Jets honour Hawerchuk greatness, memory with special statue

WINNIPEG — Crystal Hawerchuk told a crowd of hundreds of people how much her late husband, Dale, loved the city and the province before the official unveiling of the statue of the greatest Winnipeg Jet of all time just outside of the Canada Life Centre on Saturday afternoon.

“Now, he is home again,” Crystal said.

Then, 16 former Jets teammates unfurled the cover over the statue to much whooping and applause.

“Dale was notified of this honour shortly before he died and he was humbled by it,” said Crystal, who is a Winnipeg native. “He led with a purpose. He inspired us all to be better people, he supported many charities, and he gave our family a beautiful life.

“Thank you to everyone for making this statue a reality.”

Hawerchuk, who lost a battle to stomach cancer in 2020 when he was only 57, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, had his No. 10 retired by the franchise in 2007, and was inducted into the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame in 2017.

Hawerchuk, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie in 1981-82, posted five straight 100-point seasons over his nine years with the Jets and was the third-youngest player to score 50 goals in a season. He also played for Buffalo, St. Louis and Philadelphia. He scored a total of 518 goals and 1,409 career points in 1,188 career NHL games.

“This was so incredible,” said Dale’s son, Eric Hawerchuk. “First of all, my mom’s speech was pretty unbelievable. She recited it to me a couple times. I know she was pretty nervous. But she got up there, she’s a natural, right?

“It was very emotional. I kind of prepared for it, but just to see the sheer size of it and the attention to details is kinda hard to put it into words. But, I’m so proud of him and to see this here and to