Countdown to opening night: Remaining offseason tasks for the Winnipeg Jets

And nine months later, a beautiful
leafy-airplane baby was born.

The Winnipeg Jets took their latest step in their NHL rebirth on Friday when they released their much anticipated logo. After months of speculation, fans now have a visual representation of Canada's newest team.

The logo was just the latest step in a long process that began in May when the rumoured relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers became reality. Since then the Jets have sold thousands of season tickets, announced their team name, made their first draft picks, hired a new GM and coaching staff, and resigned captain Andrew Ladd.

That's an impressive start, but there's still more to do. Getting a NHL team up and running is a daunting job, and with less than two months until training camp the Jets still have plenty of outstanding items left on their checklist. Here's a sample of some of the work the team still has to do before they hit the ice.

• Create a promotional DVD to get fans excited about young star Evander Kane, which shouldn't take long since it just needs to be a clip of the Matt Cooke fight on a 90-minute loop.
  
  
• Organize some sort of orientation for lifelong Atlanta Thrasher players who will be now dealing with issues they've never faced before such as a harsh climate, Canadian tax laws, and fans.
  
  
• Figure out some way to make ice in time for the home opener on October 9th, since every flat surface in Winnipeg isn't normally covered in several inches of ice until October 15th.
  
  
• File the paperwork to have that playground near the arena renamed "Hey Bryzgalov, enjoy getting booed and pelted with batteries in Philadelphia" Memorial Park.
  
  
• Send lawyers down to Phoenix to meet with the Coyotes and determine once and for all which franchise ends up with legal custody of Luciano Borsato.
  
  
• Rehearse the big moment when True North chairman Mark Chipman dramatically tears off his mask during a meeting with Gary Bettman to reveal the cackling face of Jim Balsillie.
  
  
• Make our monthly visit to the marketing consultant who initially tried to convince us to call the team something other than "Jets"; slide some water and stale bread under the door of his cell.
  
  
• Remind other GMs that while Winnipeg fans are deeply nostalgic for former Jets stars and would love to see one suit up for the new version of the team, that's pretty much limited to Teemu Selanne and Shane Doan so the Oilers can stop with the hourly Nikolai Khabibulin trade offers.
  
  
• Continue to try to convince a sceptical Nik Antropov that in the post-lockout NHL, Canadian teams really are allowed to make the playoffs.
  
  
• Continue trying to figure out modern NHL technology like the mascot hotdog gun; for example, the next time we test it out on fans maybe consider trying it with hotdogs that have been thawed first.
  
  
• Construct a hastily built igloo and scrawl "Winnipeg's Only Hotel" on the side of it; see how many visiting American media members we can get to stay there.
  
  
• If fellow prairie teams are any indication, get to work on planning next year's draft lottery party.
  
  
• Try to figure out why ever since we announced our name, some confused guy in a fireman's hat keeps showing up at our offices and yelling at us about how to spell it.
  
  
• Hey, no rush, but if it's not too much trouble maybe think about coming up with a uniform before opening night.
  
  
• Work with scouts to determine if any players from our current roster could develop into important contributors to multiple Stanley Cup championships; if so, sell them to the Red Wings for a dollar.