Veteran forward Blake Wheeler signs with Rangers in busy start to NHL free agency
For a team that had to allocate its scarce funds carefully once the NHL free-agency window opened on Saturday, the Rangers bulldozed onto the scene as soon as the clock struck noon and made a fair amount of noise in just over an hour.
The Rangers signed nine players, seven of whom were given one-year contracts, which was really the only way the club was going to be able to fill needs in its lineup and add organizational depth given its cap constraints.
As a result of having to sift through candidates who would be amenable to short-term deals, however, the Rangers picked up six players who are over 30.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion and future Hall of Fame goaltender Jonathan Quick, 37, as well as 36-year-old right wing Blake Wheeler, were the Rangers headlining signings among that group.
Wheeler, who agreed to a one-year, $800,000 deal with $300,000 max bonuses, was an important pick up for a Rangers team that is unsure about how its lineup is going to shake out next season.
“There’s a lot to like with Blake Wheeler, certainly his experience, his leadership, his size,” Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury said on a conference call.
“He does a lot of everything out there for a big veteran winger, who we think can move up and down our lineup. Certainly someone we’re excited about and wanted to be here, believes in what we’re doing.”
Not only can Wheeler give the Rangers flexibility in the lineup, but also he was captain of the Jets for seven years.
He’ll be reunited with his former Winnipeg teammate and current Rangers captain Jacob Trouba, who is said to have a good relationship with Wheeler.
Wheeler had 16 goals and 39 assists in 72 games for the Jets last season, prior to which he was stripped of his captaincy as the organization made drastic changes.
Depending on how training camp unfolds, Wheeler will likely be inserted somewhere in the Rangers’ top nine and be expected to contribute on special teams.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder will also give the team some much-needed size and strength.
Quick agreed to a one-year, $825,000 deal with a maximum of $100,000 in performance bonuses to serve in a backup role for the Rangers, the team he deprived of a Stanley Cup in 2014 when he won it all for the second time with the Kings.
The Blueshirts view Quick, who has 753 games and 92 playoff games of NHL experience, as a valuable mentor for No. 1 netminder Igor Shesterkin.
With the departure of Jaroslav Halak, who became an unrestricted free agent, Quick will be expected to shoulder the same 25-game workload, unless Shesterkin is injured.
The biggest win of the day for the Rangers was how Drury was able to keep every deal he made Saturday under $1 million.
“I think everyone in this business, agents and players alike, are aware of the limited cap space we do have and did have,” he said.
In addition to Quick and Wheeler, who are guaranteed to be on the roster, the Rangers signed forwards Tyler Pitlick (one year at $787,500), Riley Nash (two years at $775,000 per) and Alex Belzille (two years at $775,000 per). All three are expected to compete for bottom-six roles.
Pitlick, who had 16 points in 61 games with the Blues last season, can bring some physicality as a bottom-six penalty killer.
The first year of Nash’s deal is one-way and the second is two-way, while Belzille’s is reversed.
Both signings were meant to add depth to the Rangers’ forward group and have extra assets for AHL Hartford.
The Rangers also added left-handed defensemen Connor Mackey and Nikolas Brouillard to one-year, two-way deals, as well as center Nick Bonino to a one-year, $800,000 contract.
Bonino, who Drury alluded to serving as the club’s fourth-line center, played under new Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette, and assistant Dan Muse, for three seasons in Nashville.
To cap the day, defenseman Erik Gustaffson agreed to a one-year deal at $825,000 to reunite with his former Capitals coach in Laviolette.
It is believed that despite the influx of competition on the left side of the defense corps, the No. 6 spot is still Zac Jones’ to lose. The Rangers are not looking to put the shifty blueliner on waivers out of training camp.
Bonino, whom Drury alluded to serving as the club’s fourth-line center, played under new Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette, and assistant Dan Muse, for three seasons in Nashville.
The fact that the salary cap was only raised by a million created an environment in which players were presumably more willing to sign short-term deals, with the hopes of commanding more in the future once there’s more money to spare.
There are understandable concerns, however, over the ages and durability of the players the Rangers signed on Saturday, though the club didn’t have the kind of cap space that would allow for broader options.
“I think veteran leadership is such a big thing on any team,” Drury said. “Any time you can add a player like Blake or Quickie or Nick Bonino, who have been around the league a long time and can certainly impart a lot of wisdom to our group.
“And again, not just our younger group, but guys that haven’t won a Cup.”
After all of their deals Saturday, the Rangers have approximately $6.863 million in space on a 22-man roster with which to sign their own restricted free agents, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.
That will be the next order of business, which Drury will be able to focus on now that the rest of the roster has taken shape.
