Blake Wheeler named next captain of the Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff explains the club's decision to name Blake Wheeler as their next captain.

The Winnipeg Jets have named Blake Wheeler as the next team captain. The team had been without one since Andrew Ladd was traded to Chicago before last season’s deadline.

Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien will serve as assistants.

Wheeler, 30, was the fifth overall pick in the 2004 Draft by the Coyotes and was acquired by the Jets/Thrashers franchise from Boston in a 2011 trade (along with Mark Stuart) for Boris Valabik and Rich Peverley.

Wheeler is coming off a season in which he played all 82 games, scoring 26 goals and 78 points.

Scheifele and Byfuglien finished second and third in team scoring last season, with 61 and 53 points respectively. Scheifele was drafted seventh overall by the Jets in 2001, while Byfuglien was acquired by the Thrashers in 2010. He signed a five-year, $38 million contract extension earlier this year.

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