Winnipeg Jets Captain Blake Wheeler Enters NHL COVID-19 Protocols – Winnipeg | The Canadian News

Captain Blake Wheeler is entering the NHL’s COVID protocols, the Winnipeg Jets said Monday afternoon.

Before the start of training camp, the Jets announced that they were a fully vaccinated team. And in accordance with the NHL and NHLPA protocols on COVID-19 announced last month, with respect to any fully vaccinated player who tests positive, their illness will be treated as a “hockey-related injury” under the collective bargaining agreement.

The Jets 0-2 practiced at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Monday, where they will wrap up a three-game road opener season tomorrow night against the Wild.

Wheeler had an assist in Winnipeg’s first two games of the season, and led all forwards with 21:20 of total ice time, including 3:29, the team’s best, while the Jets fell short on the Saturday’s 4-3 loss in San José.

The Jets captain is in his fourteenth season in the NHL and has only missed 12 games during his 10-plus years in Winnipeg, with six of them during the 2020-21 pandemic shortened the schedule.

There was no immediate word from the team on who could replace Wheeler in the lineup for Tuesday’s game, or how long he could not play.

4:19True North prepares for the Jets’ home opener