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Oh yeah, the old Jets play the new Jets tonight

Detroit Red Wings v Phoenix Coyotes - Game Three

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Shane Doan #19 of the Phoenix Coyotes walks past fans onto the ice for warm ups to Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Detroit Red Wings during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Jobing.com Arena on April 18, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Red Wings defeated the Coyotes 4-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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With Randy Carlyle getting fired, Bruce Boudreau getting hired, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin renewing their rivalry and Cory Schneider starting ahead of Roberto Luongo (again), we kinda forgot about tonight’s compelling Coyotes-Jets game in Winnipeg.

It’s the second time the old Jets will face the new ones. But it’s the first time it’ll happen in Winnipeg, marking a “welcome home” of sorts for Coyotes captain Shane Doan.

Winnipeg selected Doan seventh overall at the 1995 Entry Draft and immediately thrust him into the lineup -- at the tender age of 18 -- leaving him with many fond memories of his lone season in the ‘Peg.

“We had an older team, and they were unbelievable to me,” Doan told Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic."The way that Kris King, he was the captain that year, and Keith Tkachuk and the guys that were leaders made feel part of the team, I loved it.

“I had a blast. The players were incredibly nice to me.”

Despite his fond memories, Doan isn’t sure tonight will be all unicorns and glitter. He was part of the team that left, after all, and rankled some Winnipeggers last year by saying it’d be hard to move his family had the rumored Coyotes-to-Winnipeg move gone through.

He told the Coyotes website he doesn’t think his reception will be very warm.

“I don’t know how I’ll be received,” Doan said. “It won’t be overly positive. It will be one of those things where we’ll wait and see. They’ve got their team and they’re very passionate about their own team so anybody that comes in [on another team] they’re not going to be too excited about.”

[To be fair to Winnipeg, the Free Press’ Ed Tait is asking Jets fans to let it all out...then let it go.]

Adding intrigue to tonight’s affair is the status of Kyle Turris. It was widely expected he’d make his season debut against the Jets, but Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona has tweeted Turris won’t play against Winnipeg and could be on his way to AHL Portland for a few games.