BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- The Winnipeg Arena will close its doors for good next month. Until then The Sun will bring you the stories that made the Old Barn memorable. From the original construction to the final buzzer, we'll take you through the history of a building that was never spectacular but always colourful as a sports venue.
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John Paddock can still remember the nerves he felt in his first game as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.
The pride of Oak River had been a successful coach in the minors, but here was his big chance to do it in the NHL.
There was plenty of excitement surrounding the moment, but a certain visiting player wearing No. 99 provided a huge challenge in Paddock's debut as the Jets hosted the Los Angeles Kings that night at the Winnipeg Arena.
"L.A. beat us 5-3 and of course, we were concerned about Wayne Gretzky," said Paddock, who was the Jets head coach from 1991-95 and the GM of the Jets and Phoenix Coyotes from 1994-96. "I had come from the AHL, where as a coach on the bench, you were doing it all. In the (Jets) exhibition games, I had changed both forwards and defence and I thought that would continue. Before that first game, I was nervous and I said to Terry Simpson, 'you've got to handle the defencemen.' "
The plan to contain Gretzky was to have Jets blue-liner Teppo Numminen on against him whenever possible.
Leaving the task in Simpson's hands that night worked so well, Paddock would focus on changing the forwards for the remainder of the season.
Paddock said at the time, the significance of advancing to the NHL and running a team in his home province, wasn't on his mind at all.
"It's certainly special, but at the time you don't think about it," said Paddock, whose first visit to Winnipeg Arena came as a member of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
"You're worrying about the team getting off to a good start, playing L.A. and facing Gretzky. You know how he plays and reacts but now you have to worry about defencing it. Our way was to have No. 27 out there and Teppo was pretty good."
As good as Numminen was, the remarkable rookie season of Teemu Selanne, he of the record 76 goals, is etched in Paddock's memory.
"It brought us electricity and notoriety that is reserved for Stanley Cup champions, or the Montreal Canadiens or the real top days of the Toronto Maple Leafs," said Paddock.
"I remember going on the road and when he'd come on the ice for warm-ups or a regular shift, there was a ripple in the crowd reserved for a handful of players in the game, like Mario (Lemieux) or Wayne (Gretzky). That brought something different to the team and in some ways, challenged us because we had a lot of attention that year."
When it comes to most memorable games, Paddock's thoughts immediately turn to the playoffs and the Whiteout.
"I got to experience Chicago Stadium, in a way there is nothing like that," said Paddock.
"What I'm getting at is that the Winnipeg Arena on playoff nights, was every bit or more like Chicago Stadium. Any of the playoff dates were just mind-boggling."
One not so enjoyable moment came when the Detroit Red Wings ousted the Jets in Game 6, the final game before the franchise moved to Phoenix.
"We weren't expected to beat Detroit, but we had just beat them in their building despite the 30 points or so they finished ahead of us," said Paddock. "We expected to win Game 6. I wasn't prepared for it to be the last game. As manager, I was thinking we'd go back (to Joe Louis Arena) and take our chances in Game 7.
"As the clock was winding down, you knew it was coming to an end so you just had to deal with it."
