Staying in shape is a must during the pause and Wheeler has had to get creative. A mini home gym that includes an exercise bike has allowed he and Sam to stay in shape and a little respite during all the time spent indoors.
"Obviously in Winnipeg during the winter there's not many options. So we kind of loaded up some stuff within the last year here and it's an hour for us to get away from all the other duties you have around the house," said Wheeler.
"We kind of give each other an hour to do what it is. I mean I find half the time I'm lying on the ground in silence to try and figure things out. Just trying to stay ready just in case you get the call that things are going to come back."
The Jets were on a roll before the NHL paused and had won four-straight contests including a 4-2 win in Edmonton the day before the season came to a halt. Wheeler liked a lot of things about his group and felt confident about their position.
"We were kind of playing shorthanded a lot of the year and I think finally towards the end there we were finally starting to get healthy. We finally had our D healthy and some of our guys up front got heathy. Our goaltender (Connor Hellebuyck) was playing out of his mind. Helly gave us a chance to hang in there and stay within striking distance of the wild card," said Wheeler.
"We were starting to string some wins together and it was nice. It was nice to have a full lineup and kind of see what type of team we had. I think we were trending in the right direction. So regardless if we ended up making the playoffs, we gave ourselves an opportunity and we had something to play for. So that was exciting."
There was one portion of the call where each player was asked about what they don't miss about playing against one another. Parise said that all Wheeler does when playing against the Wild is put up points, while Benn joked he asks the Jets' skipper to fight every time they face one another.
"There was one game I think we faced off against each other and he asked me to fight 20 times," smiled Wheeler.
"Third period of a tie game and he's (Benn) like 'Are we going?'"
In a world of physical distancing, Wheeler was asked which teammates he would like and dislike to be quarantined with. His neighbour, Luca Sbisa, is his top choice.
"He's the man. We kind of chat over the fence, whether just having a beer," said Wheeler.
"We've kind of just kept each other company."
As for the teammate he'd least like to be in quarantine with - Jack Roslovic.
"Rosie's apartment hasn't been cleaned and I don't think he's cooked in it ever," joked Wheeler.
"He talks a lot too. Rosie's the best, I love hanging out with Rosie but I think an extended stay might be kind of a wild card too."
Each player was asked to send a message to their respective fan bases in light of the pandemic - Wheeler said he felt that the people in Manitoba were taking things seriously right from the get-go and gave a shout out to those on the front lines.
"Sam and I have some friends that are doctors or are in the medical field. The amount of work those guys have right now, it's around the clock. Obviously can't thank them enough for everything that they're doing here," said Wheeler.
"We just got to take care each other. The more that people take it seriously, especially earlier on, the shorter it's going to last. The more you can flatten the curve. And it's the shortest amount of time and then you can start to hopefully get back to a normal, normal routine, but for the time being like these guys said, just take care of one another and try to enjoy the time that we do have with our families. You know, hopefully we can get back on the ice sooner than later."
