Wheeler opens up

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2024 (316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Blake Wheeler always seemed to have his game face on, whether he was lowering his left shoulder to make a powerful net-front drive, firing a perfect cross-ice saucer pass to a teammate or intensely staring down a media gallery.

So it was jarring — and dare we say refreshing — to see the former Winnipeg Jets captain let his guard down and really open up in a significant way this past week during a fascinating podcast appearance which felt more like listening in on a therapy session.

It was raw, reflective and, at times, remorseful.

“There were definitely teammates who’d say ‘This guy is too much. He’s cranky all the time, he’s in a bad mood.’ And I own that, for sure,” Wheeler said during the nearly 75-minute chat with his personal leadership coach, Dan Leffelaar of Novus Global Sports.

The Minnesota product, who was a Jets 2.0 original coming over from Atlanta really let loose as he discussed having the “C” stripped off his sweater prior to the 2022-23 campaign by incoming head coach Rick Bowness, who had been brought in by the organization to fix what was viewed as a dysfunctional locker room culture.

“My first instinct was to take the bait of being the victim. I just got screwed,” the 38-year-old confessed. “Embarrassed probably doesn’t do justice how I felt. I felt humiliated. I felt like everyone was staring at me. Every day, honestly, was hard.”

Wheeler said the decision really cut deep because he’d spent the previous few months working on himself, with the help of Leffelaar.

“I don’t think you had done much thinking on how your actions may have been impacting others, even though your intentions were full of care,” Leffelaar told him.

The pair had been introduced by another former Jets captain, Andrew Ladd, who was also a guest on the Your Finest Hour podcast titled How NHL Captains Build Unbreakable Teams. Wheeler was named captain in 2016 after Ladd was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I was in a real bad place and I became somebody who I was not proud,” Wheeler said of seeking out professional assistance, noting he was having panic attacks before games and professional issues were now seeping into his personal life.

“That was the worst year in a lot of ways for me.”

At Leffelaar’s urging, that led to a series of candid chats Wheeler had with Jets teammates during the summer of 2022 in which he was trying to right some admitted wrongs with the idea of becoming a better leader.

“And then the rug gets pulled out from underneath,” Wheeler said of Bowness’ decision.

“I was pissed off,” Ladd said of seeing the development from afar. “You’ve had this person in your organization who is actively working, like ‘Hey, how can I become a better leader for this group?’ And then he didn’t even get the chance to implement that.”

Fortunately, Wheeler said the progress he’d made with Leffelaar gave him the tools to stickhandle through the situation. He knew that, once his career was over, “How I handled this would dictate whether I was proud of this moment or ashamed of it.”

“When the most challenging moment of my career and life at that time happened, I was equipped with tools to handle it in a way that I can be proud of,” he said.

Wheeler ultimately had 55 points in 72 games and was bought out of the remaining year of his US $8.25 million contract in the summer of 2023, ultimately signing a one-year deal for league minimum with the New York Rangers.

It’s clear that when it comes to regrets, Wheeler has more than a few of how he handled situations with some of his former Jets teammates.

“I always felt like I was looking around the room and trying to be like ‘Come on, somebody else, please say something.’ And it always ended up being me having to say something,” he said.

“My teammates weren’t entering into that conversation willingly, mostly because I probably wasn’t doing a good enough job of allowing them to, even though that’s what I really wanted the whole time.”

There’s no question Wheeler played the game the right way, and he felt that gave him plenty of runway when it came to being a captain.

“You bust your ass, every practice, every game, all the time, and then you can say whatever you want,” is how he described his mentality at the time. Learning that it didn’t always play well with several teammates was a bitter pill to swallow.

Wheeler repeatedly stated it was never personal with him, but always out of what may have been a flawed approach to try to get the best out of everyone with the ultimate goal of capturing a Stanley Cup — something the Jets came close to doing in the spring of 2018 only to take multiple steps backwards which had an impact on him.

“I was thinking about this 24-hours a day, being the captain of the Winnipeg Jets,” he said. “How can I be better? How can I make our team better? From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, everything was structured around that.”

Wheeler suffered a gruesome leg injury last season in his 54th game with the Rangers after putting up 21 points (9G, 12A). He returned just in time for one playoff game in the spring but was a healthy scratch the rest of the way. Although not officially retired, it would appear his playing days are over.

“My body, can I still go play a hockey game? Hell, yeah. I can still play,” he said. “It’s just the emotional (aspect), to get up 82 times. I don’t want to do that. There’s only so much gas in the tank for that.”

Wheeler is now coaching all three of his children’s hockey teams while also enjoying plenty of quality time with his wife, Sam, at their home in Florida.

AROUND THE GLASS

CAPTAIN CANADA: Jets forward prospect Brayden Yager was named captain of Team Canada on Thursday for the upcoming world junior hockey championship in Ottawa.

After Yager impressed at his first Jets’ trade camp following the trade for Rutger McGroarty — last year’s American World Juniors captain — Jets head coach Scott Arniel talked to him about being the best player on his team as he returned to junior and playing a leadership role for Canada.

“The other side was when he was going to get a chance to go play for Team Canada, that you’re playing against some of the elite of the elite there in junior hockey or college hockey from around the world, and try to be the best,” said Arniel.

“And now to have that responsibility of being captain, that’s an honour and something for him to kind of grasp and be proud of and hopefully they have great success.”

Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo isn’t surprised to see Yager flourishing this season.

“When he was here at camp, you could tell he’s going to be a good player in this league. Once he gets the time and the opportunity to do so,” DeMelo told the Free Press on Friday. “So, he’s gone down there and done a great job in junior and being rewarded with the C on team Canada, that’s a great honour for any young Canadian boy.

“Growing up you always dream of playing on team Canada and being a captain and doing all that. He gets to be the captain on team Canada in Canada so that’s pretty cool. I’m really happy for him and I’m sure (Yager) and the team will have a great tournament.”

HOLIDAY HOCKEY: The other big holiday hockey tournament is the annual Spengler Cup, and the Canadian squad which was revealed on Friday includes a trio of players with local puck ties.

Winnipeg’s Madison Bowey, who has 158 NHL games under his belt and is playing this season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, will be one of the blue-liners. Former Jets skaters Sam Gagner and Logan Shaw will be part of the forward group.

Winnipeg’s Kurt Keats is serving as the manager of hockey operations, while long-time University of North Dakota bench boss Dave Hakstol will serve as an assistant coach to Gerard Gallant.

The event begins Boxing Day in Switzerland.

LAINE WATCH: After being held off the board last Saturday night by Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, old friend Patrik Laine is now up to six goals and seven points in seven games since returning from a knee injury he suffered during the second game of the pre-season.

That includes a hat trick earlier this week against the Buffalo Sabres.

“He’s got six power play goals in seven games, it’s pretty impressive. You just know that as soon as that puck is going over from one side to Paddy’s side of the ice, it’s going in the back of the net,” said Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers, a close friend and longtime linemate of Laine.

“Luckily, we had a pretty good goalie stopping those ones against us. But it’s good to finally see him back playing and you can see him having fun and the fans in Montreal are embracing him, which is what he loved here. That’s awesome to see and I’m excited for him.”

ROOKIE WATCH: With just a few days to go before the holiday break, the chase for the Calder Trophy appears to be heating up.

The Jets have got a close look at a couple of the prime candidates for the top rookie, with Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens serving as opponents during the past week.

Celebrini and Hutson went into Friday’s action tied for second in rookie scoring with 22 points.

Hutson scored his first NHL goal against the Jets last Saturday and he’s up to 21 assists, while Celebrini has 11 goals to go with 11 assists despite missing 12 games due to injury (including a goal and assist against Winnipeg on Tuesday).

Leading all rookie scorers is Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov, who has 11 goals and 27 points in 31 games this season. Michkov will make his one and only appearance of the regular season at Canada Life Centre on March 1.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld