Jets’ Comrie credits wife, family for assist in ending losing streak

Eric Comrie had a confession to make.

“After last game, I wasn’t in the best mental space that I’ve ever been in my life,” the Winnipeg Jets goaltender said on Friday night, a few moments after backstopping his team to a desperately needed victory inside Canada Life Centre.

“My wife actually helped me get out of it. It was unbelievable today what she did.”

Indeed, Haley Comrie’s name won’t show up on the final scoresheet, but she provided a valuable assist in the form of a heartfelt pre-game gesture.

“She put a couple pictures of my kids in my car, both playing hockey. It showed me why I play the game and why I love the game,” said Comrie, who got visibly choked up as he spoke.

“It kind of got me back into the mindset of playing hockey again and being a kid and having fun out there. It was pretty special for me out there.”

Three photos were displayed: One showing his daughter, now aged two, in the Jets locker room with him; Another showing his son, who will be turning one this spring, wearing goalie pads. And the third and final one showing Comrie as a child.

“It kind of got me back into the mindset of playing hockey again and being a kid and having fun out there.”

“She goes ‘This is why you play the game,’” said Comrie. “It was awesome. They were right on my driver’s side window so I could see them when I walked in. It was really special.”

Jets coach Scott Arniel said he was touched by the story of what Comrie’s wife did.

“They’ve been wearing this just as much as the players have. I know my wife, all the wives and girlfriends, have been trying to help their spouses get themselves out of this. I think they’ll be just as relieved as we are,” he said.

“For Coms, that’s awesome. The big thing for me is sometimes you have to look back, we play this game and we were all kids, there’s lots of great memories when you’re young, things you went through to get yourself here, and we put so much weight and pressure on ourselves that you can overwhelm yourself.

“That was kind of the message today to the group, let’s go back to that feeling where we’re thinking about why we play this game, the love of the game and just to be around the guys, just to be around the group, hopefully success comes from that.”

Comrie, like the majority of his teammates, had struggled to find his game lately. But unlike forwards and defencemen, his role as a backup to No. 1 Connor Hellebuyck means going long stretches between starts.

So when he has a tough outing — or four in a row, as was the case — he has to sit and stew. Comrie was lit up for 18 goals in those games, which occurred Dec. 6, Dec. 9, Dec. 11 and Jan. 1, when the Jets blew a 4-1 lead and lost 6-5 to Toronto, with the game-winning goal coming late in the third period off a mishandled puck that ended in the back of his net.

“I actually just watched the (John) Elway documentary a couple days ago. He mentioned in the documentary how in football he’d take the losses home with him. I have the tendency to do the same thing,” said Comrie.

“All the wives and girlfriends, have been trying to help their spouses get themselves out of this. I think they’ll be just as relieved as we are.”

“All of us do. It’s hard because it’s a job that has so many ebbs and flows and pressure, and we take stuff home with us; it’s not fair to our families. My wife does an unbelievable job keeping me grounded, keeping me level.”

Fortunately for Comrie, family provided the fix he needed.

“It’s hard to stay angry coming home to my daughter yelling, ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy, come give me big hug and a big kiss.’ She wants to show what she’s done all day, and then I’ve got two dogs jumping all over me,” he said.

“It’s hard to stay mad but you still get a little quiet and a little down. It’s not right to my family. It’s not what they deserve. I need to be a better parent all the time and the best person that I can be at my house. I try to do that, but it’s hard.”

A performance like Friday night, where he stopped 23 of 24 shots that came his way in a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, helps the cause as well.

“We just had to get back to playing and having fun again and doing what we love to do. This is a game at the end of the day and we truly love playing it,” said Comrie.

“For everyone to get out there and play like kids and have fun, that takes more pressure off than who scored. It doesn’t really matter, but we’re just having fun again.”

The fans inside Canada Life Centre were in party mode as well, with chants of “Comrie, Comrie” raining down from the rafters at one point.

“I think they deserved it more than we deserved it,” he said.

“We’ve been putting them through some tough times and they’ve been sticking with us. It’s unbelievable to see their support tonight. There’s not a lot of fan bases that would do that. A lot of fan bases would turn on their team after what we’ve gone through lately, but they’ve stayed right with us the whole time. They are the best fans in the NHL for a reason.”

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