TORONTO — In hockey, there’s usually nothing bigger than Game 7.
But in the hours before the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs faced off with a berth in the Eastern Conference final on the line, a larger perspective was easy to find.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice coached Mark Scheifele for nine seasons in Winnipeg, and he began his Sunday morning press conference by offering condolences to the Jets player for the sudden loss of his father, Brad, while also thanking those around him for creating the kind of environment where Scheifele could play through his grief on Saturday night.
“I think just as an observation from last night, the display of courage and focus for him to do what he did, but it’s possibly an even greater display of the family — of the Scheifele family, of the Winnipeg Jet family — for him to play with his brothers,” Maurice said. “That extends out to (Jets coach) Scott Arniel and (Jets GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff and (Jets chairman) Mark Chipman and all of the Winnipeg Jets fans. They’ve built a culture of family there that allowed that inspiration to happen.
“Our thank you to them for that display, and also our condolences to them.”
Scheifele’s decision to play Game 6 against the Dallas Stars just hours after learning of his father’s death produced one of the most powerful moments of the playoffs. He opened the scoring for Winnipeg and took a tripping penalty late in regulation, putting him in the penalty box when Thomas Harley scored the overtime goal to end the Jets’ season.
Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry immediately skated over to console Scheifele, and the rest of his teammates did the same soon after. Several Stars players shared long embraces and words of comfort with Scheifele during the handshake line that followed the end of the series.
An emotional handshake line following the end of the Jets/Stars Second Round matchup 💚💙 pic.twitter.com/3zyp428Maa
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 18, 2025
“It’s hard to really speak on,” said Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, who has played with Scheifele at multiple international competitions. “Knowing Mark and his family, it’s something that I can’t imagine. All of the credit in the world to him and his teammates and everyone in Winnipeg for pulling together.”
“Pretty incredible effort, I thought, he put forth last night in the way he competed and played,” Leafs forward John Tavares said. “Obviously he got a big goal for their team. I can only imagine how difficult it is for them.”
Veteran Panthers forward Brad Marchand was struck by Scheifele’s courage and called losing a loved one “the worst possible thing you can go through.”
“What he did last night was incredible,” Marchand said. “There’s very few people that could have found the strength to play through something like that, and to go out and to play the way that he did and to step up for his team, his family must be extremely proud of him and his dad would be. So much respect and love for him and his family.
“Those moments are much bigger than the game.”
Scheifele was the first player drafted by the reborn Jets in 2011 and never wavered on playing Saturday’s elimination game after learning of his dad’s death, Arniel told reporters.
He finished with a game-high nine hits and played nearly 19 minutes, scoring the Jets’ only goal in a 2-1 loss.
“My heart goes out to him and his family,” said Leafs coach Craig Berube. “Just the courage he showed to play that game, and play it well. It’s a terrible situation and you feel for him, but I understand why he played. I really do. That’s a tough day for everybody there.
“Tough day.”
(Photo of Paul Maurice: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)