Scheifele playing like Gordie Howe

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/10/2023 (721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It has been nearly five years since Paul Maurice, then the coach of the Winnipeg Jets, stood in front of a media horde and made the following bold prediction about Mark Scheifele.

“I think he has that (potential) to be a one-team player that wins Cups, and is the captain of it at some point and gets a bronze statue in front of the building kind of guy. I do.”

Prophetic? Perhaps. Fast forward to Saturday afternoon at Canada Life Centre and Scheifele — fresh off inking a seven-year contract extension that could see him retire with the organization that drafted him — had one of the best games of his career. The type of performance that inspires championship hopes and might one day have a sculptor on stand-by.

Fitting, really, that Maurice had a front-row view of it.

Scheifele scored the first goal of the season at the downtown rink. Assisted on a clutch game-tying tally early in the second. Dropped the gloves with Matthew Tkachuk — seriously — in a spirited tilt. And went an incredible 19-for-24 in the faceoff circle. All of which helped lead his club to a 6-4 victory over Maurice’s Florida Panthers.

“Home opener. You’re back in front of your home fans. You gotta be a little fired up,” Scheifele would later say.

Of all the promising developments in the first few days of the 2023-24 season for the 1-1- Jets — and there have been plenty — arguably none are more significant than the engagement and execution Winnipeg is getting from its No. 1 centre, who also scored in a season-opening 5-3 loss in Calgary where the Jets soundly outplayed the Flames but got “goalied.”

“He’s carried a lot of that weight here for a while, of wanting to be such a great player,” defenceman Josh Morrissey told the Free Press on Saturday.

“So it’s nice to see him have that success. When he’s going at his best like this, he’s one of the best centres and players in the league.”

If circumstances were different, one suspects there’d be plenty of people saying Scheifele is only off to such a strong start because he’s playing for his next contract, one that wasn’t going to come from Winnipeg. And it sure looked like that might be the case, with his current deal set to expire on July 1 and trade rumours swirling in the summer.

Instead, a Thanksgiving Day bombshell, with Scheifele (and fellow future UFA Connor Hellebuyck) signing simultaneous new deals worth a combined US$119 million. (US$8.5 million per season through to 2031),

So far, so good.

“He’s been great in both ends of the ice. You look at his faceoffs, he’s dialed right in there. Gordie Howe hat trick, we never thought we’d associate that with Mark but good for him,” said Jets coach Rick Bowness.

“He’s playing hard, he’s playing with a lot of emotion. And when you do that, you get involved in the game physically which he’s been engaged both games. He’s been outstanding with and without the puck.”

Scheifele’s line, with Kyle Connor (three goals, one assist) and newcomer Gabriel Vilardi (one assist) has been dominant through large stretches of the first two games, both by the eye test and through analytics.

Just look at how they responded on Saturday as a 1-0 lead off Scheifele’s early goal was now a 2-1 deficit after the Panthers scored 25 seconds into the middle frame. Bowness tapped his top trio on the shoulders, and they needed all of 10 seconds to tie it up, courtesy of a Vilardi to Scheifele to Connor special.

“What a response,” is how Adam Lowry described it after the game.

Scheifele, 30, scored a career-high 42 goals last year, although his commitment to play in his own end of the ice was called into question at times by his coach and others.

It would appear a self-professed “hockey nerd” took that to heart.

“Just a lot of preparation, a lot of hard work in the summer,” Scheifele said of what’s gotten into him early in this new campaign. “A lot of skates, a lot of workouts — a lot of everything. It’s been exciting being back and it’s just been fun playing hockey.”

Morrissey believes there may also be a sense of relief that comes with some contract certainty and long-term security.

“Everyone is different and everyone responds differently to contracts and stuff. I know he has always wanted to play here, be a part of this team and community and he’s been here the longest of anyone now that’s left,” said Morrissey.

“For him to get the deal done, it gives our group energy but it also takes a bit of pressure off him, in a way. Not that he wouldn’t respond if he waited until the end of the year, but now he knows, ‘this is where I’m going to be. I’m going to be a Winnipeg Jet.’ I think he’s just taken the ball and ran with it afterwards.”

One thing Maurice certainly got wrong was his “captain at some point” comment. Scheifele is part of the formal leadership group, but the ‘C” has now gone to Lowry. Scheifele and Morrissey serve as the alternates.

On Saturday, it looked like Scheifele was trying to channel his inner Lowry as he took matters into his own hands — literally — and went after Tkachuk following a questionable late hit.

“It’s awesome. Scheif kind of holding his ground and getting in a scrap. I don’t think we want to see that every night, but him not backing down,” is how Lowry described it. “That’s what it takes. He’s stepping up and not only scoring goals but leading the way physically and playing great in both ends, so we’re going to look for that to continue.”

Scheifele also scrapped with Ottawa’s Parker Kelly in the preseason after an attempted head-shot. So is this the new norm?

“Good for Mark. That’s twice this year already where he’s gotta stick up for himself and he will,” said Bowness.

“We’re counting on him to be a leader on the team. Part of that is you’ve got to stick up for yourself out there. Everyone does. We’re a family and we’ll stick up for each other but there comes a point where you’ve got to stick up for yourself and Mark hasn’t been shy about doing that at all.”

Regular-season game No. 725 for Scheifele was one for the ages. He and his teammates will look to keep it going when the Jets host Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, then wrap up the homestand Thursday with a visit from the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

-with files from Ken Wiebe

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg