Wheeler blocked a shot, which hit him in the groin, forcing the former captain to undergo surgery as a result. Wheeler finished the game, much to the awe of his teammates.
Schmidt received a hard hit from Predators forward Tanner Jeannot in Thursday night's OT win for the Jets, which took him out of the game.
Schmidt's timeline is roughly 4-6 weeks, but Bowness made sure to include that the defenseman cleared concussion protocol. Wheeler, on the other hand, will likely miss more time after a successful surgery.
This news is a serious blow to the Jets, who have surprise many with their strong opening leg of the season. Winnipeg currently sits 2nd in the Central Division behind the Dallas Stars and third in the Western Conference. Wheeler's 26 points is T-4th on the team and Schmidt's +6 is also T-4th on the team. Their collective absence inserts two sizable holes in the Jets' lineup at a key point of the season.
Hopefully both undergo speedy recoveries.
POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 17 | 207 ANSWERS Jets Head Coach Announces Two Key Players to Miss at Least a Month Who will win the Central Division? | ||
Dallas Stars | 50 | 24.2 % |
Winnipeg Jets | 52 | 25.1 % |
Minnesota Wild | 57 | 27.5 % |
Colorado Avalanche | 48 | 23.2 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
Conference | Cumulative |