The boys will be back in town

The band is getting back together. And judging by the latest additions to the Winnipeg Jets Alumni Game roster, it’s shaping up to be a greatest-hits reunion.

Former 2.0 stars including Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Paul Stastny and Chris Thorburn were previously announced in January.

Wednesday brought another blast from the past with 15 new (old) recruits: forwards Nik Antropov, Eric Fehr, Jim Slater, Cody Eakin, Sam Gagner, Tanner Glass, Tim Stapleton, Drew Stafford and Anthony Peluso; defencemen Toby Enstrom, Mark Stuart, Ron Hainsey, Derek Meech and Grant Clitsome; and goaltender Michael Hutchinson.

Back behind the bench will be original head coach Claude Noel — and fingers crossed he brings one of his famous sweater vests along with him.

There should be no shortage of compelling storylines to dig into with this group.

Byfuglien was already the main attraction, given his larger-than-life personality coupled with his abrupt departure from the league in the fall of 2019. Now he’ll be reunited with Enstrom, his longtime blue-line partner who also had a somewhat unceremonious exit from the organization following the 2017-18 season.

There’s also the reunion of Ladd, Little and Wheeler, who formed one of the best forward lines in franchise history.

Then there’s a nod to history, with Antropov returning after scoring the first goal of the Jets 2.0 era in Winnipeg’s first regular-season game back in October 2011 — a loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Fehr, Eakin and Meech add some hometown flavour. Hutchinson does as well, in a way, given that he now resides in Winnipeg.

There could also be a GST reunion in the works with the additions of Glass and Slater. However, Thorburn’s name was not included on the updated roster, with a team spokesman saying there is a potential conflict with his availability.

Naturally, there may be some debate about who isn’t coming. Alumni who are still actively playing won’t be available, given that they have more pressing commitments. So you can scratch off the likes of Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Jacob Trouba, Zach Bogosian, Andrew Copp, Mason Appleton, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot, Evander Kane and coach Paul Maurice, for example.

You do wonder if future Hall of Famer Jonathan Toews — who announced his retirement last week — might be coaxed into taking a few more laps in his own backyard while getting a proper farewell from fans.

The alumni game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Canada Life Centre, with the former Jets taking on retired Canadiens players. Only a handful of members of the Montreal roster have been revealed so far, including Winnipeggers Mike Keane and Dale Weise, along with Patrice Brisebois, David Savard, Paul Byron and David Desharnais.

That will be followed by the Heritage Classic on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Princess Auto Stadium featuring the modern-day lineups of Winnipeg and Montreal.

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