Winger Evander Kane was the first to deal with that Jets legacy, saying he would ask Bobby Hull for his blessing to wear No. 9 on a Jets sweater, as it was retired by Winnipeg in 1989.
Center Bryan Little also wears a retired Jets number: No. 10, which was made famous by Dale Hawerchuk during his Hall of Fame career and retired by the Coyotes in 2007.
Rather than seeking blessings or sharing legacies, Little told the Winnipeg Free Press that he'll honor Hawerchuk by choosing another digit:
"I've been thinking about it a lot since the name came out, that the team was going to be the Jets again," Little told the Free Press recently. "And even though the team told me what they were thinking and said publicly they wouldn't retire old numbers, well, I just think this is the right thing to do."
Hawerchuk himself said last week, "It's not a big deal."
"Me, I think it would be weird wearing 10 and playing for the Winnipeg Jets," Little said. "Even though we're not that organization today (the relocated Jets of 1979-1996 are in Phoenix), I think it still would have felt weird. … And I have seen already how much the fans there have cherished Jets history. So I'm going to be switching to 18."
So there you go.Hawerchuk himself said last week, "It's not a big deal."
"Me, I think it would be weird wearing 10 and playing for the Winnipeg Jets," Little said. "Even though we're not that organization today (the relocated Jets of 1979-1996 are in Phoenix), I think it still would have felt weird. … And I have seen already how much the fans there have cherished Jets history. So I'm going to be switching to 18."
The more these legacies are entangled, the more we're looking forward to the eventual question about the record book. Will players set franchise records? "Jets" records? Winnipeg records?