FEATURE: Niederreiter's flight path to Winnipeg

When a player is traded in the National Hockey League, the work of getting that player to the new city as quickly as possible begins.
In the case of Nino Niederreiter coming to Winnipeg, that plan was conceptualized, approved, and underway in about one hour.
Any longer, and Niederreiter may not have been able to suit up against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
"It had to come together really quickly because we had to know if we had the private jet, if we didn't, there were no commercial options," said Chris Kreviazuk, the Director of Team Services for the Jets. "So luckily, it all came together within one hour."

When the deal went through on Saturday, February 25, Niederreiter was with the Predators in Arizona, preparing to take on the Coyotes the next night.
"I was just on the bus going back to the team hotel and then got called up to the front of the bus and got the news," Niederreiter said. "Telling all the boys on the bus that you get traded was definitely an emotional part, but I'm definitely very excited."

The Jets had acquired the 30-year-old in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The Swiss product is very familiar with the Central Division, having played 434 of his 788 career games with the Minnesota Wild, and another 56 with Nashville this season.
Needless to say, he's very familiar with the Jets.
They're a high-competitive team and they're highly skilled, a lot of high-end talent," Niederreiter said. "To come in here, it gives myself a great opportunity as well to play on a great team and, hopefully, go on a run here in the playoffs."
But before Niederreiter could hop in and help the Jets, he had to get to Winnipeg, and so did his gear.
When a player is acquired, Kreviazuk usually texts a quick introductory paragraph with information on how he can help through the travel process.
"They're just getting their bearings at that point, so they may not get back to you right away. He did," said Kreviazuk, who cut short a family dinner in Lockport - just outside of Winnipeg - to race to the office in downtown.
"I met up with (General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff), (Assistant General Manager) Larry Simmons, and Katie Ferniuk (Manager, Hockey Administration & Family Relations) was there as well," he said. "(Niederreiter) starts dealing with immigration stuff - Katie does that, as well as housing - and I'm dealing with the travel portion, the car services, the flights and all that. That's how it all comes together."

On the equipment side, Equipment Manager Jason McMaster's process begins with Getty Images.
"I find out what equipment he does wear and what numbers he's worn in his career," said McMaster. "With him being 22, (Mason Appleton) is 22, (Dominic Toninato) is 21, and those were his top two numbers. I reached out to the equipment manager in Nashville and got (Niederreiter's) phone number, then texted him to see what numbers he'd want. He asked for 62, and that was available - so perfect."
McMaster's conversations with Predators equipment manager, Pete Rogers, didn't stop there. The two talked in-depth about what equipment Niederreiter uses and what inventory Nashville still has available. A budget transfer program makes that process easier on the financial side as well.
Then, it's on to custom gear, which Niederreiter has - specifically his gloves.
"He had a different kind of palm on them which isn't stock," McMaster said. "He uses a digital overlay. It's a type of material that's grippy. I just had to sew it over the current palm that's on there."
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The investigation into flight options was intense, especially in the time Kreviazuk and his colleagues had to make it happen.
"Not a lot of options from Arizona to Nashville, and even less from Nashville to Winnipeg for commercial," Kreviazuk said.
There was also one request from Niederreiter. He wanted to have dinner with Predators captain, and fellow Swiss product, Roman Josi, one more time before leaving Arizona that night.
So one part of the plan was set. Niederreiter would leave Arizona early on Sunday morning.
A car service took Niederreiter from dinner to a hotel close to the airport on Saturday evening, and he was on a plane to Nashville at 6 am local time on February 26.

The stop in Nashville was critical.
"I didn't bring my passport with me (on the road trip) so I knew I had to go back to Nashville," said Niederreiter, who has been traded twice before in his career.
"Being traded or moving to a different team is always emotional," he said. "I made a lot of friends in Nashville and obviously getting here, it's a whole new team, a whole new group. You've got to focus on getting to know every individual on a personal level."
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The first person he was introduced to on a personal level was Scott Brown, the Senior Director of Hockey Communications.
The two met on the tarmac just minutes after Niederreiter's second flight of the day - a private jet from Nashville to Winnipeg - landed at around 9:45 pm CT.
That private jet, Kreviazuk said, was the difference between Niederreiter arriving in time for Monday's practice - or not even being ready for Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Kings.
"(Jets Executive Chairman and Governor, Mark Chipman) approved it immediately, and we were off to the races," Kreviazuk said. "When he landed, Brownie was the one that picked him up and got him to the hotel."

It was a clear and crisp -9 degrees Celsius when Niederreiter stepped off the plane (-15 with the windchill, to be specific) and hopped in with Brown to go to the hotel.
His first skate with the Jets was just over 12 hours away.
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One of Niederreiter's new teammates, Brenden Dillon, picked him up from the hotel to bring him to practice at Canada Life Centre on Monday.
"We just kind of joked about how annoying it was playing against him, in the corner, in front of the net and all those cross-checks I got, and same with (Blake) Wheeler," Niederreiter smiled. "So it's definitely a lot of battles over the last few years and I'm definitely happy to be on that side now."

Once Niederreiter and his gear got to the rink, McMaster got to work on that custom glove overlay. It took McMaster about an hour to sew the overlay into place on two sets of gloves, and the rest of the equipment fitting was as smooth as it could be.
"We had pants that fit him so that was good, so we had stock there. I've ordered more gloves for him in both colour waves," McMaster said, adding that the fact the Jets are wearing the Heritage Blues - instead of their primary home jersey - against the Los Angeles Kings wasn't much of a factor.
"It's not a challenge anymore, now that it's our full-time third jersey," he said. "I stock everything just like I do the primary. Not as much, but I have stock in all of it."
While that was going on, Niederreiter was meeting his new teammates. He knew Nikolaj Ehlers a little bit, and that was enough for head coach Rick Bowness put Niederreiter and Ehlers on the same line for Monday's 45-minute skate.
"Obviously he's a guy that many of us have played against a lot over the last seven years," said Ehlers. "I know he's a great guy. He's going to be a great fit here and he's going to help us a lot."

Bowness sees the addition of Niederreiter, a five-time 20-goal scorer on the cusp of 400 career points, as a big boost for the Jets.
"He's a big guy and when he's going he's hard to handle," Bowness said. "He makes our top-six better. He's a bigger guy, a strong guy and he's going to be around the net. And he's hard to play against. We need that right now."
Niederreiter's focus on the ice will be helping his new team get back in the win column and drive toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Off the ice, he's looking forward to getting to know the city a little bit more.
For that, he's leaning into another fellow Swiss, former Jet Luca Sbisa.
"I know there's a lot of great restaurants Sbisa told me about," he smiled. "I'm looking forward to exploring the whole city a little bit and getting to know the city."