Saskatchewan MLA seen hawking Jets tickets says they were for a friend

A Saskatchewan member of the legislature who was spotted hawking tickets outside a Winnipeg Jets game said he purchased them for a friend who was unable to make it.

Dressed in a white Jets shirt and sandals, Ken Cheveldayoff was photographed holding a sign that said “Buddy can’t make it… Taking offers” outside Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg before Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday. The image was later shared on social media.

His brother, Kevin Cheveldayoff, is the National Hockey League team’s general manager and is originally from Saskatchewan.

“I personally paid for these tickets for friends that were planning on using them as a Mother’s Day gift. Before the game, my friend called last minute to say they wouldn’t be able to make it with their Mom to the game,” Cheveldayoff said in an emailed statement to The Canadian Press.

“As these tickets wouldn’t be used, I sold them at below face value before attending the game.”

In Manitoba, selling a ticket for a price greater than its cost is illegal.

Cheveldayoff, the member of the legislative assembly for Saskatoon Willowgrove, previously was a candidate for the Saskatchewan Party leadership after former premier Brad Wall announced his retirement from politics.

People on social media were shocked to see the image of the politician — arms crossed with sunglasses on his head — holding the sign outside the event.

One Twitter user asked, “Has the #Saskatchewan Gov’t fallen on hard times?”

The Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Jets with a 2-1 win on Sunday to take the series 4-1.

—By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. The headlines in an earlier version incorrectly called Cheveldayoff a minister