Wheeler, Schmidt Out at Least a Month

The Winnipeg Jets have added another two names to their ever-growing injured reserve. Already without Nikolaj Ehlers, Mason Appleton, Logan Stanley and Saku Maenalanen, head coach Rick Bowness announced on Saturday that Blake Wheeler and Nate Schmidt have also been placed on the injured reserve following injuries suffered against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. The team actually put Schmidt on the IR on Friday, but coach Bowness specified his upper-body injury following Saturday's skate, indicating he would be out at minimum four weeks, but as many as six as he recovers after clearing concussion protocol following a high check to the head by Tanner Jeannot. “That’s hockey, he didn’t see him coming,” Bowness said of the check that finished Schmidt's 2022. “He’s a big guy and Nate didn’t see him coming, clearly. He’s fending off one guy and another guy comes out of nowhere.” “This is not a concussion,” Bowness clarified. “This is an upper-body injury. It has nothing to do with a concussion.” Later in the game, Blake Wheeler took a puck to a very sensitive region and missed the remainder of the second period. He did, however, return to play in the third period, to which his coach and fellow players offered their praises. “He’s one tough cookie,” Bowness said Saturday morning. “I give him one hundred percent a lot of credit for coming back to play in the third period, like he did. He’ll play through everything. This is something that had to be dealt with, so it’s dealt with, and we need him to have a speedy recovery and get him back on the ice, and in the room, as quickly as we can.” The Jets' bench boss said that Wheeler underwent surgery on his groin and will be out at least a month as he recovers from the Josh Morrissey point shot that hit him as he battled for position in front of Predators' netminder Juuse Saros. “I thought he was fine once he came back to play,” linemate Mark Scheifele said on Saturday. “I was like ‘Ok, he got through the worst of it.’ Obviously that wasn’t the case, but for him to gut it out and play the last period, that took some serious balls. “He’s a warrior and he’s played through just about everything under the sun. To see him come back and play the third shows his pain tolerance. It sucks to be missing him right now but hopefully he has a good recovery and he’s back in no time.” The Jets will now be without Nikolaj Ehlers, Mason Appleton and Blake Wheeler within their top-six forwards, meaning elevated roles for Cole Perfetti, Michael Eyssimont, Sam Gagner and newcomer Karson Kuhlman - whom the Jets claimed off Waivers from the Seattle Kraken earlier this week. Winnipeg will take on the Vancouver Canucks at 9:00 PM central time on Saturday evening before travelling to Seattle for a 7:00 PM tilt at Climate Pledge Arena.