Morrissey’s calm assist earns grateful mom’s first-star award Jets D-man a bit player in icy three-car crash, but guides upset collision rookie through traumatic aftermath By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:44 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025

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This article was published 26/02/2025 (540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Josh Morrissey’s impact on the Winnipeg Jets is significant, with a calm, cool demeanour and ability to come up with big plays at key times.

Turns out the talented defenceman is making similar contributions in the community, where he recently took control of a chaotic situation surrounding a three-vehicle crash that he unwittingly found himself in the middle of.

“It’s not often that people get to see this side of a player,” Jodi Pauley told the Free Press. “And I cannot stress enough how much it meant to us to find out who he was after the fact and how humble he was when the jersey was off.”

This heartwarming story actually goes back to a cold morning late last month when Pauley’s 19-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, was driving on Portage Avenue. She stopped at a light that had just turned red, only to be struck from behind by a vehicle.

The impact caused significant damage and sent the at-fault motorist spinning into the middle lane where she struck a second stopped vehicle. Morrissey was behind the wheel of that one, although the parties involved didn’t realize it at the time.

“It was a little icy that day,” Morrissey recalled Wednesday.

“To many, this wouldn’t seem like a very big deal, but it really was to our family.”–Jodi Pauley

“(Mackenzie’s) car was to my left and were in the front row of the intersection. The car behind ended up getting both of us. Thankfully no one was injured. I got the least damage. Unfortunately, hers and the car that hit her were a lot worse off than mine. Just some minor repairs for mine.”

As Pauley explained, her daughter had never been in a crash before and was quite shaken up emotionally. It didn’t help that the woman responsible for the crash remained in her vehicle, leading to some confusion at the scene.

“I think people react in all kinds of ways in those situations,” said Morrissey, who was on his way home at the time from his team’s morning skate at Canada Life Centre. “People can get flustered and all that kind of stuff. It was one of those things where I just tried to go about it the right away.”

He recognized Mackenzie was quite upset and did his best to console her.

“I didn’t think she had been in a situation like that before, so I just tried to explain what to do and try to keep things under control,” he said.

“Those things can happen, especially on those Winnipeg roads. But I was happy to help out. One of those things where you just try to do things by the book and help out someone who was having their first experience with that.”

It made a huge difference, according to Pauley.

“To many, this wouldn’t seem like a very big deal, but it really was to our family,” she said.

“She was in a bit of shock and didn’t really know how to handle what, to her, was a scary situation, especially when the driver that hit them refused to get out of her vehicle. She was fortunate enough to have what she described to me as ‘a really nice guy’ who, in her words, ‘took over and helped her navigate the exchanging of info,’ etc.”

As Pauley explained, her daughter thought the kind stranger “looked a little familiar” but didn’t immediately make the connection. It was only later that day, back home, that a viewing of the paperwork showed exactly who had come to her rescue.

“It was heartwarming to see that someone famous could be so humble and kind,” said Pauley, noting Morrissey went on to have a big game in a Jets victory that night.

“He’s a superstar off the ice but he doesn’t go around demanding attention or asking for it. He just goes about his life, tries to give back to the community, tries to make a positive impact.”–Adam Lowry

“He just seems like such a good guy, and it’s nice to have some good to talk about sometimes, especially the way the world is lately.”

The league-leading Jets aren’t just winning big on the ice this year, but off it, as well. Morrissey’s teammate, Nino Niederreiter, helped rescue a pair of motorists on Boxing Day near La Salle when he found them stuck in a snowbank.

Morrissey was quick to deflect any praise, saying he hoped anyone else would do the same thing in a similar situation.

“I think, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re a hockey player on the Jets, or anybody. Just be a good person and do things the right way,” he said.

“That’s what I try to do as much as possible. I’m happy to hear it positively helped her in that situation. I just tried to do things the right way in a situation like that, help someone out that maybe hadn’t been in that situation before. Nothing crazy, I didn’t save the world or anything like that, but happy to hear I helped her out.”

Morrissey, 29, is now in his 10th season with the Jets and under contract through 2027-28. He is fresh off starring for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off but missed last Thursday’s championship triumph over the United States with a severe flu bug. He’s expected to be part of the national team at the Winter Olympics in Italy next February.

The 13th-overall draft pick from 2013 returned to Winnipeg’s lineup Monday to score the game-tying goal with 26 seconds left in regulation. Mark Scheifele then won it overtime.

“He comes up with big moments, time and time again for us,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said Wednesday.

He is one of Morrissey’s best friends on the team — both men are from Calgary — and said the roadside assistance story doesn’t surprise him in the least.

“That’s a great example of his humility,” said Lowry.

“He’s a superstar off the ice but he doesn’t go around demanding attention or asking for it. He just goes about his life, tries to give back to the community, tries to make a positive impact. Obviously (the collision was) an unfortunate situation, but that’s where his calm demeanour and his leadership in the chaotic environment of sports comes in. You kind of need that calm influence and that’s what he is for us.

“Clearly it extends beyond the room.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg