Jets' Wheeler, Schmidt out multiple weeks
Published
Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness told reporters Saturday that forward Blake Wheeler and defenceman Nate Schmidt will each miss multiple weeks.
Bowness said Wheeler had surgery on Friday and will be out four weeks. The 36-year-old was injured in Thursday's victory over the Nashville Predators after being hit in the groin by a shot from teammate Josh Morrissey. Wheeler left the game in the second period but returned for the third, though he was not at Friday's morning skate and did not travel with the team for their two-game road trip against the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken.
The Plymouth, Minn., native has nine goals and 17 assists in 29 games played so far this season.
Meanwhile, Bowness said Schmidt is on injured reserve and will miss four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Predators' forward Tanner Jeannot on Thursday. Bowness said Schmidt cleared concussion protocol.
The 31-year-old has three goals and three assists in 31 games so far this season for the Jets, his second in Winnipeg.
The Jets (19-9-1) sit second in the Central Division entering play Saturday.