The Winnipeg Jets made a rather shocking decision on Friday afternoon. And for the first time since their return to the city, they will not name a team captain.
The Jets announced on Friday the team will move forward without a captain for the 2022-23 season. This move means the team stripped the captaincy from their longest-tenured player, Blake Wheeler.
Head coach Rick Bowness, who the Jets hired in July, told the media the team would have a group of alternate captains instead. The team has not decided on the group of alternate captains as of now.
“There was some surprise, I think,” Wheeler said Friday. “Having the kind of year [the Jets had], the first conversation with the new coach was surprising. But I've had time to let it sink in, so he gave me a little headway. I've had time to process it.”
The move surprised many, not just Wheeler himself. One name taken aback by the Jets' decision is Mark Scheifele, Wheeler's teammate.
“Obviously, it was a shock to me,” Scheifele said Friday. “Blake Wheeler has been the captain of this team for so long. He's a guy we've all looked up to, we all model ourselves after. We all still look up to him.”
However, despite the shock, the move isn't all bad. Scheifele believes there is a real opportunity now for a new voice to step up in the locker room.
“Obviously, it's going to be weird with him not actually having the ‘C,' but I think it just gives the opportunity for more guys to step in and feel like they're able to talk,” Scheifele said.
Rumors of issues within the Jets locker room were heightened at the end of last season. This move may be the first step in resetting the culture within the locker room.
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