GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Blake Wheeler doesn't know if he wants to keep playing in the NHL beyond this season.
Wheeler, who played with the New York Rangers this season on a one-year, $800,000 contract, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He will turn 38 on Aug. 31.
He has played in 1,172 regular-season NHL games and 66 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 16 seasons since 2008-09 with the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets and Rangers.
"I have three kids," Wheeler said Tuesday. "I have an 11-year-old, an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old. My 11-year-old is going to be in middle school next year. I still love the game, I still love to play, but I want to be around for their childhood too. So those are the things you weigh."
Wheeler said he can think about the decision to retire now because he doesn't have term remaining on his contract.
The Jets bought out the final year of Wheeler's five-year, $41.25 million contract on June 30, 2023, making him an unrestricted free agent. He signed his one-year contract with the Rangers on July 1. It was his first time playing on a one-year contract since 2010-11.
"When you're on a longer contract or you still have term, it's hard to think about [not playing again]," Wheeler said. "Obviously not having that, it changes how you think a little bit. But every year I continue to play my kids get older and older, so those are where you start thinking a little bit."
He said he doesn't have a timeframe for when he will know or wants to know about his immediate future.
"Just let things calm down a little bit and actually be able to sit down and talk with my wife, evaluate where she's at," Wheeler said. "It's the first time we're able to make a group decision on this. We'll figure it out together."
Wheeler's regular season was cut short, when he sustained a lower-body injury on Feb. 15. He didn't play again until May 28, which was Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers. It was Wheeler's only game in the playoffs.
However, he said his injury and doing the rehab is not the reason why he's contemplating retirement.
"If anything, coming back from that it kind of re-lit the fire a little bit, that sense of purpose in getting back out there and you're able to re-find the love for it," Wheeler said. "It's a grind, but when you're trying to fight to come back and you lose it a little bit, you lose being out there with the guys, you realize how much you love it."
Wheeler has 943 points (321 goals, 622 assists) in the regular season and 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) in the playoffs and was the Jets captain from 2016-22. He never reached the Stanley Cup Final, getting as far as the conference final twice (also in 2018).
Wheeler was traded from Boston to Atlanta during the 2010-11 season. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup that year.
Among United States-born players, Wheeler is 24th in games played, 22nd in goals, 10th in assists and 13th in points all-time.
"I've given this game everything I have," Wheeler said. "That's how I evaluate it. That gives me everything that I need to be proud of what I accomplished. Certainly, the ultimate goal, I haven't reached that, but it's the day-to-day stuff, that's really how you can evaluate your career and every day I try to be my best."
