New Roles for NHL Veterans
Despite retiring from playing, Blake Wheeler will remain involved in professional hockey. Wheeler, who officially announced his retirement from the NHL in July, has been appointed to a hockey operations advisory position within the New York Rangers` front office, as confirmed by the team on Monday.
Concurrently, former NHL player Ryane Clowe, who recently departed from his role with the San Jose Sharks` front office, is also joining the Rangers as an assistant general manager. Jim Sullivan has also been elevated to the same assistant general manager position.
Ryan Martin has been promoted to associate general manager, a role he will undertake while also continuing his duties as general manager of the AHL`s Hartford Wolf Pack.
Wheeler`s Distinguished Career and Transition
At 39 years old, Wheeler concluded a distinguished 16-year NHL career, primarily spending 13 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets. Following his release by the Jets after the 2022-23 season, he signed a one-year contract with the Rangers for his final playing year. According to Mercogliano, Wheeler quickly became a well-regarded figure within the Rangers organization during his single season there.
In his final NHL season with the Rangers, he tallied nine goals and 12 assists. His last regular-season appearance was on February 15th, cut short by a severe ankle injury involving torn ligaments and a broken fibula. Remarkably, he made a brief return for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers, a game the Rangers lost, but could not continue playing for the rest of the series.
Wheeler`s extensive career spanned 1,172 regular-season games, distributed across stints with the Rangers, Jets, Atlanta Thrashers, and Boston Bruins, accumulating a total of 321 goals and 943 points. The Plymouth, Minnesota native retires holding the Jets` all-time records for assists (550) and points (897), and ranks second in goals, only behind Ilya Kovalchuk.
Ryane Clowe and Other Key Appointments
Clowe, aged 42, played 491 NHL games from the 2005-06 to the 2014-15 seasons (note: the original article had “2014-25,” which has been corrected to “2014-15” to reflect historical accuracy) for the Sharks, Rangers, and New Jersey Devils. The St. John`s native concluded his playing career with 112 goals and 197 assists.
Before joining the Rangers in 2021, Martin had a 16-year tenure with the Detroit Red Wings. He also served as General Manager for Team USA at the 2022 World Championship.
Sullivan, now in his 17th season with the Rangers organization, previously held the role of New York`s director of analytics.
