Wheeler injury not a disaster

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This article was published 13/12/2021 (1416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The good news: Blake Wheeler’s injury doesn’t appear to be season-ending. The bad news? It’s definitely going to be season-shortening for the Winnipeg Jets captain.

“He’s still getting tested. We’ll just say this is weeks and not days,” coach Paul Maurice said following Monday’s practice at Canada Life Centre for his 13-9-5 club. “It’s probably another three or four days while all the swelling will come down and (we’ll know) how long it’s going to be. It’s going to be weeks.”

Wheeler, 35, went down in a heap last Friday night in Vancouver after teammate Nathan Beaulieu slid into his legs during a chaotic scramble in front of the Jets net. His knee buckled awkwardly, and he was clearly in pain as he slowly limped off the ice. Winnipeg is expected to place the veteran winger on long-term injured reserve.

“You’re going to miss the player, for sure. But having him around and knowing he’s going to be back at some point is a good thing,” said Maurice.

As a result of losing Wheeler indefinitely, plus forward Riley Nash being claimed on waivers by Tampa last week, the Jets are down to just 11 healthy forwards on their roster right now. That’s not even enough to form four lines. And that’s going to remain the case when they open a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, due to circumstances beyond their control. Plans to call up a player from the Manitoba Moose were thwarted when a skater on the farm tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. That means help is not on the way, at least not quite yet.

“Because of that, we want to make sure that we get everybody tested a bunch of times throughout the Moose, so that we’re not bringing in somebody that we’re not sure of,” said Maurice. “I wouldn’t expect that by (Tuesday). We’re healthy here, we have enough guys and we’re going to want to make sure on this one and make sure that there’s a test (Monday) and there will be another test (Tuesday). We might be able to do that later in the day (on Tuesday) but we won’t do it until we are sure (there are no Covid-19 issues).”

David Gustafsson, the leading scorer on the Moose, is the leading candidate once the all-clear is received.

“He’s under consideration for that and he’s played very well. (AHL coaches) are real happy with his game,” Maurice said of the 21-year-old Swedish skater, who could also potentially fill Wheeler’s absence on the penalty kill. “He would fit. There’s a place for him for that role, for sure.”

After a sluggish start to his season, Wheeler had heated up as of late. He’d recorded points in five straight games (one goal, nine assists), including a goal and two helpers against Vancouver prior to the injury.

“It kind of feels like that’s always how it happens, when you start to get on a roll, things like that can happen,” said Jets forward Andrew Copp. “I’ve seen it enough times where you’re not necessarily, it’s not like an ‘Oh, crap’ moment but, obviously, we’re going to miss him. It’s up to other guys to kind of fill the void and make the most of the opportunity. But everyone is going to have to step up.”

The Jets have had to shuffle their lines in Wheeler’s absence, with Copp getting promoted to the top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. Paul Stastny then moved up to take Copp’s spot on the second line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers. Adam Lowry, Jansen Harkins and Kristian Vesalainen are the third line, while Dominic Toninato and Evgeny Svechnikov are the other two forwards for now.

“We played one game together this year against Minny and it went really, really well for us. Those two have been really hot, just try and add what I do to the line and hopefully, they kind of continue their success and build on it,” Copp said of filling in, just as he did back on Oct. 19 when Wheeler tested positive for COVID-19 and was ultimately sidelined for five games. Scheifele would then join him a couple days later with the same diagnosis.

“I felt like we were playing pretty fast, especially through the neutral zone. We had a couple of breakout goals, just guys kind of filling lanes and putting the puck in the net. And then some really good offensive zone shifts in terms of just our layers and ability to stay on the puck and then our ability to make tight plays that we were able to finish on. I feel like if we play fast, just kind of not overthink it, kind of read off each other and fill those lanes, I feel like that kind of leads to us playing fast and we can have some real success.”

Dubois, who is second on the team in scoring behind Connor, said the group is going to have to dig deep to find another gear with Wheeler sidelined.

“It’s a big loss, on the ice and off the ice,” he said. “Obviously the captain, that line has been playing really well for us. It’s going to be a big loss, but we’ve got a lot of talent in this locker room. It’s not going to be just one guy stepping up, it’s going to be everybody having to step up. We’ve found our game here a bit more, we’re still working towards that. To fill in his boots, it’s going to take the whole team to contribute, not just on the ice but off the ice, too.”

The Jets went 4-0-1 in the games Wheeler missed.

“It’s just going to be another opportunity for everybody to step in and fill his shoes until he comes back,” said Dubois.

The Jets did get some help on the injury front Monday when Neal Pionk participated in the 45-minute skate without any issues. He suffered a concussion on Dec. 5 after a blow to the head courtesy of Toronto’s Jason Spezza, who was suspended for six games. Pionk missed the last three contests, although he wouldn’t have been eligible to play the first two due to a suspension he was given for a knee-on-knee hit against Maple Leafs defenceman Rasmus Sandin, who was injured on the play.

Pionk is expected to return to the lineup against the Sabres, and Maurice said they will dress seven defencemen to make up for the temporary shortage up front.

Winnipeg is currently one point below the playoff line in the crowded Western Conference. They’ll also welcome Washington (Friday night) and St. Louis (Sunday afternoon) before back-to-back games in Nashville and Dallas next week to close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg