WINNIPEG — The Schenn brothers have put their parents in a bad spot — but in a good way.
Older brother Luke and his Winnipeg Jets will take on Brayden and his St. Louis Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the schedule yet to be announced.
It’s the first time the Saskatoon-born siblings will compete in the NHL playoffs for opposing teams. They’re the 37th set of brothers to go head-to-head in the league’s history, according to NHL Stats and Information.
It will create a bit of a dilemma for their parents' cheering strategy.
"I think they’ll be pretty neutral," Luke said with a smile Wednesday morning before the team wrapped up the regular season at home against the Anaheim Ducks at night.
"They're not going to be wearing jerseys. I don’t see them ever wearing a jersey to the games. I don’t know, maybe my dad will be switching between a Jets and a Blues hat every TV timeout or something like that?"
The Blues and Jets are pitted against each other in the best-of-seven series after St. Louis (44-30-8) clinched the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference on Tuesday night.
The Jets are the top seed after recording the franchise’s first conference and Central Division titles, as well as winning the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the NHL (55-22-4 before the Anaheim game).
"We talked this morning on the way to the rink," the veteran defenceman said of Brayden. "Just congratulated him on getting in. It's not something that we were hoping and wishing for (to go against each other).
"I was joking around with him earlier, if I was still in Nashville I'd be cheering for the Blues. Obviously, things have totally changed and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this group heading into the playoffs."
Luke was acquired by the Jets at this season’s trade deadline from Pittsburgh, two days after the Nashville Predators had shipped the 35-year-old to the Penguins.
He and Brayden, the Blues’ 33-year-old forward and captain, talk almost every day and have been each other’s biggest supporters, but the cone of silence will soon fall over their phones.
"Played with one another in Philadelphia in the playoffs, but never against each other," Luke said. "I think as far as communication goes, we'll get through tonight and then, yeah, probably not chat much, or at all, once the playoffs start."
Luke also received texts from their two younger sisters and numerous friends and family.
"I think everyone’s got the same opinion, just how the heck did this happen?" he said. "Because you draw this up, even a month ago, in terms of I, obviously, didn’t believe that I was going to be traded to Winnipeg.
"And at the time, (Brayden) was potentially going to be traded at the deadline and the Blues were on the outside looking in (at a playoff berth). So a lot had to happen in order for this to happen."
The brothers played together with the Flyers for four seasons from 2012-13 through part of 2015-16 before Luke was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
They both suited up for their 1,000th NHL game this season — the first pair of brothers in NHL history to reach that milestone in the same season.
Luke has won the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Brayden claimed his first one in 2019 after a run that included the Blues eliminating the Jets in six games in the opening round.
"When we play each other, we’ve both got the same goal in mind," Luke said. "Opposing teams, so it’s going to be a huge battle out there."
Jets head coach Scott Arniel didn’t want to talk about the playoffs until their regular season ends, but he acknowledged the unique scenario with the brothers.
"We'll talk about it in the next few days, but it's special for them," he said.
Tying up loose ends
Jets forward Alex Iafallo is going into the playoffs with a three-year contract extension that carries an average annual value of US$3.67 million, the team announced Wednesday. He had been a pending unrestricted free agent.
Iafallo was traded to Winnipeg in June 2023 along with Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Karpari as part of a deal for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Iafallo has been playing on Winnipeg’s top line in place of Vilardi, who will miss his 11th game and is day to day with an upper-body injury.
“It's been a fun, fun year and I just wanted to stay and I’m pumped to get it done before playoffs,” Iafallo said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2025.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
