Winnipeg Jets Future Captain: Who Gets the Nod if Blake Wheeler Departs

The Winnipeg Jets have a captain. He’s an impending free agent, however. And while he’s not old, he’s not…well, young anymore. What happens to the Jets if he doesn’t re-sign?

I have complete faith in the Winnipeg Jets attempting to re-sign Blake Wheeler. He’s 31, sure, and he’ll be 31 in less than a week. That’s not old, though. He’s still got plenty left in the tank, evidenced by his career-high 91 points this past season.

But let’s say the Minnesota native decides he’d like to be closer to home and signs a huge deal with the Wild in the off-season. I doubt this happens, but hey, you never know. You gotta plan for the worst and hope for the best, right?

I think that saying applies in sports more so than anything else. So, the Jets will need a captain if Wheeler leaves. I mean, I guess you don’t need one, but you pretty much do. But who would get the nod? I have a few ideas.

The Big Defenseman

Big Buff! Who better than Dustin Byfuglien? He’s an emotional leader on the team, no doubt, and the captain of the defense, essentially. He drives the powerplay as well, and he’s already an alternate.

I think I’ve made a pretty convincing case. He’s been with the team since they were in Atlanta, so he knows the roster and coaching staff up and down. Buff can be an extension of the coaches on the ice.

The downside? Buff is 33, and he’s only signed for another two years after Wheeler. While he’d be my first choice, I’d understand if they wanted to go in a younger direction.

The Younger Alternate Captain

Well, the Jets do have two alternates, and one is just 25. Oh, and he might be the best player on the team. It’s hard to pick someone better than Mark Scheifele to lead the team in future seasons.

There’s no downside. Maybe his injury? I mean, it’s not like he’s been constantly plagued by injuries his whole career. He scores at an alarming rate, he took over the team in the playoffs.

Scheifele is signed long-term, through 2024, which is definitely a date that has robots in it. So, the world will have probably ended by then. We don’t have to worry about Scheifele’s free agency.

What we do have to worry about, however, is that I can barely spell his name. Byfuglien is an obstacle, too, but I have it on a t-shirt. I guess I’ll just buy a Scheifele shirsey. Or you guys can send me one, your call. Problem solved. Scheifele for captain!

The Kid

I would be remiss if I did not mention this. The most famous person on the Winnipeg Jets deserves a shoutout, here. Maybe he’s not the most famous, actually. Let me run a Google Trend. Okay, so I didn’t get the answer I thought I would.

Well, I guess it’s by far Byfuglien. I ran it with some other players and didn’t get the any better results. But by now you know I’m talking about Patrik Laine. The second overall pick. The elite slapshot.

The incredible goal-scoring ability. The disgusting, now-defunct beard. The playoff disappointment. Wait not that last one. We’ll ignore that one for now. But regardless, Patrik Laine is the big influencer on the team.

I’m assuming a guy like him sells tickets all his own. Laine does not have a long-term deal in place, however. I wouldn’t worry about that too much. The Jets will lock him up at some point, you can bet on it.

If Scheifele is named captain, maybe the nod doesn’t go to Laine. At some point in his career, though, I bet we see a C on Laine’s sweater.