It’s a good thing Jeff Stoughton never actually said he had retired.
The two-time world and three-time Brier champion from Winnipeg will return filling in at third on former teammate Reid Carruthers’s club during the upcoming Princess Auto Elite 10 in his hometown.
Stoughton, 54, took a step back from competitive curling — but didn’t call it quits — following the 2014-15 season. He’s since worked for Curling Canada’s mixed doubles program and assisted Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris in capturing gold at the Pyeongchang Winter Games last month when the discipline made its Olympic debut.
It’s not even the first comeback in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling for Stoughton, who also competed in the Princess Auto Elite 10 last season skipping the special Select squad with greats Dave Nedohin, Nolan Thiessen and Jamie Korab. They qualified for the playoffs but lost to Carruthers in the quarterfinals.
Stoughton has won four Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles including the 2013 National when Carruthers threw second stones for his team. Carruthers, who also earned Brier and world titles with Stoughton in 2011, branched out four years ago to skip his own squad with third Braeden Moskowy, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson.
Carruthers announced Tuesday on social media Moskowy has left the team. The decision is effective immediately as Moskowy also posted he’s sustained a broken ankle and will miss the remainder of the season.
The Princess Auto Elite 10 begins Thursday at St. James Civic Centre.