The New York Rangers have signed forward Blake Wheeler to a one-year contract worth $800,000.

Wheeler had just cleared waivers and had his contract bought out by the Jets, so he needed very little time to find a new home. The fact that Wheeler signed for under $1 million shows that he is targeting the situation in New York over holding out for more money he could have received elsewhere.

The former Jets captain had maintained consistency in the 0.9-1.15 PTS/GP pace for seven seasons until 2021-22, but his production had fallen off to 0.76 PTS/GP (55 PTS in 72 GP) in 2022-23. A decreased shot total (126 SOG, 1.8 SOG/GP) was a factor, as was decreased power-play usage (48.6 PP%). He will be turning 37 just before the season starts, so age-related decline could be in effect.

Wheeler shouldn't be expected to carry top-line minutes or even a first-unit power-play role for the Rangers. A more reasonable expectation for him would be middle-six minutes along with second-unit power-play time. Depth chart-wise, the Rangers have a void with both Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko hitting UFA status (signings notwithstanding as this is being written). That being said, certain players could shift over to the right side to make the lines work, including Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere.

On the Rangers depth chart, Kaapo Kakko is currently the best pure right wing option. The more experienced Wheeler could push him down the lineup, depending on how new coach Peter Laviolette deploys the lines. Gerard Gallant usually kept the Kid Line intact through his juggling of other lines, which is also something to keep in mind. Depending how this all shakes out, this could benefit their other top-6 forwards to a small degree.

Although Wheeler should no longer be counted on for top-line minutes as he was with Winnipeg, he should be in the top-9 mix for sure on a Rangers team that should have three solid scoring lines. A similar total from last season (55 PTS in 72 GP, 0.76 PTS/GP) or slightly below seems like a reasonable projection.

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Players this helps, in order:

Mika Zibanejad/Artemi Panarin/Chris Kreider/Vincent Trocheck

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Players this hurts, in order:

Kaapo Kakko

Wheeler

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Discuss this signing in this thread on the Forum.