Kyle Connor “shocked” by decision from Rick Bowness

The Winnipeg Jets have themselves a new captain for the first time since Blake Wheeler's captaincy was stripped by coach Rick Bowness in 2022. 

Though it came as a surprise to many, the Jets named forward Adam Lowry as the third captain in team history after Wheeler and the recently retired Andrew Ladd. Wheeler has since moved on from the Jets, now under contract with the New York Rangers.

But for forward Kyle Connor, he admitted to being "shocked" that Bowness made the call to name a new captain at all. 

“That’s exactly what I said,” Connor said Thursday. “He called us in the summer, and I told him pretty flat-out. I was like: ‘I’m pretty shocked that we’re naming a captain.’ I think they had their mind made up.”

“He still was our leader,” Connor said of Wheeler. “So that’s the only, I guess, reason for maybe not appointing a captain, would be to see how that locker room changes without having Wheels in it. But that was my only piece.”

In Connor's mind, Lowry was the correct choice to have the "C" on his sweater this year and that he had "no problem" with the decision.

“He brings it to the table,” is how he put it. “He’s genuinely a nice individual, gets along with everybody. So I can see the choice. And obviously this fan base loves him. The way he plays really embodies this organization, this city. So no problems with that. I thought it was a great choice.”

Did the decision by the Jets to name a captain for the season come as a surprise to you as well? 

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