Not cleared for takeoff: Jets wait on Duluth tarmac before flying home

Blake Wheeler surely would have enjoyed an evening in his hometown to visit with family.

But consider it a business trip for the Winnipeg Jets captain.

The one benefit of flying in on the morning of Game 3 of the Jets’ opening-round series with the Minnesota Wild is that he didn’t have to shovel the driveway at his parents’ place.

The Jets were unable to get to the Twin Cities on Saturday because of a snowstorm that caused all kinds of travel issues. The team attempted the trip and spent some unplanned time in Duluth, Minn., before getting back in the air and returning to Manitoba.

“We got a little tour of northern Minnesota, got to touch down in Duluth, Hermantown area, spent a couple hours there. It was a long day, but ultimately we can’t control everything,” Wheeler said.

“We’re pretty spoiled the way we travel, so got to spend a little bit of extra quality time with the guys and slept in our own bed last night, so not all bad.

“It’s status quo. Luckily it was a close flight, a quick one, so you know, no different, our routine stayed the same (Sunday).”

The only difference was that the Jets didn’t hold a morning skate, which is more of an optional thing come playoff time.

The Jets understood they might not be able to land in Minnesota, but it was worth a shot — even if the journey ended up with a lot of spare time on the tarmac.

“It wasn’t bad. The nice thing is it’s a short flight Winnipeg to Minnesota, so that was the reason we tried to get in,” Paul Stastny said.

“We have a short flight. We got here early, got good prep in, got a good nap. Could have been way worse, right? Rather be safe than sorry. Conditions like this, you don’t want to risk it.

How did the players pass the time?

“The Wi-Fi wasn’t working because we landed, so a lot of guys were using their hot spots,” Stastny said. “Guys were playing cards and watching hockey afternoon games and watching the basketball games. A few different guys used their hot spots to turn the games on.

“Guys were kind of hungry, so once we ran out of food, everyone was roaming around, just hanging out with each other.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice insisted the travel woes were a non-issue.

“We’re here. We’ve got all our gear. We’re fine,” Maurice said on Sunday afternoon. “The whole point of having a routine is so when an aberration comes up, you’ve got a good place to go. So we’re in our routine now.

“We got to the hotel, did our meetings.

“We’ll have our normal routine tonight, so that part’s fine. You play in the Western Conference, we’ve got a one-hour flight to our first playoff game, that’s about two-and-a-half hours shorter than what we did four years ago, so there’s your time in Duluth. This is easy travel.”

The Wild weren’t expecting to gain any sort of competitive advantage because of the Jets’ long travel day.

“It’s overblown. It’s playoff hockey and they’re going to be ready,” Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said.

“It’s all about the will and Winnipeg has will right now. This travel thing is a non-issue as far as I’m concerned.”

The results Sunday may have proved Boudreau wrong. The Jets got out to a brief 1-0 lead, but trailed 2-1 after the first intermission and 6-2 after the second.

The Wild gave its players the opportunity to stay in a hotel around the rink on Sunday afternoon rather than driving home and risking any issues with travel.

“The option is there. Most of them have taken the option,” Boudreau said.

“The other ones probably live close enough that they don’t need it.”