Watch: Mark Scheifele scores emotional goal after father's death

Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele (55) and defenseman Neal Pionk (4) celebrates a goal scored by Scheifele against the Dallas Stars during the second period in Game 6. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Watch: Jets' Mark Scheifele scores emotional goal following father's death

By Adam Gretz | Last updated May 17, 2025 10:45 PM ET

Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele found out the devastating news that his father, Brad, unexpectedly died at the age of 68 on Friday night, ahead of Game 6 of his team's Western Conference playoff series against the Dallas Stars. As painful and difficult as it had to be, Scheifele decided he was going to play in Winnipeg's game.

He then did something incredible early in the second period and scored the game's first goal.

THAT ONE'S FOR DAD!!

Mark Scheifele opens the scoring for the @NHLJets!! #StanleyCup

: ABC & @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/m0LyTCHYnH
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/WfuiL0BKVI
— NHL (@NHL) May 18, 2025

People grieve in a lot of different ways, and for Scheifele being in a position of comfort, with his teammates, doing something he loves was almost certainly something that helped him. He also made it clear that his family urged him to play, and that his father would have wanted him to be on the ice.

It had to be an incredibly emotional moment for him.

Scheifele is one of the Jets' best forwards, scoring 39 goals with 87 points during the regular season.

He entered play on Saturday with four goals and six assists in the Jets' first 10 playoff games.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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