THE MOST HATED MAN IN WINNIPEG?

By: Braedyn Wozniak, RP Show Intern

Jamie Macoun enjoyed a lot of success during his 17-year career and gained a lot of fans during his time with the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. 

But the two-time Stanley Cup left a negative impression on a different Canadian city: Winnipeg. 

It all stemmed from a cross-check on Jets Hall of Fame Captain Dale Hawerchuk that broke his ribs during the 1985 playoffs. 

“In that era, there was a lot of hacking and whacking going on,” said Macoun on the Rod Pedersen Show Thursday. “I cross-checked him, but I assumed I’d be cross-checking his body and he’d kind of bounce off.” 

“He decided that he was going to hop around me and raise his arm up and try it, he thought he was somehow going to go lateral, but didn’t and he just went straight at me.” 

Hawerchuk broke his ribs on the play, ending his season and the Jets chances at Lord Stanley.  

Winnipeg fans have never recovered. 

In a 2020 Winnipeg Sun article titled How do you sum up the 1980s for the Winnipeg Jets, writer Ted Wyman described the play as Jets fans saw it. 

“(Winnipeg) also lost their captain and driving force – Dale Hawerchuk – to broken ribs, the result of a vicious cross-check by Calgary defenceman Jamie Macoun.” 

The Jets won the 5-game series against Calgary 3-1, but flamed out against the Oilers, getting swept 4-0. 

The loss of Hawerchuk was too much to overcome. 

“That kind of ended the hopes for the Winnipeg Jets winning the cup that year,” said Macoun. “Hawerchuk at the time was right there with Wayne Gretzky. In some games, he was definitely better, the best player in the league.” 

According to Macoun, the furor from the hit still gets triggered when Jets fans see him. 

“Three years ago, at the (Calgary) Stampede, two people behind us in line are talking about me,” said Macoun. “’Is that who we think it is? Should we kick his ass?’” 

But between Macoun and Hawerchuk, he said all his settled. They met a year after the hit and there was no hatred between the two. 

“He apologized to me, because he knew the amount of that I took from it,” said Macoun.  

But for Jets fans, it doesn’t appear they’re getting over it anytime soon.