Blake Wheeler , who played his final NHL season with the New York Rangers in 2023-24, has officially announced his retirement.
The 38-year-old forward's last of 16 NHL seasons saw him put up 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 54 games with the Rangers before sustaining a lower-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 15, 2024, that kept him out of the remainder of the regular season.
He didn't play again taking the ice for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers on May 28, 2024. Wheeler was scoreless in 9:18 of ice time in his final NHL appearance.
"I tore the ligaments on both sides of my ankle, and then I broke my fibula," Wheeler said Wednesday on "Jets at Noon." "Once I got hurt, I was already kinda feeling like that was gonna be sort of my last year when I was playing, even healthy in New York. And then when the injury happened, it just felt like that was some sort of sign. I hadn't really been hurt my entire career more or less."
Wheeler went unsigned prior to the 2024-25 season but opted against retiring and officially remained a free agent until telling "Jets at Noon" this week that his career was over.
"I just didn't have anything left in the tank for it," he said. "I was at peace with it almost immediately."
The injury was a turning point for a player who had remained relatively healthy throughout his career.
Wheeler spent 13 seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers / Winnipeg Jets organization after he was acquired by the Thrashers in February 2011 in a trade with the Boston Bruins , who had signed him as a free agent on July 1, 2008. The Arizona Coyotes had taken him with the fifth pick in the 2004 NHL Draft but were unable to sign him after his college career at Minnesota ended.
The Thrashers franchise moved to Winnipeg in the summer of 2011, and Wheeler became a steady point producer for more than a decade. He was named captain heading into 2016-17 and wore the "C" for six seasons before coach Rick Bowness stripped him of the captaincy before the 2022-23 season.
The native of Plymouth, Minnesota, had back-to-back 91-point seasons in 2017–18 and 2018–19, and was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in each season. He had at least 2 0 goals and 60 points in seven consecutive seasons with the Jets while serving as a steadying presence in the locker room during six trips to the playoffs.
He finished his NHL career with 943 points (321 goals, 622 assists) in 1,172 regular-season games, and had 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) in 66 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Wheeler remains the Jets' all-time leader in games played (897), assists (550) and points (812).
After the Jets bought out his contract in June 2023, the Rangers signed Wheeler to a one-year contract on July 1, 2023; the deal was worth $800,000 with another $300,000 in potential bonuses.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
"More or less, right after last year knew I was all done," Wheeler said . "I just haven't felt like a rush to like make a formal announcement or anything. But yeah, after my injury and kinda the way things ended last year,
"So yeah, I was at peace with it almost immediately after last year."
Wheeler is the second player this week to announce his retirement after playing his final season with the Rangers. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak , who backed up Igor Shesterkin in 2022-23 and spent the next two seasons unable to find another team willing to sign him, officially retired on Friday. He finished his career with 295 wins and 53 shutouts .
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