Bring pro hockey back to Winnipeg: Manitoba Tories
WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s provincial election campaign has turned its attention to hockey with the Conservatives promising to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg.Standing alongside former Winnipeg Jet Thomas Steen, Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said he’ll work with the private sector to bring back the team, who left Manitoba a decade ago.
Yeah, I know, I know. It’s got that NDP “more vacations, axe ATM fees” feeling to it, but it’s sure a lot more fun to talk about than taxes or the environment.
Between this and the Shane Doan insanity, I got to thinking about other times when the national pastime…and the other national pastime have intersected. Off the top of my head:
-Stephen Harper as a guest commentator on TSN last fall and his oft talked about but rarely 
worked on hockey history book.
-Gilles Duceppe promises Quebecers their own hockey team at international events during the last election campaign. No doubt the thought of Patrice Brisebois coughing up the puck in a key game scared voters away.
-John Manley’s ill-fated NHL bail-out to help Canadian teams deal with the sinking dollar.
-The cross-over stars, such as Ken Dryden who have taken up a seat in the House.
-The Richard riot, which had a ton of political causes and consequences.
-Countless photo opps, bets, tortured analogies, etc…
That’s all I got without cheating; a quick google search led me to this article with several anecdotes, including the time Brian Mulroney told off Eric Lindros.
