On the last day of the NHL buyout for the 2022-23 season, it appears that it also the last day of Blake Wheeler as a Winnipeg Jet. According to Darren Dreger, the Jets are currently processing Wheeler’s contract buyout. There is already interest for the veteran forward out there.
“There will be a number of teams with interest in signing the veteran as a free agent, including the Dallas Stars.”
This is another significant move coming to Winnipeg after forward Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded to the Los Angeles Kings earlier this week. In the past month, Wheeler had become an obvious buyout candidate for the Jets, which is another hard blow to the veteran forward, who was stripped of the captaincy prior to the start of the season.
The forward is coming off a 55-point campaign and there were clear signs that he has worn out his welcome in Winnipeg. After the team was called out by head coach Rick Bowness in May, Wheeler reacted to the head coach publicly bashing his players, implied the head coach had been dishonest, and suggested that his comments would have been better received had they been delivered in private.
Last summer, the Jets attempted to move Wheeler but failed seeing they refused to retain a portion of the now 36-year-old’s $8.25-million salary.
This all lead to the current buyout, which would count $2.75 million against the cap for the next two seasons. Today is the last day NHL teams can buy contract outs this offseason.
With this buyout in Winnipeg, there is no more original Atlanta Thrashers remaining with the team from their move in 2011.
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