's magnitude of influence could be felt throughout the entire world, who's significance was noted in history or a turning point for the human race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Statue? Lol, for what? Man, Winnipeg needs to let him go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 My thoughts? I think its absolutely ridiculous to have a statue for any professional athlete. Sure they are cool people, potentially help spruce up local economies and bring people together but c'mon. Statues should be reserved for those who's magnitude of influence could be felt throughout the entire world, who's significance was noted in history or a turning point for the human race. I'm guessing you're not a fan of garden gnomes or the little mermaid, or the statue of liberty, the Sphinx, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 He was obviously very important to Winnipeg, but while his time there was memorable it was also brief. Teemu was a Duck, and would probably say so if asked. Any statue of him would be for Winnipeg, not Teemu. It won't hurt anyone to have a statue, but I'm not sure it's necessary. He's a throwback to a lost Jets team, but Winnipeg has a new one now. I understand honoring history and old heroes, but this sounds like a move born of an older generation's sentimentality that has been pushed forward now that their old hero has retired. Nothing wrong with that, but with all due respect to Winnipeg I'm not sure it's necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 He was obviously very important to Winnipeg, but while his time there was memorable it was also brief. Teemu was a Duck, and would probably say so if asked. Any statue of him would be for Winnipeg, not Teemu. It won't hurt anyone to have a statue, but I'm not sure it's necessary. He's a throwback to a lost Jets team, but Winnipeg has a new one now. I understand honoring history and old heroes, but this sounds like a move born of an older generation's sentimentality that has been pushed forward now that their old hero has retired. Nothing wrong with that, but with all due respect to Winnipeg I'm not sure it's necessary. Precisely how I feel. Perhaps if the Jets never left and he played his entire career in Winnipeg, then maybe. Or, at the very least, the Jets won the Cup when he was with them. Otherwise, seems like a stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 winnipeg doesn't have a lot going for them. let them have their statue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Only if Vancouver can make a Mike Peca statue, and smash them together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 winnipeg doesn't have a lot going for them. let them have their statue. I wouldn't say that, we have an Ikea now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Precisely how I feel. Perhaps if the Jets never left and he played his entire career in Winnipeg, then maybe. Or, at the very least, the Jets won the Cup when he was with them. Otherwise, seems like a stretch. ...Heck, even just winning a round! But a statue for a guy who played just 6 playoff games for your franchise? And only 1.5 full seasons? (Rookie year and lockout shortened year - other two were cut short by injury and trade.) That's just pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerrDrFunk Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I wouldn't say that, we have an Ikea now. That's awesome man! How you liking those little meatballs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Precisely how I feel. Perhaps if the Jets never left and he played his entire career in Winnipeg, then maybe. Or, at the very least, the Jets won the Cup when he was with them. Otherwise, seems like a stretch. Pretty much, it is a stretch. He's their golden boy though. Winnipeg doesn't have much, so while unnecessary I could see a statue made for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If there's a statue of Wayne Gretzky in the plaza area of The Staples Center (Gretzky never played in The Staples Center), then let winnipeg have a statue of Selanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I thought retiring a player's number was the biggest honour teams did for players, now they have to make statues for everyone? I didn't like the Nielson statue the Canucks made, and the Jets making one for Selanne is a little much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatedkid666 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 No. Wait until someone brings them a cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Statue? Lol, for what? Man, Winnipeg needs to let him go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer4now Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I'm guessing you're not a fan of garden gnomes or the little mermaid, or the statue of liberty, the Sphinx, etc. I am not sure these are appropriate analogies... /thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I am not sure these are appropriate analogies... they are all statues of things/people and none are of things/people "who's magnitude of influence could be felt throughout the entire world, who's significance was noted in history or a turning point for the human race." hell the statue of liberty is the artist's mother who did nothing other than birth and raise the artist. the rest are not even real people/things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbyte Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Originally when seeing this thread I thought he hadn't really played there enough but it's the end of the day and I got bored enough to check out the thread. Really in the sense that it's written I think it might not be a bad idea after all. Sure, he didn't play that much or score that many points overall but the goal and celebration itself certainly is one of the most iconic hockey moments in the last 30 years or so. A fitting tribute to hockey, and something for the jets to build on. I would perhaps try to do something that was a little bit more subtle, like maybe not putting the statue right in front of the arena or such as if he's the face of the franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
touchable Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 The underlying story here is that this new version of the Jets desperately needs a star player. They have none. Ladd is a great leader and a good player, Kane has shown some promise but no consistency, Little and Wheeler are good players but nowhere near "stars", Scheifele shows promise but hasn't really broken out yet. Until they get a generational player that really gives the team an identity going forward, the fans are going to be clinging onto these old memories. They have great fans in Winnipeg and they really deserve a strong team. With the strong depth of prospects they have coming up (as we saw in the WJC) hopefully they'll develop one or two star players soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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