I’d love to see the Jets make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup, but Manitoba’s capital is a place I’ve tried to avoid during my career.
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There was something satisfying about watching the Canadiens-Winnipeg game Monday night on a big-screen TV from the warmth of my living room.
In previous years, I would be covering the game in Winnipeg and, on a day when the temperature reached an unseasonably balmy 9 Celsius in Montreal, the temperature in Winnipeg at game time was minus-10 C with a wind chill of minus-20.
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I have friends who insist Winnipeg is a great place to live. They bristle at the suggestion the city has two seasons — winter and mosquitoes.
But for many years, I avoided Winnipeg.
I covered the Canadian Football League for 16 years, but always found a way to send my backup to Winnipeg.
In 1973, I played basketball at Sir George Williams University and we were invited to the Golden Boy Classic in Winnipeg. My bags were packed, but I couldn’t fly after a teammate’s errant elbow broke my nose in practice.
A few years later, I was scheduled to visit my ex-wife, who was appearing in a play at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, but my flight was cancelled because of bad weather.
When Winnipeg returned to the NHL in 2011, I finally made my first trip to the Manitoba capital because Red Fisher shared my aversion to the city.
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On that first visit and on subsequent trips, I was impressed by the passion of the fans who jammed the 15,321-seat Canada Life Centre (then named the MTS Centre), which was the smallest arena in the NHL — it fell to No. 2 when the Arizona Coyotes moved to the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena — and grateful that a network of skyways allowed me to move the four blocks from my hotel to the arena without braving the arctic cold.
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Watching the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime win Monday, I was again struck by the team’s resilience. Fans had to be happy to see Jake Allen snap a seven-game winless streak with a 30-save performance, while the resurgent Josh Anderson scored his fourth goal of the season and his third in two games.
And Justin Barron claimed family bragging rights when he bagged the winning goal in overtime. His older brother Morgan was on the ice for the winner.
I was happy to see the Jets earn a point because they have been holding their own with Dallas and Colorado in the Central Division. They should make the playoffs along with Vancouver, Toronto and possibly Edmonton. I’m tired of hearing that a Canadian team hasn’t won Lord Stanley’s Cup since Montreal took the honours in 1993. The more teams that reach the playoffs, the better chance we have to bring the Cup back home.
The biggest disappointment Monday was the attendance. The game drew 13,363 fans, which is above the season average, but nearly 2,000 below capacity. After 10 years of sellouts, Winnipeg hasn’t bounced back from the pandemic and the loss of high-profile players like Blake Wheeler, Jacob Trouba, Patrik Laine and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Season-ticket sales have declined from 13,000 to 10,000 and there are fears Winnipeg may lose its NHL team for a second time.
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No fights, no problem: The rebranded Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League moved to curb fighting this season and the early returns indicate it has been a success on and off the ice.
There have been only 15 fights this season, down from 40 at this point last season. By comparison, there have been 120 fights in the Ontario Hockey League and 147 in the Western Hockey League.
Some critics of the rule, which dictates harsher punishment for players who fight, predicted the change would result in a drop in attendance because fans like to see fights. That hasn’t been the case, because attendance across the league is up by 35,000.
Earlier this week, an anonymous agent told the Journal de Montréal that NHL teams would be less likely to draft QMJHL players because of the rule.
“That’s ridiculous,” said MNA and former NHL goon — er, enforcer — Enrico Ciccone. He pointed out that the rule was another effort to make the sport safer.
QMJHL president Mario Cecchini noted NHL teams routinely draft U.S. college players and Europeans who are either barred or discouraged from fighting.
And former Canadiens general manager André Savard told the Journal that fighting doesn’t enter the equation when teams evaluate a prospect.
“What we look at above all is talent, work ethic and consistency,” said Savard, who is now a scout for the New Jersey Devils.
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