The American Airlines Center was rocking playoff decibels but for the contingent of Winnipeg Jets fans, the playoffs weren’t the only thing on their minds. Because after all, the news of the death of Mark Scheifele’s dad, Brad Scheifele put things into greater perspective. As much as it may seem like it, hockey isn’t always the be all and end all. But amidst the heartbreak of loss on the ice and off of it, there emerged news of a heartwarming gesture that transcended even hockey rivalries.
Before game 6, a late-afternoon tweet from BR Open Ice dropped: “Stars fans are sending ‘$55 for 55’ to Scheifele’s charities after news his dad died before Game 6.” The building stayed loud, but the vibe turned tender, as though all fans agreed on a mission nobody needed to explain.
Brad Scheifele passed away Saturday morning, yet Mark never blinked at suiting up. “It’s what his dad would’ve wanted,” coach Scott Arniel told the media—and Scheifele proved it in the first period, scoring the opening goal of the night.
Stars fans have been donating “$55 for 55” to charities Mark Scheifele supports after the news that Mark’s father died before Game 6 in Dallas.
Hockey is a family pic.twitter.com/jP8yIoSFDl
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 17, 2025
While Jake Oettinger and Connor Hellebuyck traded highlight-reel saves, the Stars faithful hammered $55 donations—one for every digit on Scheifele’s sweater—into the True North Foundation and KidSport Canada, charities often supported by Mark Scheifele. By the final horn, the pop-up philanthropy cleared thirty grand and kept climbing long after both teams hit the showers.
As per Krista Sinaisky, a spokesperson from True North Sports + Entertainment, over $30,000 had been received in contributions. “A wonderful outpouring of support from the hockey community on a very tough day for the Jets family, our True North Youth Foundation is extremely grateful,” Sinaisky told Sportsnet.
Scheifele logged nearly nineteen minutes, won seven draws, and led the Jets with nine bone-rattling hits—part of Winnipeg’s 54-hit onslaught that doubled Dallas’s total. The cruel twist? His tripping minor with fifteen seconds left set up the OT power-play dagger. Still, Scheifele owned the handshake line—Jamie Benn and half the Stars roster wrapped him up before head coach Pete DeBoer saluted “a courageous young man” at the presser.
If you think that kindness ended at the horn, think again…
Rivalry on the ice, and respect off of it for Mark Scheifele
NHL has an unwritten rule: throw big hits, drop bigger love when real life punches harder. Saturday’s gesture slides onto the same shelf as the Colby Cave memorial drive and the emergency-goalie merch madness that rallied the league a few years back. Fans didn’t need a slick campaign; one tweet, a couple viral threads, and the sport’s most ruthless fan base went soft in 280 characters.
Inside the Jets room, captain Adam Lowry held back tears while remembering Brad Scheifele’s infectious laugh on fathers’ trips. Even Jamie Benn—fresh off a series-long slugfest with Scheifele—ditched the beef and gave the Jet a bear hug that’ll loop forever on highlight reels.
“I just told him that I respected him as a competitor, and as a hockey player,” revealed Benn in his post-match interview. “You can grow to not like guys throughout a playoff series. But when it’s all over, I told him I respect him as a player. I wanted to let him know that it took a lot of courage for him to play today in a tough situation. I’m not sure too many guys would have done that in his situation. So, I respected it. I know every guy in our room respected it, and our whole organization respected it. I wanted to tell him I cared about him.”
The hush that crept through game 6 never really left—it morphed into a nonstop ping of “Donation received” alerts echoing across timelines. Dallas rolls to the West Final; Winnipeg heads home with broken hearts—but the $55 ticker is still spinning, proof that some goals echo long after the red light fades. Next round, don’t be shocked if other fan bases copy-paste the play. Because Saturday night reminded us that hockey, at its core, is one giant family—jersey colors optional, hearts absolutely mandatory.
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