- New York Rangers winger Brett Berard played 35 games throughout his rookie campaign last season, but the majority of them were done so while playing through a significant injury. According to USA Today Sports reporter Vince Mercogliano, Berard suffered a torn labrum in his fourth game of the season on November 30 and played through it the rest of the season. The injury did not require surgery, and the offseason layoff has allowed Berard to return to full health ahead of training camp. In those 35 games, Berard produced six goals and 10 points.
Rangers Rumors
Blake Wheeler Reaffirms Retirement
July 19, 2025: Wheeler again ruled out a comeback bid when speaking with Cam Poitras and Jim Toth on 680 CJOB’s Jets at Noon program earlier this week. “I just haven’t felt like a rush to like make a formal announcement or anything,” Wheeler said. “But yeah, after my injury and kinda the way things ended last year, I just didn’t have anything left in the tank for it. So yeah, I was at peace with it almost immediately after last year and yeah, I’m just enjoying being a dad and kinda slowing things down a little bit, and being around my family.”
Dec. 19, 2024: Winger Blake Wheeler has all but officially decided on retirement, as Paul Friesen of The Winnipeg Sun relays. Neither Wheeler nor the NHL Players’ Association has released a statement. Still, the former Jets captain told Dan Leffelaar of the Beyond High Performance podcast earlier this week that “there’s only so much gas in the tank” emotionally for an 82-game regular season.
In July, Wheeler, 38, hit unrestricted free agency after completing a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Rangers. He joined the Blueshirts for the final season of his NHL career after having the captaincy stripped from him in Winnipeg in 2022 and seeing the final season of his five-year, $41.25MM contract with an $8.25MM cap hit bought out a year later. There wasn’t much buzz around his services on the UFA market aside from a report in August from Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period that the Bruins were considering extending him a professional tryout. One way or another that never came to fruition, and Wheeler didn’t appear with any club during training camp.
A serious leg injury sustained in February ended his final regular season prematurely. However, he did return to the active roster near the end of New York’s second-round playoff win over the Hurricanes. He was a frequent healthy scratch upon returning to the lineup, though, with a lone postseason appearance against the Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final likely standing as his final NHL appearance. In 54 regular-season appearances with the Rangers, he posted nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points with a +2 rating while averaging a career-low 12:43 per game.
Wheeler was a highly touted prospect. In the 2004 draft, the Coyotes selected him fifth overall, immediately after eventual longtime teammate Andrew Ladd was taken off the board by the Hurricanes. However, he opted not to sign in Phoenix. He took the long route through college at the University of Minnesota before becoming a free agent in 2008 and signing with the Bruins.
The right-winger’s debut season was solid, posting 21 goals and 45 points with a +36 rating in 81 games as Boston won 53 games and finished atop the Eastern Conference. He was one of many future under-25 impact players on that Bruins squad, featuring Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel and David Krejčí in the infancies of their careers. However, after his goal-scoring dropped off slightly in his second and third years in the league, Boston traded him to the Thrashers before the 2011 deadline for Rich Peverley.
Wheeler racked up 17 points in 23 games down the stretch for Atlanta, giving Thrashers fans a bittersweet taste of things to come for his production before the team packed up and moved to Winnipeg in the offseason. Now entirely in the prime of his career at age 25, Wheeler kicked off a dominant nine-year stretch in Winnipeg that saw him record 569 points in 616 games, ranking eighth in the NHL scoring between the 2011-12 and 2018-19 campaigns. His 384 assists during that time were fourth, trailing only Nicklas Bäckström, Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux. He received All-Star consideration eight years in a row and finished as high as eighth in Hart Trophy voting in 2017-18 when he led the league with 68 assists in 81 outings.
After a 20-goal, 91-point showing in 2018-19, 2019-20 spelled out the beginning of Wheeler’s decline. He still managed a respectable 65 points in 71 games that year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, that was accompanied by an artificially high 12.2% shooting rate and a significant drop-off in his assist totals. He kept up reasonable offensive production in his final three seasons in Winnipeg, logging 161 points in 187 games. But the Minnesota native became a defensive liability as he aged and became a significant drag on the Jets’ possession quality control at even strength. Combined with just three playoff series wins during his time in Winnipeg, including a run to the 2018 Western Conference Final in which he had 21 points in 17 games, the Jets parted ways with their captain and bought him out.
While the end of Wheeler’s career may have been marred by declining all-around play and injuries, the former All-Star was a high-end top-line talent throughout the 2010s. The 6’5 “, 225-lb right-winger puts a bow on his career with 321 goals and 622 assists for 943 points in 1,172 regular-season games. He logged a +67 rating, posted 764 PIMs, and racked up nearly 3,000 career shots on goal, averaging 18:11 per game. He pairs that strong regular-season production with 10 goals and 45 points in 66 career postseason games. Pro Hockey Rumors congratulates Wheeler on a phenomenal career.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Why Rangers Might Want To Wait On Panarin Extension Talks
Players in the final year of a multi-year contract are now eligible to sign contract extensions. A few have but most of the headline names in the 2026 UFA class have yet to do so, including Rangers winger Artemi Panarin. Vincent Z. Mercogliano of the Rockland/Westchester Journal News argues that New York should hold off on trying to get the 33-year-old locked up to a new deal right away, wondering if there might be an opportunity to get a younger top-liner on the open market next summer when they will have a significant amount of cap space. Panarin saw his production drop considerably last season after putting up a career-high 120 points in 2023-24 but he still managed 37 goals and 52 assists in 80 games to lead New York in scoring once again. Panarin has a $11.643MM cap charge and given that he’ll be 34 when his next deal starts, he’ll be in tough to match that price tag at that time.
Jaroslav Halak Announces Retirement
Veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak is ending his playing career, telling Tomas Prokop of the Slovak website Dennik Sport that he’s officially retired.
Halak, 40, hasn’t played anywhere in the last two seasons aside from a brief tryout with the Hurricanes that didn’t result in game action early in 2023-24. A ninth-round pick in the 2003 draft, his 17-year NHL career included time with the Canadiens, Blues, Capitals, Islanders, Bruins, Canucks, and Rangers, last playing in New York’s final game of the 2022-23 regular season.
Montreal was the team that drafted him 271st overall from the QMJHL’s Lewiston MAINEiacs, and that’s where Halak got his start in the NHL three years later. He emerged as another young complement in the Canadiens’ pool alongside young star Carey Price, even taking over the starter’s role in the 2009-10 season and backstopping the team to a surprise run to the Conference Finals before being traded to St. Louis for Lars Eller the following summer.
Halak never spent more than four years with a club in his prime and was prone to year-to-year inconsistency, but he was an arguable top-10 goalie in the league at his absolute peak with multiple seasons of save percentages above .920. He was always more of a 1A option than a true starter, only playing more than 50 games four times, but he ends his career as a one-time All-Star, two-time Jennings Trophy winner, and he finished top-10 in Vezina Trophy voting twice.
After serving as the 1A option for the Blues from 2010-14 and on Long Island from 2014-18 with a brief post-deadline stop in Washington in between, Halak spent the twilight years of his career as one of the league’s better backup options for Boston (2018-21), Vancouver (2021-22), and the Rangers (2022-23). He’s been an unrestricted free agent since then, with no items of note on his NHL future since being released from his aforementioned PTO with Carolina in November 2023.
In 581 regular-season appearances, the Bratislava native posted a 2.50 GAA and .913 SV% with a 295-189-63 record and 53 shutouts. One of the best undersized netminders (5’11”, 189 lbs) of his generation, he posted an even better .919 SV% and 2.48 GAA in 39 playoff games in six trips to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
All of us at PHR wish Halak the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.
Former NHL Goaltender Wayne Thomas Passes Away At Age 77
Wayne Thomas, a long-time NHL executive and eight-year playing veteran as a goaltender, has passed away at age 77, “following a long battle with cancer,” according to a press release from the Sharks.
While undrafted, Thomas managed to appear in 243 NHL games between 1972 and 1981, compiling a 103-93-34 record for the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, and Rangers, with a 3.34 GAA and a .891 SV%. He earned an All-Star Game appearance in 1976 as Toronto’s starter, a season in which he saved 20.8 goals above average in 64 appearances.
Immediately after ending his playing career, Thomas transitioned into a coaching role with the Rangers. He later held goaltending/assistant coaching roles for the Blackhawks, Blues, and Sharks, as well as multiple minor-league clubs. Midway through the 1995-96 season, San Jose promoted him from assistant coach to assistant general manager, a role he held until he retired from the league following the 2014-15 campaign.
“While he achieved great success as a member of several NHL front offices, Wayne’s core passion was his daily work on and off the ice with NHL goaltenders throughout his coaching career, too many to list here, and he continued fruitful relationships with many of them up until his passing,” the Sharks wrote.
All of us at PHR send our condolences to Thomas’ family and friends, as well as the Sharks organization with whom he spent so many years.
Gonchar Commits To OHL
- Earlier this week, Rangers prospect Artyom Gonchar has committed to play for OHL Sudbury next season, the junior team announced. The defenseman, who is the nephew of long-time NHLer Sergei Gonchar, was a third-round pick last month, going 89th overall. Gonchar spent last season with MHL Magnitogorsk, tallying 25 points in 50 games.
Riley Nash Announces Retirement
Longtime depth center Riley Nash has retired from the NHL, he told Tyler Lowey of Castanet Kamloops.
Nash, 36, was an unrestricted free agent after spending 2024-25 under contract with the Rangers. He didn’t play at all last season while rehabbing what he told Lowey were a “variety of knee injuries” he sustained during the previous year while on assignment to AHL Hartford, spending his final professional season on the non-roster list.
“With three wonderful young kids and the way my body has behaved over the past few years, it was time to take a step back as an older guy and let others chase their dream the same way I did,” he told Lowey. “I consider myself very fortunate to have played in front of my kids over the last few years. They helped me regain the passion and love for the sport I had as a kid. Now was the right time to step away.”
The 6’2″, 187-lb pivot was the No. 21 overall selection in the 2007 draft by the Oilers, although he elected not to sign with one of the two clubs from his native Alberta. After winning an ECAC championship with Cornell in his junior campaign in 2009-10, he saw his signing rights flipped to the Hurricanes for a second-round pick.
Nash signed with Carolina a few weeks later. While he ended up having a true journeyman’s career, he did have some stability early on in the Hurricanes organization. He spent six seasons there, seeing NHL ice in the latter five, recording 31 goals, 50 assists, and 81 points in 242 games before reaching free agency in 2016.
Nash went on to see NHL ice for the Bruins, Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs, Jets, Lightning, Coyotes, and Rangers. He spent nearly a decade as a full-time AHL piece, going from 2013-14 to 2020-21 without seeing a minor-league assignment, frequently anchoring third and fourth lines. His best season came on a high-powered Bruins squad in 2017-18, setting career-highs across the board with 15 goals, 26 assists, 41 points, and a +16 rating while averaging 15:25 per game.
He spent the last few seasons of his career as a complementary AHL piece, serving as an alternate captain for the Charlotte Checkers in 2022-23 before spending his final healthy campaign with the Rangers’ affiliate in Hartford in 2023-24.
Nash concludes his pro career with 628 NHL appearances, scoring 63 goals, 113 assists and 176 points with a -11 rating in 13:09 of ice time per contest. He also scored 193 points in 312 AHL games in parts of seven seasons.
All of us at PHR wish Nash the best in retirement.
Rangers Re-Sign Brendan Brisson
July 7: The Rangers confirmed Brisson’s contract Monday morning.
July 6: The Rangers have taken care of one of their remaining restricted free agents. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that New York has signed forward Brendan Brisson to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay $775K in the NHL, $100K in the minors, and contains a guaranteed salary of $125K, meaning he took less than his qualifying offer to secure more guaranteed money.
The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Vegas back in 2020, going 29th overall after a promising season with USHL Chicago. Brisson continued to be a strong producer in college, averaging a point per game over two seasons at the University of Michigan before turning pro in 2022.
Unfortunately for Brisson and Vegas, his production slowed after that. He picked up 37 points in 58 games in 2022-23 with AHL Henderson but wasn’t able to build off of that too much the following year with 38 in 52. Brisson did, however, get into 15 games with the Golden Knights that season, notching two goals and six assists, providing some hope moving forward.
This season, things didn’t go as well. Brisson was held off the scoresheet in seven games to open the season before being demoted back to the Silver Knights and didn’t notch a point in a two-game stint in January either. In between, Brisson was limited to just five goals and 14 assists in 49 games in Henderson. That was enough for Vegas to make him available at the trade deadline as they sent him and a third-round pick to the Rangers for Reilly Smith, a pending UFA at the time who ultimately re-signed last month. Brisson didn’t get any looks with New York down the stretch but managed just two goals and four assists in 16 games with AHL Hartford.
Brisson is now waiver-eligible and while his 2024-25 performance wouldn’t be enough on its own to justify a potential claim, teams have been known to take flyers on fairly recent first-round picks in the hopes that a change of scenery could get them going. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rangers take a long look at Brisson in training camp to see if he can land a spot on the fourth line or at least break camp as a reserve forward.
The Rangers now have two remaining restricted free agents to deal with this summer, goaltenders Dylan Garand and Talyn Boyko.
Rangers Sign Trey Fix-Wolansky To Two-Way Deal
The Rangers are signing free agent winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to a two-way contract, sources tell Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers. Fix-Wolansky is listed on the Rangers’ roster on the NHL media site despite the lack of an official announcement. He’ll earn the league minimum of $775K in the NHL, per Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today. PuckPedia reports he’ll receive a $450K AHL salary with a $500K guarantee. The team has since confirmed the deal.
Fix-Wolansky, 26, makes the jump to the Rangers organization after spending the last seven years in the Blue Jackets’ system. A seventh-round pick in 2018 from the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, he’s long been an explosive scorer at the junior and AHL levels but has been held back from being a legitimate NHL threat by his 5’7″, 191-lb frame.
The Edmonton native got into NHL action in three straight seasons with Columbus from 2021-22 to 2023-24 but did not see a recall this season after clearing waivers during training camp. He’s totaled four goals and two assists for six points with a minus-six rating in 26 career appearances at the top level, averaging 10:35 per game.
As such, he projects more as an impact addition for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack and isn’t necessarily expected to be a legitimate competitor for an NHL roster spot. The three-time AHL All-Star has 259 points in 289 career minor-league games, including 26 goals and 60 points in 65 games with the Cleveland Monsters last year.
Rangers Sign Taylor Raddysh To Two-Year Deal
The Rangers have added some additional bottom-six depth, with PuckPedia reporting last night they’ve signed winger Taylor Raddysh to a two-year deal worth $3MM, carrying a $1.5MM cap hit. His deal includes $250,000 in upfront signing bonuses, according to PuckPedia.
The 6’3″, 200-lb Raddysh now heads to his third team in as many seasons after reaching outright unrestricted free agency for the first time. He’s coming off a one-year, $1MM contract with the Capitals that he signed after being non-tendered by the Blackhawks in the 2024 offseason.
In 2024-25, Raddysh posted seven goals, 20 assists, 27 points, a minus-seven rating, and 18 PIMs in 80 appearances while averaging 12:22 per game. The 27-year-old is now two years removed from his 20-goal breakout with the Blackhawks and has seen his overall effectiveness decrease in the years since, recording a career-low 93 shots on goal and 59 hits with the Caps.
Raddysh joins Justin Dowling as New York’s lone forward signings in unrestricted free agency. Most of their available cap space was used to bring in top UFA blue-liner Vladislav Gavrikov on a seven-year, $49MM deal and to secure a two-year, $7.8MM contract for RFA winger William Cuylle.
If Raddysh doesn’t pan out with the Rangers and is placed on waivers and buried in the minors, he would still count for $350,000 against the cap, at least in 2025-26. That figure would decrease in 2026-27 with an expected increase in the league minimum salary and, in turn, a higher maximum buriable salary. Given the Rangers’ lack of offensive depth on their bottom two forward lines, though, he should get the chance for a regular role out of the gate and potentially see increased minutes compared to his time in Washington.