Former Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton scored what proved to be the game-winning goal against his former club as part of the Detroit Red Wings' 2-1 victory on Wednesday evening.
The Detroit Red Wings closed out the calendar year of 2025 with a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena, capturing their sixth win in their last seven contests on home ice.
First-year forward Mason Appleton, a former Jets forward who signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings during the offseason, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for his new club during the opening 20 minutes of play.
Appleton converted on a centering pass from teammate J.T. Compher and got the puck to roll past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck as defenseman Luke Schenn tried in vain to intervene.
Does scoring against one's former club feel good? According to Appleton, it absolutely does.
"Yeah, a lot," Appleton said with a beaming smile. "It feels good. It was obviously a funny goal on how it went in, but yeah, it feels good to score against your old team."
When asked if there was any chirping against his former teammates, Appleton acknowledged the realities of the competition on the ice but also said that he'd be sure to bid them goodbye on their way out of the venue.
"There was more friendly banter beforehand, and then as the tensions heated up a bit, it gets more quiet, and you start hating each other a bit, but, I'll go say bye to them all, and we'll be fine."
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The Red Wings signed Appleton to a two-year, $5.8 million deal after he'd tallied 10 goals with 12 assists in 71 games played with the Jets last season.
Appleton, a 2015 pick (166th overall) by Winnipeg, spent the majority of his career with the franchise, with a brief stop in Seattle in their 2021-22 expansion campaign before he was eventually traded back to the Jets.
He represents a crucial need for secondary scoring for Detroit, a point that head coach Todd McLellan emphasized as essential for the overall success of the club.
"It's important," McLellan said of Appleton's offense. "Mason Appleton is an important part of our hockey club, and we missed him when he wasn't in the lineup. For a lot of things that, maybe you don't even see on the ice, he's really good on the bench and in the locker room. I said it earlier in the year, you can tell that he's been around winning teams, because he has winning habits."
"The way he speaks, the way he talks, the way he carries himself. That can rub off on other players, too."
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