From nearly the moment the North Stars departed for Texas, there were people working in Minnesota to bring a new hockey team in to replace them. Then Mayor of St. Paul Norm Coleman did his best to bring the original Winnipeg Jets franchise here before they moved to Phoenix prior to the 1996 season. Unable to relocate a team, Minnesota had another chance when the league announced that it wanted to expand from 26 teams to 30. After that announcement, a group of investors led by Bob Naegele Jr. filed an application for one of the four expansion teams.
Thank You Bob Naegele Jr.
