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Higher Standard - Dec. 10 2018 - Vol. 72 Issue 6 - Jared Clinton
NOT ONCE OVER THE course of Brooks Laich’s 13-season NHL career did he pull on a Winnipeg Jets jersey, but if they haven’t already done so, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Jets’ front office should consider sending Laich a fruit basket or a thank-you card. After all, in a roundabout way, it’s Laich who helped spark Blake Wheeler’s superstar turn.
It happened during a 15-second span of heart-in-your-throat hockey on Nov. 17, 2011, in Winnipeg. Midway through the second period, Laich, then with the Washington Capitals, fired a shot high and wide during a shorthanded break. The resulting loose puck was corralled by the Jets’ Bryan Little, who made an up-ice pass that was scooped up by a hard-charging Wheeler. The 6-foot-5 winger proceeded to blow by one defender, fight through another and slip the puck past netminder Michal Neuvirth.
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That goal, Wheeler’s first of the season in the Jets’ 19th game of their inaugural campaign in Winnipeg, is a moment he pinpoints as a turning point in his career without even the slightest hint of hesitation. Before that goal, Wheeler admitted, he was battling through one of the most difficult stretches of his career. “It was my chance to grab onto a top-six role, play a big role, and I found myself playing on the fourth line,” Wheeler said. “Things weren’t going well. It was a real shot in the gut. You had to look in the mirror and figure out how you’re going to get out of it. I started working harder than I ever had and had some success doing that.”
EACH YEAR YOU GAIN A BIT MORE WISDOM ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON. FOR ME, I FEEL LIKE I STILL HAVE ROOM TO GROW
– Blake Wheeler
That’s a modest assessment of his play, to say the least, as that first goal in a Jets uniform at age 25 seemed to unlock something. Over the remainder of 2011-12, he scored 17 goals and 57 points in 62 games. And from the time of that goal against the Capitals through to the start of 2018-19, only seven players – Jamie Benn, Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin and John Tavares – have outscored Wheeler, who has 165 goals and 471 points in 515 regular-season games over that span.
Wheeler, 32, sticks out among that group. For one, he’s without a doubt the most underrated and least heralded of the bunch. But he’s also the only one who rose to stardom with a team other than the one with which he broke into the NHL. In February 2011, Wheeler was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers by Boston as part of a cap-clearing deal that allowed for the acquisition of Tomas Kaberle from Toronto.
Months later, Wheeler was headed north as part of the franchise’s relocation. Moving twice in such a short span could have shaken the then-25-year-old, but Wheeler said going from Boston to Atlanta and onto Winnipeg happened “at the right time in my career.”
“It gave me an opportunity, which is half the battle sometimes,” Wheeler said. “I was able to make some mistakes and grow into myself. I’m fortunate that I’ve had the type of people around me that we have here supporting me and giving me what I need to make myself a better player.”
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But as good as Winnipeg was for Wheeler’s growth as a player, it’s also the primary cause of his relative anonymity among the game’s elite. Winnipeg is Canada’s smallest NHL market and far removed from the bright lights of media megalopolises such as Toronto, New York and Boston. The local pressure exists, but the national and league-wide spotlight shines elsewhere. Not that Wheeler cares. “That’s why a lot of people find this place attractive,” he said. “It’s guys that really don’t care about the glamour, the fame, the stardom.”
Be that as it may, his accomplishments haven’t been lost on those who’ve watched him develop, and the rest of the league is taking notice, too. That started around the time the Jets made the no-brainer decision to stitch the ‘C’ to Wheeler’s jersey ahead of 2016-17, which came complete with a nomination for the Mark Messier Leadership Award last season.
And with free agency looming and on the heels of some late-season chatter of Hart Trophy candidacy, the Jets rewarded Wheeler with a five-year, $41.25-million pact that kicks in next season. To some, it’s seen as a risky contract, one that will pay top dollar to a player soon to enter his mid-30s. Stoically, Wheeler dismissed those concerns. “Each year you gain a bit more wisdom about what’s going on, how it works and what gives guys success,” Wheeler said. “For me, I feel like I still have room to grow, and as long as I keep working to realize that, I expect to continue to get better.”
And how does Wheeler plan to do that? “I can’t tell you my secrets,” he said with a smirk.
His play the past several seasons says it all. The secret is already out.
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