Scheifele holds no ill will against Tkachuk over season-ending hit

Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele (55) carries the puck past Vancouver Canucks' Tyler Myers (57) during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Tuesday Jan. 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Greenslade

WINNIPEG — Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele spoke out for the first time on Tuesday on his season-ending injury.

Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk’s hit on Scheifele early in the first period of Game 1 knocked Scheifele out of the playoffs and changed the course of Winnipeg's qualifying series with Calgary.

The controversial hit was subject to a lot of debate almost immediately, some even calling it an intentional attempt to injure. The hit even drew the ire of Jets head coach Paul Maurice after the game.

Scheifele broke his silence Tuesday, discussing the incident for the first time.

He didn't provide any details on his injury, other than to say it's not as bad as he initially thought.

But Scheifele did discuss the hit with media, saying he doesn't believe Tkachuk was out to injure him. He compared the hit to a knee-on-knee collision.

"I think he was just out of control, he tried to get a piece of me and obviously I wish that didn't happen and I would have been playing in the rest of that series but that's the way hockey is," Scheifele said.

Having trained together in the summer, Scheifele said Tkachuk did reach out to him after the game, and the Jets forward said he holds no ill will.

"Matt's a great hockey player and has a ton of work ethic,” he said.

“I know him from Gary Roberts and obviously I have no hard feelings, obviously I wished it never happened. I wish I played in the rest of the series but there is nothing you can do about that now."

Scheifele said he has no timeline as to when he'll be able to return to the ice, but he's confident he'll be ready for next season, which is currently set to start in December.