"It Really Doesn't Change a Whole Lot" - Josh Morrissey on Blake Wheeler's Departure

For Josh Morrissey, the summer of 2023 was one of rehab and productivity, but by all accounts, it has lingered around far more than any member of the 2022-23 Winnipeg Jets squad would have liked. 

If you happen to have forgotten, Morrissey hurt his knee just a few minutes into the first period of Game 3 of the Jets' opening round playoff matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights, forcing him out of action for the remainder of the postseason. 

Already down Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers at the time, Winnipeg lost fellow forward Mark Scheifele the following game. The team never quite regained the momentum it had built in Game 1, and dropped four-straight to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas - a feeling that still stings the 28-year-old blueliner. 

"I was given a four-to-six return-to-play timeline," Morrissey said when speaking with Jim Toth and Cam Poitras on the Jets at Noon radio show on Wednesday. "But it was the worst time of the year to get injured, given that you play all season to have an opportunity to play in the playoffs. For me, we were coming home with a split after two games and to get hurt first shift of Game 3 on a fluky little play was frustrating."

As for his knee? Everything is back to normal. His summer training, however, has been quite rigorous. 

"For me, personally, it’s been lots of rehab early in the summer," Morrissey shared. "But I feel one hundred percent; I feel great. It’s been a good summer, but I’m ready to get back at it."

Just the news that Jets fans want to hear from their breakout defensive star.

Putting up 16 goals and 76 points in 78 games for Winnipeg, the Calgary, AB. product absolutely crushed his previous career highs, setting the wheels in motion for what many are hoping to be a follow-up season of similar numbers. 

Although not expecting his offensive totals to change, his role within the dressing room very well might. 

With general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff opting to buy out the final year of former captain Blake Wheeler's contract, the lone remaining Atlanta Thrasher on the roster has signed elsewhere, as a new leadership group will look to take over the reins in 2023-24. 

"It really doesn’t change a whole lot," Morrissey said when asked by Poitras about Wheeler's departure to New York. "I mean, he was a great leader for us for a long time, certainly a guy who was the captain during my entire time so far in the NHL. Those things happen; guys get traded, guys retire or move on or anything like that. Wheels was a huge part of the leadership group last season and obviously before that, so there is more opportunity for guys to step up and collectively we need to do that."

Having served as an alternate with the Jets the past four seasons, Morrissey has certainly been in the running for the captaincy - or should we say, the captain's 'C' - ever since second year head coach Rick Bowness boldly entered the picture last July, stripped Wheeler of his letter and told Morrissey he expected to hear his name in the Norris Trophy conversation at season's end.

So far, half of that has come true. 

According to Morrissey, the core group of players making up the Jets' leadership team are entering their prime. Thus meaning 2023-24 could be a make it or break it season. But as for the actual captaincy, Morrissey says a number of options are in play.

"There is a big contingent of guys who have come into the main parts of their career now on our team," he added. "I think guys are ready for more, ready to step up into those more prominent leadership positions - whether it’s guys wearing letters or not. So, I think it is that guys are ready for that. It’s just part of the process of the NHL as the years go by and the maturation of players and teams. That’s just the natural evolution of the game."

Also out of the picture this season will be Pierre-Luc Dubois, to whom the Jets dealt to Los Angeles in the late-June blockbuster. But with the three roster players coming to Winnipeg in return, Morrissey sees a boatload of potential and some fresh talent. 

"Obviously, Blake and Dubie are great players," Morrissey told Jets at Noon. "Certainly I feel that with the group that we had for quite a while, we were in the mix a number of times and had a good roster and good teams, but just didn’t really get over that hump and achieve what we wanted to or perform to the level of expectation that we had of ourselves. 

"I’m excited about the opportunity this year. We have a refreshed group and some new faces, I think our depth is really going to be a strength of our team and overall, I look around the locker room and there is a bunch of us now who are heading into the prime ages of our careers. We’ve got some great young players and some great veteran leaders as well. I just feel that there are a lot of ingredients of a great hockey team."

Also, according to Morrissey is the often overlooked detail of learning a brand new set of systems and playing style, like the team dealt with at training camp last fall. This year, everything should be much easier to pick back up. 

"Talking to guys this summer, I think that everyone is excited," he said. "Looking at our coaching change last offseason, it’s now our second year under the staff, they know us a lot better, and certainly we know them and the systems. Yes, there will be some tweaks, but it’s not all brand new on Day 1 of training camp. So, I think we will be able to build and grow our team game this season and overall, I’m really excited about it."