Photo Credit: Kijiji / Anonymous

One of the more unorthodox traditions in Winnipeg hockey history has been unearthed once again, in a way that might surprise you. The oversized portrait of Queen Elizabeth II appears to be up for grabs, and of all places, it has re-emerged on Kijiji.

From the listing:

While I’m a big fan of letting the current Jets be their own team without force-feeding the past, it still surprises me a little that the organization hasn’t been able to find a home for this portrait. It was previously placed in storage in Ontario between 2002 and 2015, before CN executives Jamie Boychuk and Michael Cory purchased it and moved it back into a local warehouse.

Prior to that, it hung in the rafters Winnipeg Arena between 1979 and 1996. The tradition didn’t make much sense, as the British Monarchy doesn’t exactly have a connection to the team and the photo didn’t even quite look like the Queen, but it was accepted and beloved by fans nonetheless.

While the MTS Centre supposedly doesn’t have room for it, I feel it would be a nice gesture by TNSE to place the art piece somewhere in their upcoming True North Square complex, perhaps in one of the new towers. With construction not projected to be complete for at least another two years for most of the buildings, though, there may not be enough time.