Rangers veteran forward Blake Wheeler is medically cleared to play and could return to the lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Panthers on Wednesday, he confirmed to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski today.
Wheeler, 37, was activated from long-term injured reserve late last week. He hasn’t played since February 15, when he sustained an apparent right leg injury on a hit from Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble that caused him to fall awkwardly against the boards.
The 1,172-game veteran was having a decent season in a depth role after signing a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Rangers in free agency. Wheeler, who had spent parts of 13 seasons with the Jets/Thrashers franchise, was stripped of the captaincy in Winnipeg before the 2022-23 season and was bought out following the campaign. He had one season left at an $8.25MM cap hit at the time.
His 0.39 points per game (nine goals, 21 points in 54 contests) were the lowest of his 16-year career. He also averaged a career-low 12:43 per game, playing an expectedly reduced role with corresponding lower production. Once one of the league’s premier playmakers, Wheeler’s poor defensive impacts over the past few years were slowly drawing widespread attention, leading most to believe Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was better off giving top-six minutes to the younger Alexis Lafrenière.
The lengthy absences of Wheeler and center Filip Chytil (concussion) directly influenced general manager Chris Drury’s trade deadline strategy. In essence, he replaced their roles directly by acquiring two-way center Alexander Wennberg from the Kraken and mobile top-nine forward Jack Roslovic from the Blue Jackets. Roslovic has stepped into a second-line role alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad in the postseason, producing well with two goals and seven points in 10 games.
If Wheeler returns for Game 1 at home, it would likely be in a fourth-line role at right wing, replacing minor-league veteran Jonny Brodzinski. Brodzinski, 31, has been scratched for eight of the Rangers’ 10 playoff games through two rounds and has averaged only 8:47 per game when in the lineup.
Lafreniere’s hit his stride as a scorer. He’s got a point a game these playoffs. He was already defensively responsible. Why on earth would anyone consider giving a washed up Wheeler any of his minutes?
With that, saying he’d been having a “decent” season is being damn generous. Up through last season, Wheeler’s offense was still respectable enough to offset his defensive deficiencies. This year, his offense *halved*. You don’t put that guy in the lineup to do a fourth-line grinder’s job, and he’s slowed down too much to play him higher.
He wouldn’t get any of those minutes. The article even states as such. 4th line at best, and I’m not sure he’ll even be active for any of the games. More than likely he’ll be available if an injury occurs, otherwise he’ll be a healthy scratch.