Morrissey born to lead Time to sew the C on all-star defenceman’s sweater, he’s earned it By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023

Opinion

It was Josh Morrissey’s finest moment in what has been a magical NHL season so far.

With the Winnipeg Jets staring a fourth straight loss in the face heading into an extended break, the 27-year-old defenceman single-handedly changed the course of Monday’s meeting with the St. Louis Blues.

A dazzling individual effort, just 40 seconds after the visitors had extended their lead to 2-0 early in the third period, brought Winnipeg within a goal. It was what happened next that really stood out.

The normally even-keeled, mild-mannered Morrissey has a “celly” for the ages, skating along the glass and staring directly at the Canada Life Centre crowd that hasn’t had much to cheer about lately.

“Let’s (expletive) go,” Morrissey could be seen mouthing, his arms waving wildly. “Let’s (expletive) go.”

Boy, did they ever.

The downtown barn came to life. More importantly, Winnipeg’s sleepy offence woke up, too. When Morrissey struck again later in the period, just 21 seconds after Mark Scheifele had tied it, the comeback was complete.

It all started, and ended, with Morrissey, who put on an incredible display for a national TV audience (the game was the only one on the NHL calendar and broadcast coast-to-coast on Sportsnet) and reminded everyone why he’s heading to his first All-Star game.

I found it interesting that as media entered the Jets locker room on Monday, about five minutes after the final buzzer had gone, Morrissey was seated at his stall having a discussion with an extremely happy Mark Chipman, the team’s co-owner and chairman. No doubt the big boss, who we rarely see in the room, felt the need to personally pass on his appreciation for what had just occurred.

Hockey is the ultimate team sport, which is one of its most endearing qualities. There’s no question Morrissey showed on this night that, occasionally, there can be an ‘I’ in “team.”

Hockey is the ultimate team sport, which is one of its most endearing qualities. There’s no question Morrissey showed on this night that, occasionally, there can be an ‘I’ in “team.”

There was a time, not all that long ago, that the Jets had another defenceman who could occasionally take over games through sheer will and determination, in addition to his talent. He’d bring fans out of their seats and make teammates feel 10-feet tall.

While there will never be another Dustin Byfuglien, Morrissey’s performance felt Byfuglien-esque.

Fun fact: with 30 regular-season games remaining, Morrissey is already on the verge of eclipsing Byfuglien’s best offensive season on the blue line, which came in 2013-14 when he had 56 points in 78 games. Morrissey is now up to 53 points (10 goals, 43 assists) through just 52 contests. Along with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (who is also heading to the All-Star game following a fan vote), he’s a primary reason the Jets are 32-19-1 and competing for top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference.

There’s plenty of chatter around the league right now about Morrissey getting serious consideration for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman. He’d certainly be on my ballot. Allow me to throw out another discussion point, one that doesn’t have to wait until spring.

Morrissey should be the next captain of the Jets.

If there was any doubt whatsoever, Monday’s game illustrates why it would be a perfect fit. Morrissey leads by example, both on and off the ice, and is an exemplary representation of Winnipeg, the hockey team, and the community at large. We’ll see plenty of that on display later this week as he soaks up the sun in Florida while taking in the All-Star game festivities.

He’s a drafted and developed success story, one who paid his dues in the American Hockey League and has never stopped working at his craft. He waited patiently while general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff took care of more pressing contract issues before finally signing a maximum eight-year extension in 2019. Given his current production, a legitimate argument can be made that he is now underpaid by industry standards and comparables at US$6.25 million.

Morrissey is humble and a genuinely good human who is doing plenty of incredible charitable work along with his wife, Margot, including their Glass Half Full foundation that focuses on raising funds for mental-health initiatives. He has also overcome plenty of adversity which makes him even more relatable, including the death of his father, Tom, in August 2021.

He is always available to answer the bell, win or lose. No Jets players has met with the media more this season than Morrissey — trust me, I checked on this stat — and you’ll never seen him come across as anything but classy.

Morrissey is everything you could want in a professional athlete. And then some.

Morrissey is everything you could want in a professional athlete. And then some.

When new coach Rick Bowness removed the captaincy from Blake Wheeler just prior to training camp last fall, the veteran bench boss didn’t provide a timeline for when a replacement would be named. He wanted to get to know his players first, to see how they responded and hopefully embraced the chance to take on bigger roles.

It’s fascinating that the three current alternate captains — Morrissey, Scheifele and Adam Lowry — are all on pace for career years. There are plenty of others who have embraced the challenge as well and have embraced the opportunities that have come their way.

I’d suggest, however, it’s Morrissey who truly stands out from an impressive pack and has proven, beyond a shadow of the doubt, that he is ready, willing and able to lead this organization.

The sooner Bowness slaps a well-deserved C on his sweater, the better. It would be a nice post All-Star break reward, don’t you think?

Let’s (expletive) go.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Sports columnist

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.

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