The goal heard ‘round the Peg An improbable victory, an obsessive fanbase and a new symbol of city pride fuelled by Jets By: Conrad Sweatman Posted: 5:49 PM CDT Friday, May. 9, 2025

It’s a magic number Winnipeggers won’t soon forget — 1.6.

That was the number of seconds remaining on the clock (later adjusted to 2.2) when forward Cole Perfetti saved the Winnipeg Jets with his game-tying goal in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues on May 4.

That paved the way for captain Adam Lowry’s sudden-death winner in double overtime that sent Canada Life Centre into a frenzy.

It was a “where were you when” moment that rivals May 31, 2011, when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman strode into what was then MTS Centre to announce the return of Canada’s favourite sport to Winnipeg.

It was a moment hockey experts couldn’t have envisioned as many pre-season predictions had the Jets missing the playoffs. Instead, Winnipeg won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team in the regular season.

It was a moment for a team and town often underestimated not just by outsiders — but by many of its own fans and residents.

“Me and my sister were not gonna walk out of the arena, when it was like, two seconds before the game was over. She said, ‘We’re gonna stay and cheer for them, because they work so hard,’” says musician Rhonda Head.

Apparently, at least a few fans in the stands headed for the exit as things started to look unwinnable for the lads in blue.

“Manitoba is a hockey province. And (winning brings) great pride and joy… we won’t get that negative attention that we do from crime and all that.”

Head has showcased her love of the Jets on some of the largest stages.

The Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano from Opaskwayak Cree Nation made headlines in 2023 for flying the Jets flag at that year’s Grammy Awards. For all of her accolades, Head says she still counts singing the national anthem in Cree at a Jets game last year as a career highlight.

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“We’re the underdogs, right?” says Jino Distasio, a professor of geography at the University of Winnipeg. “You think of an old English pub where they’re cheering for the working-class football team. People can get around something like that.”

Canadians talk today of locking arms, “elbows up,” in the face of a trade war perpetrated by the United States. But, of course, Manitobans continue to harbour a mildly spirited grudge toward their wealthier, more powerful neighbours to the west and east.

And, for the underdogs in these scenarios, is there a more entertaining stage to rehearse such tensions than hockey?

Few activities exercise civic pride with as much gusto as a Winnipeg Whiteout — the celebration held outside the downtown arena where thousands of fans dressed head to toe in white gather to watch the Jets playoff games on massive outdoor screens.

“We’re a city of spectacle,” says Distasio. “We like a party, and also we find ourselves using the downtown as the stage for those parties… There’s no doubt that the economic impact of these kinds of events is transformative for the local economy.”

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Damon Hayes-Couture, an architectural designer from Winnipeg who has lived in Calgary for more than a decade, is not a Flames fan, and never will be.

TSN’s fancam footage of his family went viral across TikTok and Instagram last Thanksgiving. It showed his infant son, in aviation goggles and Jets regalia, asleep in Hayes-Couture’s lap at a Jets game against the Minnesota Wild.

“Wakey, wakey buddy!” said Kevin Sawyer, TSN’s colour analyst for the Jets. A still from the cute scene lit up the Jets’ banner on X for a couple of weeks.

“The Jets are a vital way for me to stay connected with home,” says Hayes-Couture. “It’s an excuse to call to say, ‘Oh, hey, did you hear about that trade? Did you watch that game?’”

He says he tries not to just attend a Jets game when he’s in Winnipeg, but stick around downtown, grab a meal and spend time with family and fans.

“First and foremost, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to be at the games. But I also think of it as an act of civic responsibility, in a way, to not only go to games, but make a night of it,” he says. “It’s like by being a Winnipegger and participating in that atmosphere, Winnipeg grows.”

“If I cheer loudly, then it means that others will feel compelled to cheer just as loudly.”

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The fortunes of the Jets and downtown Winnipeg often feel closely entwined.

Even after the NHL team returned in 2011, critics continued to question whether this small-market city could support big-league hockey. At the same time, the downtown struggles with disinvestment, high vacancy rates and profound social inequities.

The Jets aren’t a solution to all this; the entity brings tens of thousands of people and millions of dollars downtown — much of this surging temporarily from the suburbs.

“We’ve got to call it what it is,” says Distasio about the playoff games — and especially Whiteouts, which have a low-cost admission of $10, with half going to the United Way.

“And, really, it’s a momentary reprieve from the otherwise desperate situation that downtown Winnipeg has found itself in.”

He compares the playoffs to Nuit Blanche, the outdoor fall festival that celebrates contemporary art as “the downtown and parts of the inner city are transformed into this tapestry of hope and fun and interest and intrigue.”

So, how to bottle up and hold onto this civic energy after the popcorn’s swept from the stands?

“The downtown has always been a second (away) from being loved or hated,” says Distasio. The feelings swing almost as quickly, or even hinge on, fans’ attitudes towards the Jets — with pride and excitement swelling during a winning streak, only to shift to frustration and disillusionment when goaltender and MVP candidate Connor Hellebuyck lets a soft one in.

“I wish we could figure out how to fill retail space, how to fill more restaurants and have more people living and coming downtown,” says Distasio.

“But even during my time, downtown has changed dramatically… to me, there’s always hope. And it’s with these kinds of events that there’s hope, right?”

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The emotional ups and downs of being a Jets fan absorb Ben Schellenberg.

The associate professor in the University of Manitoba faculty of kinesiology and recreation management researches sports fandom and helped guide a study of Jets supporters a few playoffs back.

The researcher admits a favourite sports joke of his is comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s quip that fans merely “rooting for clothes,” staying loyal to a team rather than players who come and go.

But Schellenberg is passionate about understanding the passion of sports fandom.

“When we’re cheering for a team, they become part of an individual’s identity… you’re cheering for yourself,” he says.

Those in Schellenberg’s field distinguish between “obsessive passion” and “harmonious passion.” The first can lead someone to neglect responsibilities and despair after a favourite team loses, while harmonious passion allows fans to enjoy the game without it overwhelming other parts of their life.

“Of course, the day after a game, if the Jets won, people felt better than if they lost, but that effect (tends to be) a lot stronger for fans with high levels of obsessive passion,” he says.

In the days following the Game 7 heroics, it seemed every Winnipeg bus stop, radio station, coffee shop and office lunchroom had only one topic of conversation. The superfans could shine as the go-to authorities, the ones turned to for play breakdowns and sermons about the next round of the playoffs and the new battle against the Dallas Stars.

“The flip side is what sometimes people refer to as dampening behaviour, anything you do to kind of be a killjoy or a ‘Debbie Downer,’” he says.

Obsessive fans are often more drawn to this dampening behaviour, obsessing over the negatives even after a triumph, Schellenberg says.

Obsessive fans may find themselves especially haunted with concerns such as: How much have I spent on tickets this year? Mark Scheifele is back after missing a couple of games due to injury, but what about injured defenceman Josh Morrissey? And sure, the Jets won Game 7, but they lost Game 1 of the second series.

“I think enjoying all the steps along the way would be a valuable thing to do.”–Ben Schellenberg

Schellenberg has a few tips for Winnipeggers hoping to avoid the hangovers of obsessive passion.

“The big recommendation involves having more balance in your life and having things outside of being just a fan that bring you joy and satisfy your needs… But I think we’re too late for the middle of a playoff run,” he laughs.

“Some people will avoid savouring (the moment) because they haven’t won the Stanley Cup yet… So, I think enjoying all the steps along the way would be a valuable thing to do.”

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Head and Hayes-Couture say they’re enjoying the playoff ride even if it ultimately ends before they want it to.

“I’ve never called down the Jets. I’m cheering them all on all the time,” Head says. “They had the best season out of all the NHL franchises… they’ve made us proud.”

Hayes-Couture doesn’t dampen the warm feeling, either.

“It’s maybe sacrilege to say, but it’s not all about that one trophy at the end,” he says.

“Whether folks watched Game 7 from a corporate box or their basement hangout, we all felt the same euphoria,” he says.

“It’s hard to find things that build community bridges for Winnipeg than moments like this.”

conrad.sweatman@winnipegfreepress.com