Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele won’t play vs. Nashville Predators due to illness

The Winnipeg Jets announced via social media that forward Mark Scheifele will not play in Wednesday night’s game vs. the Nashville Predators due to an illness.

The announcement was made just a half hour before puck drop.

Scheifele, who turns 31 on Friday, has been a force offensively for the Jets, scoring a team-leading 57 points (19 goals and 38 assists) while missing six games this season. No other forward on the team has eclipsed the 50-point mark for Winnipeg.

Now in his 13th season, all with the Jets, Scheifele has 291 goals, 411 assists and 702 points in 781 career NHL games. He fwas the first player drafted by the Jets after the team relocated to Winnipeg, taken No. 7 overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

In 2022-23, he scored a career-high 42 goals, and has hit the 20 goal/60-point mark in each of the past eight seasons.

Before the season, both Scheifele and netminder Connor Hellebuyck signed seven-year extensions with the club, keeping them with Winnipeg through the 2030-31 season.

The Jets are battling for first place in the Central Division with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. Going into Wednesday’s game, Winnipeg is 41-18-5 with 87 points, second in the division. They’re 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, winning 3-0 in a dominant performance over the Washington Capitals on Monday.

After Wednesday’s game, the Jets finish their three-game homestand with two games over the weekend, hosting the Anaheim Ducks on Friday then facing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.