On a team that includes a pair of former top-two draft picks who could be primed for breakout performances, the New York Rangers’ biggest wild card for the 2023-24 season might be a 37-year-old who’s entering his 16th year in the NHL while working on a one-year contract worth less than $1 million.
That would of course be right wing Blake Wheeler, who comes to the bright lights of Broadway as something of a reclamation project after 12 seasons on the Canadian prairie. Such terminology might be a bit harsh and inaccurate, though, considering the Minnesota native recorded 55 points in 2022-23, his final season with the Winnipeg Jets.
Wheeler was a star hiding in plain sight in Winnipeg, his profile naturally low in the small media market that is the capital city of the province of Manitoba. Averaging 83.5 points from 2015-19 was somewhat overlooked as a consequence of playing there, although there was little doubt about Wheeler’s impact amongst his fellow players and NHL observers and media.
Wheeler’s days as an elite point producer and distributor (an NHL-leading 68 assists in 2017-18) are probably behind him. His still-productive but unspectacular performance last season might have been indicative of a top player whose skills are beginning to erode, yet is still able to put up some numbers during that process.
So why consider the possibility that Wheeler might have more than expected left in the tank, perhaps a chance to exceed his 2022-23 point total this season? Maybe because a change of scenery, a cliche often used as a reason why a declining player can somehow recapture his past magic, could actually be meaningful here.
Wheeler’s Escape From Winnipeg Could Revitalize Him
Wheeler has been freed from what appears to be a difficult situation in Winnipeg, with a loaded but underachieving Jets roster failing to make it past the second round of the playoffs over the past five seasons, exiting in the first round twice in that span. Stripped of his captaincy after six years by new coach Rick Bowness during training camp last year, the club bought out the final year of Wheeler’s contract in June, getting the Jets out from under his $8.25 million salary-cap hit but taking on dead-money hits of $2.75 million each of the next two seasons in order to do so.
It’s difficult to say exactly what went wrong in Winnipeg for a team that appeared to be less than the sum of its formidable parts – whether it was an issue of chemistry, leadership, perhaps a staleness of the roster, or a combination of several factors. All that matters to Wheeler now is that he’s on to the next chapter – one that he seemed more than a little bit excited over after choosing the Rangers’ one-year, $800,000 pact over other offers July 1.
“Awesome,” Wheeler said when asked to describe Madison Square Garden. “I remember my first game at MSG, I was playing for the Bruins at the time, and I remember skating out there and feeling like I did not belong playing a pro sport that night.
“It’s my favorite place to play now.”
Perhaps cowed somewhat by that atmosphere in the Nov. 15, 2008 game, Wheeler went scoreless, as well as in his next two matches at MSG. He broke through with a goal and an assist in Boston’s 3-2 loss Jan. 4, 2010, and scored twice in Winnipeg’s 6-4 season-opening defeat on Broadway on Oct. 3, 2019.
The Rangers are banking on Wheeler’s assertion that MSG is his preferred arena being a genuine sentiment, and not something he’s just saying to placate his new fan base. That seems unlikely, given that he had options at the outset of free agency and chose the big stage.
The hope is that a new situation can play a role in revitalizing the 6-foot-5, 225-pound forward after the less-than-ideal conclusion with the Jets, and lead to him being one of the best bargain signings in the NHL. The Rangers would be more than satisfied with Wheeler duplicating his point total of last season. Would a happier Wheeler be good for more than that, however?
He certainly seems happy so far.
“You look at the roster and there’s world-class players up and down the lineup, especially at the forward position,” Wheeler said. “I see myself as being able to complement some of those elite guys that this roster has. I hope I earn that opportunity. If I do, I believe that I can make the guys around me better and I know those guys are going to make me better.”
Rangers Could End Up Depending Heavily on Wheeler Producing
In a theoretically better place in New York, with the opportunity to team up with high-end skill players and being a complementary piece rather than having to lead, Wheeler should in theory be in great position late in his career to reward his new team with solid production.
Related: Rangers’ Stanley Cup Hopes Again Rest Primarily on Shesterkin
The best-laid plans, however, can quickly go awry once the season begins. While Wheeler wasn’t brought in to produce big numbers for the Rangers, creating what in theory should be a less pressurized situation, they need him to produce nonetheless. Up against the cap and with little financial room to improve the roster last summer, general manager Chris Drury is banking on his flurry of low-budget free-agent signings to provide at least some outsized value as his team chases an elusive Stanley Cup. Wheeler is undoubtedly at the top of that list of players whom the Blueshirts hope will surprise – particularly given the alarming lack of depth at his position within the organization.
The Rangers are counting on Kaapo Kakko, the second pick in the 2019 draft, to make a big leap this season and nail down the top right-wing spot. They’re crossing their fingers that Alexis Lafreniere, No. 1 overall in 2020, can also bust out and perhaps grab a top-six role, preferably on the right, despite being a natural left wing. Ideally, that would allow Wheeler to slot in on a productive third line, while perhaps getting time on the second power-play unit.
However, if Kakko or Lafreniere fail to reach expectations this season – and both have had puzzlingly halting starts to their careers – the Rangers could end up asking Wheeler to provide more than they initially thought they’d need from him. That might be a risky proposition. Despite his optimism, Wheeler isn’t nearly as fast as he once was, and counting heavily on a 37-year-old to deliver top six-level point totals seems unfair and unrealistic.
Wheeler Still Expecting to Shoulder Significant Workload at Age 37
Then again, Wheeler hardly seems to have lost confidence in his ability to produce.
“I know that I’m still capable of playing a big role and big minutes,” he said. “The game has definitely changed since the first handful of years for me in the league. The game has gotten a lot faster, it’s a lot younger. I still know that I can play at a high level and play with good players. … I believe that I can be a good fit to help make those guys better and hopefully make this team better.”
The Rangers’ history is dotted with numerous personnel moves that resemble this one, the additions of fading stars and big names whose best years would seem to be behind them. Those results have been predictably mixed, so they’re hoping Wheeler proves to be one of the good ones. The Blueshirts are betting that a fresh start in a place he loves to play, with a competitive team, reunited with Rangers captain Jacob Trouba – his teammate with the Jets for six seasons – and with perhaps something to prove after his unceremonious ending in Winnipeg, will result in the big winger being an outstanding low-cost pickup that helps draw the Blueshirts closer to a championship.
If that turns out not to be the case, the Rangers could find themselves again short on solutions on the right side – which has required them to plug the hole at the trade deadline each of the last two seasons. Drury, though, is hoping he’s made his veteran right-wing deadline acquisition already, bringing in a player whose performance could go a long way toward determining the club’s fate next spring.
