“I was definitely shocked. I didn’t see that coming,” Scheifele told Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek during a recap of the 32 Thoughts podcast. “Blake is a really good friend of mine and I just want to be there for him and the team.” Scheifele, a longtime alternate captain and powerful voice in the Jets backroom, was tipped off by Wheeler that changes might be coming, and new coach Rick Bowness called him early Friday to break the news before the club issued a statement. “It is the determination of the coaching staff that we will enter the 2022-23 season without a specific captain, but rather a yet-to-be-determined group of assistants,” Bones said in the release. “It is our goal to expand the leadership base on our hockey team. We have high expectations for our core players and we want to provide them with the opportunity to take on these larger leadership roles as a team.” When Scheifele returns from his Players Media Tour duties near Las Vegas, he will take part in a weekend getaway to the Jets before the start of training camp next week. Certainly, there will be plenty for players to discuss. “You just want to talk to the guys and get their thoughts and see how they feel. We all have to work on it together. And we’re all here for Blake, and we’re all here for the team,” Scheifele said. “He’s been a guy that I’ve looked up to, learned a lot from, grown up with in my 10 years in Winnipeg … Blake has been the leader of this team for so long.” Scheifele said he did not volunteer to take over as captain because he has too much respect for Wheeler. But letter or not, he wants to help assemble a disorganized team that missed the playoffs in 2022 for the first time in five years. “I definitely see myself as a leader. I think we have a lot of leaders on our team. Me and Josh I think [Morrissey], we are younger. We have a little bit of a different voice, so I think that gives other guys a chance to step in, and I think it’s not going to be just one or two guys. I think it should be collective.” Scheifele named Nikolai Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Connor Hellebuyck and Adam Lowry as other key members of “a really tight room” that can help get the group back on track. “We have so many kids on this team that have big voices. It’s not like it’s not a man thing. It’s a matter of everyone doing it together and everyone being on the same page,” Scheifele said. “I think that’s how this team should be driven.” After the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention in the spring, Wheeler said he took responsibility for the disappointing season. “Well, I think I’ll have to take responsibility for that. It’s been my job to build the culture here and I’m very proud of that over the years,” Wheeler said. “I definitely look in the mirror at that, and where we’ve been, the team we were and the team we are now – I’m not hiding from that at all. I certainly take responsibility for where this team sits. “Hopefully we have a locker room full of guys that do the same thing. Like I said, I’ve tried to build it into something we can be proud of, something that can be a championship level every year. And when you come up short on that you have to take responsibility for it.” Scheifele publicly questioned the direction of the Jets after the campaign and had a two-hour meeting with GM Kevin Cheveldayoff during which he sought clarity on the organization’s plans. Scheifele — who has two more seasons left on his contract — says he hasn’t asked for a trade, however. “I was obviously very disappointed with the year and the way things went,” he said. “So I was very honest at the end of the year. Maybe a little too honest in terms of media talk. “I was disappointed with the year, so obviously when you get angry and emotional, it’s something that gets you down. “I feel like I’m in the prime of my career and I want to be part of a winning team.”
