Winnipeg Jets Strip Captaincy From Blake Wheeler

The Winnipeg Jets have taken the ‘C’ off of Blake Wheeler’s chest, with the club announcing Friday morning that they will not have a captain during the 2022-2023 season.

In a statement tweeted by the Jets’ PR department, head coach Rick Bowness stated that the club would elect a group of assistant captains instead.

pic.twitter.com/VF7Uwrtefg

— Winnipeg Jets PR (@WpgJetsPR) September 16, 2022

Wheeler, 36, has been the Jets’ captain since the 2016-2017 season. He joins the likes of Jack Eichel, Dustin Brown, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau as star players who were stripped of their captaincy in recent years. When Murat Ates of The Athletic asked at today’s noon press conference why Wheeler is no longer captain, Bowness cited lots of change happening under the Jets’ hood.

“We changed the coaching, we’re going to change the way we play. We’re changing the way we do things. That’s all. A lot of changes are good. Sometimes, changes are good,” Bowness told Ates and other assembled reporters.

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The news comes on the heels of an offseason where Winnipeg explored the idea of trading Wheeler, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Servaelli. Speculation of turmoil within the Jets’ locker room has run rampant for a while now, as reports of a divided group date back to the 2018-2019 season. Wheeler himself mentioned on more than one occasion that his leadership style may not have always brought the best out of his teammates.

Here is #NHLJets captain Blake Wheeler's lengthy answer to colleague @WFPJasonBell, who asked him if he accepts any responsibility for how things played out with Patrik Laine not being happy with the situation in Winnipeg and wanting a trade. #wfp pic.twitter.com/5nu0NXKwbM

— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) January 23, 2021

At the tail-end of their disappointing 2021-2022 season, several Jets players voiced concerns about a lack of accountability within their room.

Once again Paul Stastny speaks his mind about what was wrong with the Jets this season. While he never mentioned any names I can’t help but think he’s talking about Mark Scheifele pic.twitter.com/uTdcMFD8YX

— Joe Pascucci (@Pascucci015) May 1, 2022

Less than two weeks after those comments, James Patrick, head coach of the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, said on a local podcast that former Jets forwards Cody Eakin and Kevin Hayes said they hadn’t been in a worse dressing room than Winnipeg’s.

Wheeler is under contract with the Jets for the next two seasons (8.25M AAV).