West Notes: Wheeler, Canucks, Athanasiou, Borgstrom

While the Jets will be without their captain Blake Wheeler for a while, head coach Paul Maurice recently provided a positive update to reporters including Postmedia’s Scott Billeck, indicating that the winger won’t need to undergo surgery:

This is a rehab situation. He’s going to get, I don’t even know if it’s a second opinion, enough people have looked at it, they all agree, they all have a very good handle on what it is. They’ll let the swelling come down for three or four days.

Wheeler had been off to a tough start to his season in the goal department having only scored his first of the year on Friday, the game he was injured in.  However, he had chipped in with a team-leading 16 assists in 21 games.  While Winnipeg will get some short-term cap relief by transferring Wheeler to LTIR which would allow them to at least carry a full 23-player roster, the fact that the 35-year-old will return this season will prevent the Jets from going outside the organization to add a more prominent veteran to take his place.

More from the West:

• The Canucks have made another addition to their front office, announcing the hiring of Derek Clancey as an assistant GM. Clancey had been serving as a pro scout for Calgary until today.  New team president Jim Rutherford has plenty of familiarity with the 52-year-old having worked with him in Pittsburgh from 2014 through to his resignation last season.  Clancey will be responsible for both the professional and amateur scouting departments.  Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston adds that two more assistant GMs could be added as Rutherford rebuilds Vancouver’s front office.
• The Kings will be without winger Andreas Athanasiou for the next three games as he has been ruled out for the rest of their road trip, relays Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. It has been a tough year for the 27-year-old as injuries and a positive COVID test have limited him to just 11 games so far.  This time, it’s a lower-body injury for Athanasiou, who has been relatively productive when he has played with six points this season.
• The Blackhawks announced that they’ve placed center Henrik Borgstrom on injured reserve with a non-COVID illness. The placement is retroactive to December 10th which means he could return as soon as Friday against Nashville.  The 24-year-old has had a quiet year since returning from overseas, notching just two goals and an assist in 17 games so far this season.