The Winnipeg Jets announced that they have locked up Captain Blake Wheeler to a 5-year contract extension that holds an $8.25 million AAV.
As reported by TSN's Darren Dreger, this adds to an already big summer that saw Jacob Trouba, Adam Lowry, Connor Hellebuyck and now Blake Wheeler re-signed to contract extensions. However, it's not over yet as Josh Morrissey is still without a contract for this upcoming season. This should not be an issue though as the Jets still have an estimated $10.2 million in available cap space this upcoming season.
The number may seem daunting to some but if you look at his resume it may ease some minds. Over the last 5 seasons, he has played more than 80 games in four and in the one season he didn't, he played 79 games. He has also never scored below 60 points over that stretch and in fact has scored more than 70 points 3 times over that stretch. Even more reassuring, Wheeler hit a career high in assists with 68 and points with 91 this past season. These placed him among the league leaders, in a tie with Claude Giroux for first in assists and placed him in ninth for points.
NEXT: WINNIPEG JETS EXTEND CONOR HELLEBUYCK
The only real problem that could be posed for the Winnipeg Jets is Wheeler’s age. Time and time again, teams have locked-up players in their 30’s to massive deals that usually end up coming back to bite them. This may make some people cautious about this deal, but luckily this is only a five-year contract as opposed to an eight-year maximum. As well, Wheeler has a long history of being healthy as stated above. A recent comparable player may be Jason Spezza who signed a four-year deal $7.5 million deal in 2014 which kicked-in during the 2015-16 season. The first two years of this deal saw Spezza put up 63 points in 75 games the first season, and 50 points in 68 games the next. Last season is where you saw a decline, in 78 games played he only scored 26 points. For the once consistent 90+ point getter, this is a massive drop-off.
Winnipeg Jets fans can only hope that Wheeler can continue being consistently healthy and that his production does not take a dip like Spezza. As the Captain of their team, he clearly plays an important role both on and off the ice and will be needed to help guide the young Jets squad if they hope to bring The Stanley Cup back to Canada.
