Wheeler ready for new chapter with Rangers after buyout from Jets

Blake Wheeler cleared the air about his final days with the Winnipeg Jets and discussed moving on to a new opportunity with the New York Rangers.

Wheeler signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Rangers on Saturday, one day after the Jets bought out the final year of the five-year, $41.25 million contract ($8.25 million average annual value) he signed on Sept. 4, 2018.

Although he spent 12 seasons with the Jets after the team relocated from Atlanta prior to the 2011-12 season, Wheeler said he knew the buyout was coming.

"I'm incredibly grateful for everything in Winnipeg," Wheeler said Monday. "To play 12 years in the same place, is not something a lot of people get the opportunity to do. I have nothing but gratitude for that city and the organization and the fanbase. My relationship with [Jets executive chairman] Mark Chipman and [general manager] Kevin Cheveldayoff and now Rick Bowness, the head coach, I'm really proud to leave on great terms with the organization. That's not always the case when guys leave, especially after being in a place for a long time. The communication has been great, especially the last few weeks, knowing what to expect. Things were amicable. That was a great way to move on, being on good terms with a team that means so much to me."

Now that that's out of the way, the right wing can look ahead to what will be a big opportunity for him in New York.

The Rangers went into free agency without much salary cap space (about $10 million without accounting for new contracts for restricted free agents Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller) and a need for a righty to play right wing in their top six forward group.

They did not have one before Wheeler, who thinks he can be that guy for the Rangers.

"If that's the opportunity I get, I believe it's an area that I can excel in," said Wheeler, who turns 37 on Aug. 31. "You look at the roster and there's world-class players up and down this lineup, especially at the forward position (Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck). I see myself being able to complement some of those elite guys that this roster has."

Wheeler's experience (1,118 regular-season games) and size (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) enticed the Rangers. The price helped too, of course.

"He does a lot of everything out there for a big, veteran winger," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. "We think he can move up and down our lineup. We're excited he wants to be here, believes in what we're doing."

The Rangers tried to address their hole at right wing last season, acquiring both Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. Tarasenko had 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 31 games and Kane had 12 (five goals, seven assists) in 19 games. Kane had six points (one goal, five assists) and Tarasenko had four points (three goals, one assist) in a seven-game loss to the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs; Each became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Addressing the need for a right wing now means they get Wheeler for the full season and for $800,000 plus the potential for $300,000 more in performance bonuses. And they get a player at that bargain price who had 55 points (16 goals, 39 assists) in 72 games last season.

Wheeler is not the 91-point player he was in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but has averaged 56.5 points per season since 2019-20, including 46 points in 50 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.

In fact, Wheeler would have ranked fifth on the Rangers in points last season behind Panarin (92), Zibanejad (91), defenseman Adam Fox (72) and Trocheck (64). He had one more point in seven fewer games than Kreider (54 in 79 games).

Kaapo Kakko was the Rangers highest scoring right wing with 40 points in 82 games.

"I know that I'm still capable of playing a big role and playing big minutes," Wheeler 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. The days of me just taking the puck and maybe blowing around defensemen, it's a little bit different now. But I still know that I can play at a high level, play with good players. I've been blessed for a long time playing with really talented players in Winnipeg. That's part of why New York was so attractive, the quality of players on the roster. I believe I can be a good fit to help make those guys better and hopefully make the team better."