The New York Rangers suffered another blow to their lineup. During Thursday night’s game saw Blueshirts forward Blake Wheeler injured and miss the rest of the matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. Wheeler has been placed on long-term injured reserve. He’s out for the rest of the regular season, but may not even be back for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. News of the injury broke on Friday afternoon.
Blake Wheeler is being placed on LTIR by the #NYR with a lower-body injury and won't return at all during the regular season. Even getting back for the playoffs is unlikely but will depend on his recovery and how far the team progresses.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 16, 2024
Blake Wheeler Injured for Rangers
Wheeler suffered a nasty-looking lower-body injury in the first period of the Rangers 7-4 win over the Habs. He was assisted off the ice before heading down the tunnel on a stretcher and did not return. The veteran forward was hit along the boards by Canadiens defenceman Jayden Struble with 9:13 left in the first. Wheeler’s leg buckled and was helped off the ice by Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider.
The Plymouth, Minn. native has nine goals and 12 assists in 53 games this season. He has a Corsi for of 49.8 and a relative Corsi of -1.5. This is Wheeler’s first season with the Blueshirts after inking a one-year, $850,000 contract.
heeler has played for Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Rangers in his 1,172-game NHL career. He has 943 points with 321 goals and 622 assists. His best season goal-wise was with the Jets in 2013-14 with 28 goals in that campaign.
We’ll evaluate it and address it tomorrow, but that’s tough. He’s a veteran player that came here for a reason. To see something like that happen, it’s tough,” said head coach Peter Laviolette to the media.
What it Means
This is a tough one to swallow for the Rangers. General manager Chris Drury was already in the trade market for a centre or two. However, there may be another need for a right wing at the deadline. Pickings at forward are already slim, but this may force Drury to make a move sooner rather than later.
The Rangers are likely to move some players around the lineup to fill the void. However, the team is going to have a hard time replacing the leadership of Wheeler. New York still has a talented team, but the lineup is getting thinner.
Main photo by: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
