WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The last time the Winnipeg Jets were in first place a third of the way through the season, their leading scorers were Bobby Hull, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg, and they played in the World Hockey Association.
That was 1977-78, nearly two years before the WHA was merged into the NHL, but there are a number of similarities between the two eras, even though they're 40 years apart.
Both versions play an entertaining brand of hockey based on puck possession, speed and a devastating power play.
There's one more element that the WHA Jets had that year that the current Jets hope to copy, even though they're not saying it publicly -- a championship.