After 13 seasons with the team, it appears Blake Wheeler has played his final game with the Winnipeg Jets. The team is working to buy out the final year of Wheeler's contract and he will become a free agent once he clears waivers, according to Darren Dreger.

Wheeler was traded to the Jets in February 2011 when the franchise was still the Atlanta Thrashers. He is the franchise's all-time leading scorer, having recorded 812 points in a franchise-record 897 games. Wheeler was the captain of the Jets for six seasons from 2016-2022 but was stripped of the captaincy by new head coach Rick Bowness before last season.

During Wheeler's 13 seasons with the team, the Jets made the Stanley Cup Playoffs six times, winning three series. They reached the Western Conference Final in 2018, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Wheeler totaled 38 points in 40 playoff games with Winnipeg.

Wheeler was set to have a cap hit of $8.25 million next season. That will be reduced to $2.75 million across the next two seasons with his buyout.

Though he'll be 37 years old when the season starts in October, Wheeler should still have plenty of suitors on the open market given his leadership skills and his continued production. After back-to-back 91-point seasons, Wheeler tallied 226 points in 258 games across the last four seasons. Dreger reports that the Dallas Stars will be one team interested in the veteran winger.

This likely isn't how Jets fans envisioned Blake Wheeler's tenure with the team ending, but he is a franchise legend that is sure to be honored in one way or another once he retires.