Winnipeg Jets will be without Blake Wheeler for weeks due to injury

The Winnipeg Jets will be without Blake Wheeler for the next little while after the team’s captain left Friday’s game with an apparent leg injury.

Wheeler was hurt during a collision midway through the third period.

Paul Maurice, the Jets’ head coach, said Wheeler will be out for weeks, not just days.

“Probably another three or four days until all the swelling will come down, we’ll have a better idea of how long it’s going to be,” he said at a news conference on Monday. “But it’s going to be weeks.”

Based on line rushes at Monday’s practice, forward Andrew Copp will move up to the top line, and defenceman Nathan Beaulieu will fill in on the fourth line.

Maurice said he didn’t call a forward up from the Manitoba Moose, due to a positive COVID-19 test on the team.

Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said losing Wheeler is a loss for the team – on and off the ice.

“Everybody’s going to have to step up,” he said. “We’ve found our game a bit more and we’re still working toward that, but 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 are set to host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Defenceman Neal Pionk will be in the lineup after serving a two-game suspension and clearing concussion protocols.