Jets ink more than deals

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This article was published 11/02/2016 (2994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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IN a dressing room teeming with testosterone and machismo, you can imagine the trash talk that could be directed toward a teammate sporting a tattoo of a Looney Tunes cartoon character.

Just ask Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault.

The native of Drummondville, Que., who is diminutive by the standards of professional hockey players, thought it would be a good idea when he was 15 to get a tattoo, so he asked his mom if it was OK. She said it was his decision, but he’d have to live with it. A few hours later, he came home with an image of the Tasmanian Devil on his lower stomach, just above his right hip.

“I get (trash talked) all the time,” the 28-year-old said with a laugh. “It was the cool thing to do back then, get a Looney Tunes character.”

When asked by a photographer if he’d show off the handiwork, Perreault obliged, hiking up his shirt and lowering his hockey pants.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s pretty bad.”

Perreault would much rather talk about his second tattoo, a wristband featuring a skull he got after taking a trip to Hawaii with his wife, Jennilie, during the all-star break a couple of years ago. She got a matching wristband with flowers.

The undisputed godfather of tattoos in the Jets dressing room, however, is Drew Stafford.

Much of the Jets’ leading scorer’s upper body is covered with various kinds of art, some of which he designed himself. That includes a Japanese theme, but he also pays tribute to his family and his high school, Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn.

“I’m a fan of the work itself. Tattoos are fascinating. It’s quite an experience to sit through it. It’s a reminder of certain parts of my life,” he said.

Aside from rolling up his short-sleeved shirt, however, Stafford wasn’t going to put it all on display for a reporter and a couple of photojournalists.

“I’m not going to take my shirt off for you guys. That’s kind of creepy and weird, but we can talk about it,” he said.

Anthony Peluso had no such reservations. The rugged winger sports a couple of Chinese characters on his chest that symbolize perseverance — which he got after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament a few years ago — as well as a tribute to both his dad and grandfather. One is in English: “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for you are with me,” which is something his dad used to say to him when he was younger. And the other is in Italian, which translated says, “Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.”

“Everything I put on my body has a special meaning to me. On a personal level, that’s how I think tattoos should be. Every time you look at them, it should remind you of something and do something for you internally,” he said.

The latest Jet to join the fraternity is centre Bryan Little, who has an anchor and compass on his left arm as well as his favourite Led Zeppelin lyrics: “Though the course of time may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea.”