Blake Wheeler’s days in Winnipeg are numbered!
This is what insiders expect to take place shortly:
HockeyFeed
Significant changes are coming to Winnipeg this summer, especially since the Jets were eliminated in the first round of the postseason by the Vegas Golden Knights and the players were called out by their head coach Rick Bowness. There have been talks on a potential Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, goalie Connor Hellebuyck not looking to sign long-term with the Jets and now news emerge on former captain Blake Wheeler as his days are said to be numbered in Winnipeg.
"I’ve heard Blake Wheeler’s days in Winnipeg are numbered. Still a chance he moves but most likely option is a buyout,” reports Steve Dangle on social media.
Wheeler has become an obvious buyout candidate for the Jets, which would be another hard blow to the veteran forward, who was stripped of the captaincy prior to the start of the season.
While Wheeler is a standout candidate seeing that he is coming off a 55-point campaign, there is a strong feeling that he has worn out his welcome in Winnipeg. After the team was called out by 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. These are all signed it could lead to a buyout, which would count $2.75 million against the cap for the next two seasons.
TSN's Darren Dreger also pointed on Wednesday that there was some trade interest in Wheeler out there.
While a more likely buyout would be the ultimate blow to Wheeler, the longest-tenured player in Jets 2.0 history, but after all, it may be what everyone involved needs for a new start.
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