Stanley Cup matchup set: Winnipeggers split between 5 Manitobans and beloved former coach

The Stanley Cup final match up is set and look on the bright side Jets fans – the Florida Panthers are led by former Jets head coach Paul Maurice and the Vegas Golden Knights have more Manitobans on their roster than you can shake a stick at.

So where will the average Winnipegger’s heart lie?

“Manitobans are Jets fans first, hockey fans second,” said Sportsnet’s Sean Reynolds.

“I think there are a lot of people who just can’t think about Paul Maurice without thinking about the Jets and them being intrinsically connected.”

Reynold’s says some cities love their home-grown talent, but doesn’t think that’s a factor in Manitoba.

The Golden Knights have Mark Stone, Keegan Kolesar, Brett Howden, Zach Whitecloud and Byron Froese.

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“Brett Howden is another player who had a game winning goal against the Jets. I don’t think there are too many Jets fans thinking well at least it’s a Manitoban who did it to us. Jets fans are Jets fans primarily. Whether you’re cheering for one or the other I think chances are more likely you’re cheering for Paul Maurice.”

In his ninth season with the Winnipeg Jets – Maurice resigned and stepped away from the team of his own volition – claiming he was no longer the person to get the team to that next step. So why does Winnipeg love Paul Maurice?

“Paul Maurice was one of the early people to put his finger on that, and really hammer home to fans that they should be proud about how good of fans they were, what they brought, and what this market brought to the NHL, and for those reasons I think he’ll always have a place in the heart of Manitoba hockey fans.”

So, Reynolds says Winnipeg will choose Florida. CityNews took to Winnipeg streets to find out.

“I think a Vegas win, is a Manitoba loss across the board,” said one Winnipegger, who added that it doesn’t matter if Vegas has five Manitobans on the roster.

“The players have roots here! Rather than the coach coming in coaching and leaving. I think it’s more about the players than the coach,” said one Winnipegger backing Vegas over Florida.

“That’s actually quite a thing to consider. But my instinct reaction was Paul Maurice.”

Another Winnipegger saying, “I was talking with the boys back at the job-site, and the reality is we’re going to win either way. We got the coach on one side, the guys on the other team. There is no way we lose this.”