Rick Bowness hasn't tip-toed into Winnipeg.
In a move resembling the infamous leadership shakeups in San Jose, the Winnipeg Jets have stripped Blake Wheeler of his captaincy, choosing to enter the season with a leadership core exclusively made up of assistants.
Wheeler will presumably still be one of those assistant captains as an enduring member of the leadership base, but the Jets and Bowness would not go as far as confirming that with their press release.
"It is the determination of the coaching staff that we will enter the 2022-23 season without a specific captain, but rather a group of assistants still to be determined," Bowness stated.