Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Blake Wheeler

Blake Wheeler No Longer Captain Of Winnipeg Jets

at CDT | by 12 Comments

There have been rumors all offseason about big potential trades the Winnipeg Jets could make to change the dynamic of the team, and yet now with a few weeks to go before the season begins, not much has changed.

Today, however, the team did announce some interesting news regarding their leadership group. Blake Wheeler will no longer wear the captain’s “C” – in fact, no one will. New head coach Rick Bowness released the following:

It is the determination of the coaching staff that we will enter the 2022-23 season without a specific captain but rather a group of assistants still to be determined. It is our goal to expand the leadership base within our hockey team. We have high expectations for our core players and we want to provide them with the opportunity to step into those greater leadership roles as a group. 

Bowness and Wheeler will meet with the media together later this afternoon to discuss the situation.

The core of the Jets has remained intact over the offseason, with Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Connor Hellebuyck, and Josh Morrissey still the group that drives the team, making at least $6MM each and signed through 2023-24 (at least). Pierre-Luc Dubois, as important a player on the ice as any other, has been surrounded by rumor since he made it clear that a long-term extension wasn’t on the table. Dubois is signed through this season and is an arbitration-eligible RFA in 2023 but could reach the open market the following summer.

Wheeler, Schiefele, and Hellebuyck are all scheduled for UFA status in 2024.

Winnipeg Jets Exploring Market For Blake Wheeler

at CDT | by 18 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets are at a crossroads, after failing to even reach the playoffs in a season they were expecting to contend for the Stanley Cup. The team is without a head coach, has uncertainty regarding the next contract for Pierre-Luc Dubois, and is closing in on the end of long-term deals for two of their most prominent offensive pieces.

Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele are both scheduled for unrestricted free agency following the 2023-24 season, and while the latter may not be on the move despite some questionable comments, the team is apparently exploring the market on the former.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff explains that the Jets have begun to engage with teams on the possibility of moving Wheeler, and points out that the captain’s full no-trade clause will change on July 1, when he will have to submit a five-team list that he would accept a trade to.

Of course, Wheeler will also turn 36 later this summer and despite strong offensive results, has been criticized heavily in recent years for his overall contributions. The 6’5″ winger had just two goals through his first 30 games of this season, by which point the Jets were already well behind the pace and struggling to stay relevant. He did finish with 17 goals and 60 points total in 65 games but had poor defensive metrics once again, and relied heavily on easy deployment to find so much scoring success.

He also comes with a prohibitive $8.25MM cap hit for the next two seasons (though the actual salary owed is a bit lower than that), limiting the number of teams that could justify bringing him on without the Jets retaining some of the money.

Still, in the right situation, he can still be a strong contributor and perhaps be an option for a team looking to push over the top next season. It would be a drastic culture shift to see the team’s captain and long-standing cornerstone leave–Wheeler has been with the franchise since it still played in Atlanta–but there are winds of change blowing in Winnipeg after such a disappointing year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Central Notes: Jets Injuries, Toews, Holtby

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Jets will get a key player back in the lineup tonight as Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun relays that winger Blake Wheeler will return after missing the last three games due to an upper-body injury.  The veteran has overcome a tough start and has averaged more than a point per game in 2022.  Winnipeg still has an outside shot at a playoff spot and getting him back won’t hurt their chances.

However, the injury news isn’t all good as center Mark Scheifele did not accompany the Jets on their four-game Eastern road trip.  He sits second in scoring with 70 points and logs over 21 minutes a night so his absence will continue to be felt.  Meanwhile, rookie forward Cole Perfetti has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury sustained back in February, one that saw him suffer a setback the last time he tried to come back.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews hasn’t exactly hidden his disappointment with Chicago’s decision to embrace a rebuild. While he hasn’t requested a trade, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if it would be best for both sides to find a change of scenery for the center for next season.  Toews has one year left with a $10.5MM AAV and holds a no-move clause which will give him the chance to pick his next organization if they do decide to seek a trade.  Toews recently indicated he’d like to speak with GM Kyle Davidson on a regular basis to “know exactly what’s going on in some detail” which suggests he’s looking for some more concrete information about their plans before deciding what’s next for him.
  • The Stars have been without goaltender Braden Holtby for more than a month due to a lower-body injury and Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News relays that the veteran has yet to resume skating. Accordingly, head coach Rick Bowness acknowledged that Holtby may wind up being out for the season.  Scott Wedgewood has done well in his first five appearances since coming over to Dallas near the trade deadline and it appears that the backup job will continue to be his for a little while yet.

Snapshots: Bowness, Power, Wheeler, LaCombe

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Earlier this month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that Stars head coach Rick Bowness had a team option for next season on his contract.  However, in his latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Friedman clarified that this is not the case; instead, his contract is simply expiring following this season.  Dallas finds itself right in the thick of the battle for one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference and how they fare on that front will likely go a long way in shaping what direction the team wants to go.  That said, Bowness is 67 so there is a chance that he may not want to continue on in a top role anyway.  With no team option on his deal, there’s a real possibility that whatever direction they go winds up being a mutual decision.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • While Owen Power wasn’t in the lineup for the Sabres, the team plans to have the 2021 top pick make his NHL debut on Tuesday on Tuesday against Toronto, notes Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. That will allow the defenseman to get a full practice in with the team instead of going directly from Michigan to Buffalo’s lineup.  Power suggested he might get an opportunity to see some time on his off-side over their final few games as they will evaluate his ability to play on the right.
  • Jets winger Blake Wheeler won’t play in tonight’s game in Ottawa and is listed as doubtful for tomorrow in Montreal due to his upper-body injury, relays Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The captain has been quite productive since the start of February, collecting 34 points in 30 games and his absence certainly isn’t helping Winnipeg’s quickly-decreasing chances of getting into the final playoff spot in the West.
  • While the Ducks signed a key college prospect today when they inked Blake McLaughin, another of their NCAA prospects is still deciding whether he should turn pro or stay in school. Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports that defenseman Jackson LaCombe will likely need a few more days to decide if he’s going to return for his senior season with Minnesota.  The 21-year-old was a second-round pick of Anaheim back in 2019 (39th overall) and had 30 points in 39 games with the Golden Gophers this season.

Central Notes: Buchnevich, Wheeler, Wild, Kuemper

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich has been cleared from COVID protocol, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  As a result, St. Louis – who has had 21 different players unavailable due to positive tests in recent weeks – now doesn’t have anyone missing for that reason (though defenseman Scott Perunovich is out with an unspecified injury).  Buchnevich will be a welcome addition back to the lineup for the Blues as he sits tied for second in team scoring with 14 goals and 21 assists in 34 games.  St. Louis had an open roster spot so they didn’t need to make any corresponding roster move to bring him back onto the active roster.

More from the Central:

  • Jets winger Blake Wheeler could return to the lineup this weekend, reports Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe. The captain has missed nine straight games with a knee injury, an amount that could have been much higher had it not been for the COVID-related postponements.  Wheeler has only scored once in 22 games this season but had 16 assists which is still tied for third on Winnipeg despite missing more than a month.
  • Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link). He was injured blocking a shot a week and a half ago.  His pending return will be welcome with Jared Spurgeon expected to be eased back into the lineup; McLellan adds that it’s unlikely that the captain – who is working his way back from a lower-body injury – will play both ends of the upcoming home-and-home with Chicago.
  • While Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper left Monday’s game against Minnesota with an injury, he isn’t expected to miss any time, mentions Mike Chambers of the Denver Post (Twitter link). He’ll serve as the backup goaltender tonight and is slated to start on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Winnipeg Places Blake Wheeler On Long-Term Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets have been missing captain Blake Wheeler for more than a week with an undisclosed lower-body injury, but there had been no update on the club as to how long he might remain out. Context has now arrived, as the team has announced that Wheeler has been placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve. The Jets have recalled forwards Kristian Reichel and C.J. Suess to help backfill the forward corps in Wheeler’s absence.

Wheeler was initially injured on December 10 against the Vancouver Canucks in a collision in front of the net. Wheeler went down holding his knee and in obvious pain. The initial belief was that Wheeler could miss multiple weeks with the undisclosed injury and the move to LTIR would back that up that timeline, if not extend it.

Although Wheeler has only one goal on the season, far from normal for the experienced scorer, he still has 17 points in 22 games, making him the third-best per-game scorer for a Jets team that is struggling to meet expectations this season. Currently sitting in sixth in the Central Division and outside of the playoff picture, Winnipeg will be hard-pressed to turn their season around with Wheeler sidelined and will be hoping for a speedy recovery.

West Notes: Wheeler, Canucks, Athanasiou, Borgstrom

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While the Jets will be without their captain Blake Wheeler for a while, head coach Paul Maurice recently provided a positive update to reporters including Postmedia’s Scott Billeck, indicating that the winger won’t need to undergo surgery:

This is a rehab situation. He’s going to get, I don’t even know if it’s a second opinion, enough people have looked at it, they all agree, they all have a very good handle on what it is. They’ll let the swelling come down for three or four days.

Wheeler had been off to a tough start to his season in the goal department having only scored his first of the year on Friday, the game he was injured in.  However, he had chipped in with a team-leading 16 assists in 21 games.  While Winnipeg will get some short-term cap relief by transferring Wheeler to LTIR which would allow them to at least carry a full 23-player roster, the fact that the 35-year-old will return this season will prevent the Jets from going outside the organization to add a more prominent veteran to take his place.

More from the West:

  • The Canucks have made another addition to their front office, announcing the hiring of Derek Clancey as an assistant GM. Clancey had been serving as a pro scout for Calgary until today.  New team president Jim Rutherford has plenty of familiarity with the 52-year-old having worked with him in Pittsburgh from 2014 through to his resignation last season.  Clancey will be responsible for both the professional and amateur scouting departments.  Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston adds that two more assistant GMs could be added as Rutherford rebuilds Vancouver’s front office.
  • The Kings will be without winger Andreas Athanasiou for the next three games as he has been ruled out for the rest of their road trip, relays Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. It has been a tough year for the 27-year-old as injuries and a positive COVID test have limited him to just 11 games so far.  This time, it’s a lower-body injury for Athanasiou, who has been relatively productive when he has played with six points this season.
  • The Blackhawks announced that they’ve placed center Henrik Borgstrom on injured reserve with a non-COVID illness. The placement is retroactive to December 10th which means he could return as soon as Friday against Nashville.  The 24-year-old has had a quiet year since returning from overseas, notching just two goals and an assist in 17 games so far this season.

Blake Wheeler To Be Out For A While

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Friday’s game against Vancouver got off to a positive start for Jets captain Blake Wheeler as he picked up his first goal of the season.  However, it ended on a much worse note as he left the game early with a lower-body injury and following the game, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe that it’s not going to be a short-term issue:

It’s going to be a while. We’ll get him looked at tomorrow. I’m not a doctor, but it’s going to be a while.

We’ll get him healed up, we’ll find other players and we’ll find a way to do it without him.

Winnipeg isn’t scheduled to practice this weekend so a full update with an estimated timeline for Wheeler’s return won’t come until Monday at the earliest.

While the 35-year-old hadn’t scored until last night, he had still been one of their better point producers with his 16 assists leading the team.  Wheeler has still logged heavy minutes – 19:24 per game which is more than a minute higher than last season – which will make replacing him a little more difficult.

The Jets have basically used all of their allowable LTIR for Bryan Little and have still only been able to carry a dozen forwards on the roster, three of which have an AAV at or below the league minimum.  Assuming Wheeler will miss at least 10 games or 24 days, they’ll be able to add him to LTIR which will give them plenty of short-term cap space to recall a replacement forward.  However, trading for one will be out of the question unless he was to be ruled out for the rest of the season as they’d have to get back into cap compliance before being able to activate Wheeler.

Winnipeg only has eight forwards on NHL contracts that aren’t up with the team already.  The most promising of those is winger Cole Perfetti although he won’t be an option for a better part of a month following his loan to Team Canada for the World Juniors yesterday.  Most of their other options are basically only fits for the fourth line so Wheeler’s absence will be a tough one to overcome for a Jets team that is in a very tight battle in the Central Division.

Snapshots: Wheeler, Khudobin, De Haan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets could get quite the emotional boost tonight, as captain Blake Wheeler is expected to play in his 1,000th career NHL game Sunday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Winnipeg is just 4-5-1 in their last ten games and has fallen out of playoff position in the Western Conference, but they’re carrying some momentum after a chaotic 8-4 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Leafs, however, enter the game without the services of Mitch Marner for a second straight game and are on the second half of a back-to-back. Saturday night saw them erase a 3-0 second-period deficit against the Minnesota Wild but only took home one point with a 4-3 shootout loss. It’s an important game for the Jets and Wheeler, who’s yet to score a goal this season and has just 10 assists in 18 games. It’s a slow start for the normally consistent Wheeler, who’s had at least 15 goals in every season of his 14-year career. He enters his 1,000th game with 279 goals and 538 assists for 817 points.

Some more snapshots from around the NHL on this Sunday morning:

  • Coming in at No. 5 on The Fourth Period’s Trade Watch List 2021-22 is Dallas Stars goalie Anton Khudobin. Over the weekend, multiple reports appeared suggesting the Stars were actively trying to find a trade partner for the 35-year-old Khudobin. With just a 3-3-1 record and .873 save percentage on the year, he’s quickly becoming the odd man out in a crowded goalie situation in the Lone Star state. Offseason addition Braden Holtby is having somewhat of a renaissance season with a .927 save percentage in 10 starts, while up-and-comer Jake Oettinger has yet to lose this season and has a .951 save percentage in five starts. Oettinger began the season in the AHL but it’s becoming apparent that after a promising rookie campaign last year, he’s simply too good for a third-string role. Khudobin has two seasons left on his contract with a $3.33MM cap hit and has a four-team no-trade list in effect this season, per CapFriendly.
  • Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan also finds himself on that same Trade Watch List. Listed at No. 7, de Haan has no points in 21 games this season but has been solid defensively on a Blackhawks team that sits in the bottom-ten in the league in goals against. The 30-year-old has oft appeared in trade rumors, and as he’s in the final year of his contract with a $4.55MM cap hit, those won’t be quieting down anytime soon.

Blake Wheeler Clears COVID Protocol

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Oct 27: After ten days away from the team, Wheeler has cleared the protocol and rejoined the Jets at their morning skate today.

Oct 18: The Winnipeg Jets had Blake Wheeler for Saturday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks, but may not have him for tomorrow night’s matchup against the Minnesota Wild. That’s because he’s been placed in the COVID protocol, though no other information was released from the team.

As a reminder, inclusion in the protocol does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list–which actually won’t be released for the first time until tomorrow–are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.

In this case, it would be a huge blow for the Jets to lose their captain for any length of time, but especially when they’re off to such a poor start. The team is 0-2 on the year and has scored just four goals, one of them coming from fourth-liner Jansen Harkins. Wheeler himself has registered just three shots on net and one assist through two matches, despite averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time.

He also happens to be a Minnesota native who hasn’t had the chance to play in his home state for quite some time, thanks to the realigned divisions last season. If he’s held out, it would be an unfortunate outcome not only for Wheeler and the Jets but also many of the fans that were hoping to see him suit up at home. He has not yet been ruled out for tomorrow’s game.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top