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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion: Perfetti perfection distils the wonder of Winnipeg: A love letter to a city that is often underestimated
Opinion The fear of tumbling down rows of seats from the 300-level of the Canada Life Centre was never more real than the night of the Manitoba Miracle. A moment of genuine Winnipeg history, as forward Cole Perfetti flicked the puck in just under the crossbar with seconds left in the first-ever Game 7 on home ice for the Jets 2.0. The jumping — that frenzied celebratory bedlam — posed a real threat to the safety of all of us, stabilized only by the hugs from friends and strangers in the vicinity. And, perhaps, by the sticky beer that had been tossed in the air only to end up coating the floor. I've never screamed so loud in my life, to the point of feeling completely dizzy. It was sports at its absolute best, but also a moment, upon reflection, indicative of the uniquely Winnipeg lived experience. Amid that opening-round series against the St. Louis Blues and the subsequent clash with the Dallas Stars, despite the Jets finishing the regular season as the NHL's top team and regardless of fans' placards declaring 'We Believe,' a nagging doubt of going all the way persisted. That a city like ours could not possibly achieve such a feat. It felt as if it tapped into the core belief Winnipeggers seem to have, that we are somehow less than — not just in sports, but in many other arenas. Despite heroics by Cole Perfetti (91) and signs touting resolute belief in the Jets' playoff crusade, there was always niggling doubt the city didn't warrant this level of fame. (Fred Greenslade / The Canadian Press files) My parents said it and I know I have too, that you must be from this city in order to love it. A belief that we should reach out and name for the lie it is. Winnipeg is a fabulous city, built on a community that is unlike any I've ever seen. Is it a perfect place? Of course not. But it is a place where you find people who care about each other and get back up after our failures and try to do better. Some readers might recognize my name from past issues of the Free Press. Having been both a regular contributor to this newspaper for years from the streets of the Exchange District and the West End, and a less-frequent contributor when I moved abroad to cover Russia's war in Ukraine, somewhere along the way I set up a base camp in London, England. My most recent return forced an appreciation, perhaps for the first time from an outsider's perspective, of just how special Winnipeg is. And I'm learning the hard way that sometimes, it takes leaving to appreciate the things that matter the most. This spring I came home for a pair of weddings, taking several weeks off work to show my British partner the city that still remains 'home' no matter how long I'm away. We arrived to an overwhelming patina of brown, a city still shaking off the grungy remnants of a long winter. We arrived before the street cleaners emerged, before the lilacs bloomed, before the Beer Can opened its gate. Vapour rises from buildings downtown on a cold morning. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) I apologized to my partner Alex for bringing him here at the worst possible time of year because, I figured, even in the thick of winter when it's -30 C, we could have gone skating down the river or attended Festival du Voyageur. If it was summer, I countered, there would have been an onslaught of festivals from Folklorama to the Fringe, the beer gardens would have all been in top form, and nearby beaches would have called our names. As I ran through the list of my favourite things to do in Winnipeg, none of them would suit in April and early May. And yet, this city still managed to enamour him, and me, with the wonder that is Winnipeg. Playoffs were an obvious boon, stoking a not-often-seen unbridled enthusiasm for the city. And hockey was a new and entertaining sport for a Brit used to the comparative crawling-pace of soccer. (Football, sorry London). But we also watched Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti try standup comedy for the first time as one of the featured performers in the Winnipeg Comedy Festival's pro-am event. Nearly three hours of non-stop laughter, only 20 per cent of which I had to 'subtitle' for the foreigner, as the humour turned self-deprecating for the city I now defend. We spent an hour watching butterflies at The Leaf, and many more walking around The Forks and Garbage Hill, and Kilcona Park, too. I introduced him to the joy of singing with beats up and the car windows down, a simple pleasure I've long taken for granted. But he doesn't even have a driver's licence. In London, why would you? Smokies lit up the grill for catch-ups with some of the best friends the world has to offer. We ate our way through the finest restaurants in town and settled down with family for Alex's first experience of s'mores around a backyard fire. (Before the fire ban took effect — safety first.) I didn't offer him a rose-coloured view. I took him to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and talked about the struggles we face with our colonial legacies. We walked past homeless encampments and he saw the North End, too. An imperfect place, with so much work to be done. But what city isn't? On the grounds of the legislature on a sunny afternoon, a family from Hamilton told us how much fun they were having visiting Winnipeg for the first time. And it surprised me, I'm embarrassed to say — despite the fact I was having a blast showing off same city. But that's just because I'm from here, right? Evening fun on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature. (Mike Sudoma / Free Press files) Through the years I've left for different parts of Canada, only to return time and time again, drawn back to this place. Not out of necessity, but out of a deep and enduring love that only finds new facets the more of the world I see, the more I learn about the quirks of other cities not only across Canada, but around the world. I was reading the other day an interview with Perfetti about the Manitoba Miracle. He said he couldn't remember the moment surrounding his buzzer-beating goal, and that he blacked out from the excitement amid the roar of the crowd. I just want to say the rest of us will remember it forever. A moment of absolute perfection that embodied just one part of what makes me love this city so much. Now, I wake in London to my partner relaying NHL playoff scores and highlights from games played in the wee hours of the morning, at least in our time zone. Winnipeg has clearly left an impression. And it hardly matters that the Jets couldn't top the Stars. Or that the leaves weren't out to greet us. It is a place and community that always punches above its weight. I am fortunate to have so much love in my life that I can claim to have two homes. But it feels so bittersweet leaving, saying goodbye when the time is never long enough.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Radek Faksa could return to St. Louis Blues in rare free agency twist: Report
Radek Faksa could return to St. Louis Blues in rare free agency twist: Report (ImaGE Source: Getty Images) NHL Rumor, where although the Stanley Cup Playoffs are warming up, teams out of the running are already working hard and looking ahead to the future. While four teams remain in pursuit of the Cup, the others are looking toward offseason agendas. Today's focus is on the St. Louis Blues , who are said to be interested in rehiring veteran center Radek Faksa . Blues general manager Doug Armstrong seeks Radek Faksa to come back As per recent news, Blues GM Doug Armstrong has indicated interest in bringing back Radek Faksa, who will become an unrestricted free agent . Faksa signed with the Blues mid-season and made a good impression with his consistent two-way play and excellent faceoff ability. While not particularly noted for his flashy offense, Radek Faksa's penalty killing and bottom-six anchoring made him an asset in depth. — stlouisblues (@stlouisblues) Armstrong affirmatively said the team is willing to bring back Radek Faksa, but stated that he is "letting the situation breathe." What that means is that there is interest from their side, but they are not going to make a hasty deal. They just want to observe and understand how the market is shaping up and what Radek Faksa may be seeking in contract duration and pay. Why Radek Faksa makes sense for Blues' plans At the age of 30, Radek Faksa provides veteran know-how and a defense-first mindset, two aspects that the Blues appreciate as they try to remain competitive within the Western Conference. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo St. Louis does not have too many unrestricted free agents this summer, so the Blues can be particular about whom they re-sign. It would not take a lot of money to bring back Radek Faksa and they can assist in stabilizing down the middle, especially if St. Louis is looking to do other things on the roster. The Blues value Radek Faksa's effort and leadership in the dressing room. He is one of those guys who just quietly does all the little things correctly, blocking shots, fighting in the corners, and making good decisions away from the puck. Also Read: A Spat Ignites Over Injury Incident, Between Winnipeg Jets And St. Louis Blues Coaches Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dalibor Dvorský Was A Healthy Scratch Against Latvia; Slovak Coach Explains
On Sunday, Slovakia's chances of advancing to the IIHF World Championship quarterfinals were dealt a fatal blow when the team lost 5-1 to Latvia. It was somewhat of a surprise when Dalibor Dvorský of St. Louis Blues prospect was not in the Slovak lineup for the game, but it was assumed he must have been dealing with some sort of physical ailment. After the game, however, coach Vladimír Országh revealed that he had benched the 19-year-old winger and explained why. ''Dalo' is a generational talent,' the Slovak coach began, as reported by Dominik Dubovči of 'One day, if he does things right and is well-adjusted – which I think he is – he will be the leader of the national team. But we cannot consider young Dalibor a leader right now. He is in his first World Championship and he played in a junior league last year. 'He hasn't grown into that role yet. He still lacks a lot of things to be there. We decided to leave him in the stands because he was struggling with shooting, he wasn't getting chances and he had quite significant problems on defense. He also needs to work on his physical play. 'This is a huge learning process for him. He's great on the power play, but here the opponents read him and quickly got to him. We also want to protect him from the pressure. He understands that, in short, and he'll be ready for the next game. But we can't expect a 19-year-old kid to be a difference-maker here.' Dalibor Dvorský's Timeline Over The Next Few Days, From AHL to World Juniors At first, it was uncertain whether he'd be playing. Then he was coming, but nobody was sure exactly when. On Thursday, Dalibor Dvorský revealed to Slovak media his timetable for the next few days. Dvorský has one assist in five games for Slovakia this tournament, but nobody on the team has more than two points. The Slovaks' struggles are not a big surprise as no full-time NHLers are on the team. The most experienced player on the team is San Jose Sharks prospect Pavol Regenda, who has 19 NHL games under his belt. Dvorský played two for the Blues this season. There has been a lot of discussion in Slovakia about why Tomáš Tatar, Juraj Slafkovský, Martin Pospišíl and Šimon Nemec are absent this year despite their teams either missing the playoffs or being knocked out in the first round. Slafkovský's war of words with the Slovak Ice Hockey Association and Pospišíl's – and possibly other players' – objections to the inclusion of KHL players on the team get mentioned. Martin Pospíšil after Olympic qualifiers: 'It was never anything against the players' from the KHL Martin Pospíšil was calm and reflective after Slovakia's 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday in Bratislava, which qualified the team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. 'I don't think it's that they don't want to play for us,' said Országh. 'Last year they all came, including for the Olympic qualifiers. This year there were a lot of reasons, but the guys had long seasons, the Olympics are ahead of them... I completely understand them. We talked a lot with the guys and discussed the reasons.' Országh, 47, was suddenly promoted to head coach of the Slovak team in April after Craig Ramsay had to step aside due to a bout with pneumonia. Országh played 289 NHL games with the New York Islanders, Nashville Predators and St. Louis between 1997 and 2006. He represented Slovakia at five World Championships and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. 'When my generation played in the NHL, we had the same setup,' said Országh. 'I certainly don't want to make excuses for that. The difference is that there were 30 of us playing in the NHL, so there were always players who could come. We don't have that many hockey players there today.' Predicting Slovakia's 2026 Olympic roster By winning their group at the final round of qualifying this past weekend, the Slovaks have qualified for the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Global News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Global News
Maple Leafs, Panthers set for Game 7 clash
SUNRISE – Craig Berube found himself at peace once the puck dropped. The anticipation was the tough part. The St. Louis Blues head coach guided his team on a long journey that culminated with Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins on June 12, 2019. 'It's a lot of waiting around, a lot of thinking,' Berube, now bench boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs, recalled of a memorable day where the clock sometimes felt like it was at a standstill. 'I enjoy the game when it gets going much more,' he added with a smile. 'The game's not played throughout the day. You gotta just keep everything in check and not overthink things. 'It'll come to you.' Berube, who delivered a memorable locker-room speech six years ago ahead of Game 7 that went viral online, was hoisting hockey's holy grail after the final buzzer sounded that night in Boston. While not quite the same stakes, he wants his current roster to go through the same process Sunday. Story continues below advertisement And hopefully secure the same result. The Leafs will host the Florida Panthers in Game 7 at Scotiabank Arena after forcing the winner-take-all finale thanks to a gutsy 2-0 road victory Friday. With its back against the wall and the knives out following an ugly 6-1 home loss in Game 5 when boos — and a couple jerseys torn from backs in frustration — rained down from the stands, Toronto responded 48 hours later in impressive fashion. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Auston Matthews scored for the first time in his career at this stage of the playoffs to break a 0-0 tie in the third period off a Mitch Marner setup. Max Pacioretty then bagged an insurance goal with under six minutes left in regulation. Joseph Woll made 22 saves for his first post-season shutout. Story continues below advertisement The Leafs, whose futility both recent and in the distant past is well-documented, were left for dead by wide swaths of a scarred fan base. Now they sit one victory over the defending champs away from the Original Six franchise's first trip to the Eastern Conference final since 2002. 'It's what you want to play for,' Marner said of Game 7s on Friday night. 'Especially when you're going down 3-2 into an away building … the job's only gonna get harder. Can't be satisfied.' Toronto, however, has won just two series in 10 tries during the Matthews-Marner era despite a stretch of prolonged regular-season success following a complete rebuild begun a decade ago and envisioned by team president Brendan Shanahan. A stable of elite offensive talent that includes fellow forwards John Tavares and William Nylander hasn't produced much playoff success, including an 0-5 record in Game 7s since 2018, with two of those losses coming on home ice. The Leafs, however, aren't worried about the past. 'It's always exciting,' Marner said of Game 7. 'It'll be great to hear the fan base. I'm sure they'll be ready for us.' Woll was unable to play in last spring's series-deciding showdown loss to the Bruins in Boston because of injury. 'This is just a pretty special opportunity for our team,' he said of Sunday. 'We feel good going in and we know our process … just gonna take that through.' Story continues below advertisement Berube owns a 2-1 record behind the bench in Game 7s, while Panthers opposite Paul Maurice is a perfect 5-0, including last season's Cup-clinching triumph over the Edmonton Oilers. 'They are free,' Maurice said of a contest where one team is certain to be going home. 'All the energy that you got with no concern about tomorrow.' Berube said the approach has to be straightforward — like the Leafs in Game 6. 'It means a lot to everybody,' he said. 'All the people that I knew growing up, they always dreamed about a Game 7 … everything's on the line.' The countdown is on. 'I can't wait,' Pacioretty said. 'We're going to war.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2025.
Ottawa Citizen
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Edmonton's decision to pass on Broberg/Holloway looking so much better just now
Article content The Edmonton Oilers Broberg/Holloway fiasco hadn't been top of mind in Oil Country, but then came a viral tweet from the St. Louis Blues this past week, that franchise gloating about its offer sheet success with the two former Oilers. Article content — St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 13, 2025 Article content The Blues' post on X-twitter got me thinking again about the matter, as did Edmonton's second round victory over Vegas, with both Jake Walman and John Klingberg combining to give the Oilers excellent minutes as the second pair defensive unit. Article content The money used to pay Walman and Klingberg this year is arguably the same money that the Oilers could have used to match the Broberg and Holloway offer sheets, at least if the Oilers had been in an aggressive and risk-taking mood last August when new GM Stan Bowman had to make that call. Article content Make no mistake, Edmonton's failure to sign Broberg and Holloway were and always will be a major screw-up by the Oilers. At the same time, Klingberg and Walman represent an excellent use of that cap space. Article content Overall, it could well be that the Oilers are a better team now than they would be if they had matched the offer sheets, and I'm not just saying that because Dylan Holloway missed the 2025 playoffs due to yet another injury in his injury-riddled career, thought that can't be set aside. Article content Article content To assess Bowman's decision at the time, let's look at the facts he faced. Article content 1. Due to neglect, slow-promotion, and the over-cooking of Broberg, the young player had soured on the Oilers organization by the fall of 2023. Article content When the Oilers sent him to Bakersfield of the AHL that fall, Broberg requested a trade. Broberg played well in Bako and it could be that if GM Ken Holland had pounced then and tried to sign up Broberg to a new deal, showing great interest in the player at a down moment, he could have got him signed. Oilers. Article content 2. St. Louis had made a move to trade for Broberg and Dylan Holloway during the 2024 season, but Holland refused to make such a deal. That said, he evidently knew of St. Louis' interest in the players. Did he ever pass that on to Jeff Jackson, who took over from Holland as GM on July 1, 2025? Article content 3. Jackson went on a free agent splurge that July, bringing in Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and bringing back team free agents like Adam Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark. There was wide approval of these moves, including from me, but the assumption was that Jackson also was close to reasonable deals with Holloway and Broberg, both Restricted Free Agents. Broberg had been a Top 4 d-man in the Stanley Cup Final, with Holloway a second line winger in that series. Surely the Oilers would not risk losing such fine young players to offer sheets, right?
