Death of Mark Scheifele's father, then the cruel finish to his Jets' playoff series, highlighted the humanity of sports
Then we have last Saturday night in Dallas. A handshake line like no other, for its quintessential display of humanity and the tumble of emotion that swirled around Mark Scheifele, who mourned his father's death while at the same time dealt with a cruel finish that had him sitting alone in the penalty box, head down, as
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
'We were all just absolutely gutted for him,' said Dallas forward Sam Steel, who dutifully, almost funereally, lined up and shook hands with Scheifele and the rest of the vanquished Jets after a 2-1 overtime capper. 'I'm not sure I could do what he did tonight . . . he played his heart out.'
Advertisement
Scheifele, 32 and a cornerstone of the Jets' offense, lost his father, Brad, to a brief illness May 17. One of their alternate captains, Scheifele decided he'd play that night. It was an elimination game. He'd play in large part, noted his coaches and teammates, because he knew that's what his father would want.
Advertisement
Brad Scheifele was that father, he told a Canadian Press reporter years ago, always ready to fire tennis balls on net when young Mark dreamed of being a goalie. The shooting sessions would end, Brad told the reporter, with Mark always chirping, 'Another 100 shots, Dad!'
Brad died at a hospital not far from home in Kitchener, Ontario, where Mark grew up learning and loving the game.
Early in the second period, Saturday night began to shape up as a Hallmark movie, Scheifele connecting for
What a moment for 55 ☺️ 🥹
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets)
Smiling, joyous, Scheifele looked unburdened in that moment, like life hadn't changed. He looked like that kid ready for another 100 shots, hugging his jubilant teammates and racing over to smack gloves along the Jets' bench.
Less than six minutes later, Steel knocked home his first goal of the postseason, squaring it at 1-1. There the score remained, into the waning seconds of the third period, until . . .
Again it was Steel, off to the races on a sure breakaway path to the Jets' net. With no choice, Scheifele hauled down Steel just inside the blue line. The two-minute tripping minor set up the Stars with the night's lone power play.
Advertisement
Mark Scheifele of the Jets talks to referee Dan O'Rourke after Scheifele was issued a tripping penalty in the third period of Game 6 against the Stars, leading to the winning goal in overtime.
Gareth Patterson/Associated Press
I've watched hockey a long, long time, hooked on it as a kid in the early 1960s, now having chronicled it for nearly 50 years. I decided long ago there is no sport like it, for its suspense, for its crazy outcomes and calls, its guaranteed playoff drama.
Never have I sat there, watching the opening moment of an OT unfold, muttering aloud, 'Kill the penalty. Come on, just kill it. It can't end like this for this kid.'
And, bam, Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley stepped into a clear shot and drove home the dagger with 1:33 gone in OT and 12 ticks remaining on the tripping minor. The TV camera trained on a disconsolate Scheifele, not moving, head down in the penalty box.
In a span of less than 24 hours, Scheifele lost his father, summoned the courage to play on, got out there to honor his father and help his teammates, and then sat there by himself in the penalty box. Season over. Dream of the Stanley Cup gone. The text of the game summary forever will trace the OT winner to Scheifele's tripping minor at 19:45.
Cruel.
BACK IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL 🌟
Thomas Harley scores the Subway Canada OT winner in Game 6 for the Stars
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
Adam Lowry, the classy Jets captain, promptly skated to the penalty box, refusing to let Scheifele live through it alone. Arm around Scheifele, the captain's poignant gesture perfectly met the moment. Enough. Time to go.
Then first in the handshake line, Scheifele was met by Stars captain Jamie Benn, who took extra time to share words. To the earlier point, it was Benn who on Thursday night got ejected, and later fined, for a dirty shot he delivered to Scheifele's face during a scrum. Now here was Benn, sincerely concerned, hugging the guy he mugged two nights earlier. Hockey.
Advertisement
Most Jets players and team staff were in Kitchener on Thursday for Brad Scheifele's funeral. Mark Chipman, chairman of True North Sports & Entertainment, picked up the tab for the charter jet.
'The way 'Scheif' handled playing that day,' Lowry mused before boarding the flight east, 'the way he performed, unbelievable. Such a courageous act by him.'
We too often forget, as fans, and especially as media, that the humanity of sports is at the core of all this craziness that gets fashioned and branded into a multibillion-dollar industry. The humanity is really why we watch, care, invest. It is the people, the athletes, with all their strengths and vulnerabilities, their moments of triumph and defeat, so often the things that have nothing to do with what uniform they wear, or their number on a roster.
We're increasingly caught up and dragged down by narratives driven by analytics and gambling and salary caps and police reports. Rarely nowadays is the story as emotionally raw, as riveting, as it was last Saturday night in Dallas. Mark Scheifele, a penalty, a knockout goal, a handshake line, and a father with those 100 shots reminded us.
The best stories are always the people.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Jets owner Woody Johnson buying Crystal Palace with $254 million investment
Jets owner Woody Johnson is making a leap into Premier League soccer. John Textor has agreed to sell Eagle Football's 43 percent stake in Crystal Palace to Johnson, The Athletic reported Monday morning. The sale is believed to be worth close to 190 million pounds, or $254 million, according to BBC. Johnson purchased the Jets for $635 million in 2000, and he'll now add a second sports franchise to his portfolio, becoming one of an increasing number of sports owners to diversify their investments across multiple leagues and sports. The purchase must be ratified by the Premier League through the Owners' and Directors' test, although that process is widely expected to happen quickly and without issue given Johnson's experience owning the Jets. 3 Jets owner Woody Johnson has reportedly agreed to purchase Crystal Palace. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, has a net worth of $9.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He's also the former U.S. ambassador to the U.K., having held the position from 2017-2021 under the first term of President Donald Trump. Johnson made a failed bid at buying Chelsea in 2022, after former owner Roman Abramovich, a Russian businessman, was sanctioned by the U.K. government in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Johnson's purchase could spell good news for Crystal Palace's hopes of competing in the UEFA Europa League next season, which were in question even after earning a berth by winning the 2024-25 FA Cup. 3 Crystal Palace won the 2024-25 FA Cup. Action Images via Reuters Under Textor, the club could have been denied the ability to compete in the Europa League due to multi-club ownership rules – since Textor's Eagle Football group also owns the French club Lyon, which also qualified for the Europa League. Textor, 59, is an American businessman who is the former executive chairman of FuboTV. 3 John Textor (left) is selling Eagle Football's 40 percent stake in Crystal Palace to Jets owner Woody Johnson. AP He invested $115 million into a 40 percent stake in Crystal Palace in 2021, becoming a co-owner with Steve Parish, David Blitzer and Josh Harris. Blitzer and Harris co-own the Devils and 76ers through the Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment management company, and Harris also owns the Commanders after purchasing the team from Dan Snyder in 2023.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jets Receiver Picks Bad Time To Be In 'Catch-Up Mode'
Jets Receiver Picks Bad Time To Be In 'Catch-Up Mode' originally appeared on Athlon Sports. One thing we know about Aaron Glenn's regime with the New York Jets is that he isn't mucking around - he means business in his first NFL offseason. Advertisement For rookies and veterans alike, everyone starts from square one as Glenn looks to mold this Jets team into one he thinks can win playing his way. And to do that, players who might be seen as being on the roster bubble have to perform, and for receiver Malachi Corley, he hasn't gotten off to the best of starts under the new management. Having already sat out considerable time at minicamp and prior, Corley is swimming against the tide to make an impression in a receiver room that has spots up for grabs. And receivers coach Shawn Jefferson had a true, yet pointed message to Malachi as training camp comes into focus next month. Advertisement "My old coach, Bill Parcells, used to say the first thing you need to be is you need to be available," Jefferson said via ESPN. "He's missed some time, and there's a learning curve here, so he's in catch-up mode right now." Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Catch-up mode isn't ideal. Yes, Corley only has one NFL season under his belt, but the third-round pick only had three receptions for 16 yards in nine games (one start) and played just 83 snaps on offense all season. Keep in mind that it was with a Jets offense that struggled to do anything right. So Corley has it all in front of him in 2025 if he is to make the impact that Glenn and coordinator Tanner Engstrand want. Advertisement But out of all the abilities Corley has, right now, he doesn't have the best one - availability. Related: Glenn Reveals Only Thing He 'Hates' as Jets Finish Offseason Workouts Related: Sauce Speaks Out On Jets 'Change' Amid Contract Talks This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Jets HC Reacts to Week 1 Revenge Game vs. Aaron Rodgers
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was rather mute when asked about New York's Week 1 meeting against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers. For Glenn, it's just like any other game. 'We have 17 really good games that we got to play,' Glenn said. 'And I'm looking forward to playing every one of them.' Advertisement Rodgers will be facing the team that spurned him earlier this offseason. Rodgers was released by the Jets earlier this offseason, and the star quarterback was quite disgruntled by the way that exit was handled, he revealed in an interview with Pat McAfee in April. Rodgers recounted flying to New York to meet with Glenn, and that meeting going very poorly. 'I think we're gonna have this long conversation,' Rodgers said. 'I've flown across the country. Twenty seconds in … I'm talking to the GM about something and [Glenn] leans to the edge of his seat and goes, 'So, do you want to play football?' 'And I was like, 'Yeah, I'm interested.' Advertisement 'Then he says, 'We're going in a different direction at quarterback.'' Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a Steelers minicamp practice on June 10, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now Glenn is not worried about the media attention heading into the Week 1 game against the Steelers at MetLife Stadium. 'This is the NFL. And, to me, every game there's a lot of noise because they're so critical — as far as wins and losses. We want to try and accumulate as many wins as we can, and I don't care who that opponent is,' he said. Of course, the Jets will have a quarterback revenge game of their own on tap. The Steelers' first choice at quarterback this offseason was to re-sign Justin Fields, but when the Jets offered a two-year contract with $30 million in guarantees, the Steelers balked at the price, letting Fields walk out the door and turning their sights on Rodgers. Advertisement Like his head coach, Fields had no reaction to seeing that the Jets are playing his former team, the Steelers, to open the season. 'That's who we play Week 1. There wasn't really a thought to that,' Fields told reporters. This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Jets HC Reacts to Week 1 Revenge Game vs. Aaron Rodgers Related Headlines
