Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler suffered a ruptured testicle in a game last month

Yes, you read that headline correctly.

Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler suffered a ruptured testicle after inadvertently blocking a shot by teammate Josh Morrissey during a game against the Nashville Predators in December.

The former Jets captain hasn’t suited up since that game on December 15, which he ultimately returned to finish despite the injury. He has nine goals and 26 points in 29 games with the resurgent Jets this season.

“Well, there’s a difference between being hurt and being injured. I didn’t know I was injured until the next day,” Wheeler told reporters on Thursday.

“It’s something I don’t want to go through again and wouldn’t wish on anyone, but I just feel really grateful that our medical staff and the doctors we have in town took good care of me and [were] able to get everything taken care of and back as soon as I was able to.”

Wheeler is the longest-tenured Jets player, having been a member of the organization since its last year in Atlanta. The 36-year-old forward replaced Andrew Ladd as team captain in 2016 but was stripped of the captaincy just prior to the 2022–23 season.

His current contract, which carries an $8.25 million NHL cap hit and both a no-movement clause and a modified no-trade clause, runs through the end of the 2023–24 campaign.

Despite missing three weeks of action with his extremely painful injury, Wheeler still ranks fifth on the 2022–23 Jets in scoring. He’s one of four Jets players — the others being Nikolaj Ehlers, Cole Perfetti, and Nate Schmidt — hoping to return from injury for Winnipeg this weekend.

Through 38 games this season, the Jets currently rank second in the NHL’s Central Division with a 24–13–1 record and 49 points. They’ll return to action, with Wheeler expected to play, to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday evening.