Former Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler has announced his retirement from professional hockey. On Saturday, the 38-year-old made the rumours official, with his retirement following 16 years of play with the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers. Photo by James Carey Lauder/USA Today [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a4e61cc4-49df-4fc4-b0a1-bbabac5180a6.jpeg] Photo by James Carey Lauder/USA Today The veteran forward had the final year of his contract bought out by the Jets two years back, to which he then signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers. He suffered a gruesome leg injury that season, but returned for the playoffs. "More or less, right after last year knew I was all done," Wheeler said on Jets at Noon on CJOB with Jim Toth and Cam Poitras this week. "I just haven't felt like a rush to like make a formal announcement or anything. But yeah, after my injury and kinda the way things ended last year, I just didn't have anything left in the tank for it. So yeah, I was at peace with it almost immediately after last year and yeah, l'm just enjoying being a dad and kinda slowing things down a little bit, and being around my family." Wheeler - most notably with the Jets - played 1,172 games over the course of his career, totalling 321 goals and 622 assists for 943 career points. He served as captain in Winnipeg from 2016-22, but had his leadership role stripped upon the hiring of Rick Bowness during the 2022-23 offseason. Selected fifth overall in the 2004 NHL Draft by Phoenix, Wheeler never signed with the Coyotes, opting to force the team to trade his rights to Boston, where he began his career. He was dealt from the Bruins to Atlanta just before Boston went on to win the Stanley Cup. With the Jets, Wheeler remains the franchise's all-time leader in points, assists and games played. He is a two-time NHL all-star and will go down as one of Winnipeg's most influential players over the course of the two franchise club's history.
