One thing the New York Rangers appeared to lack in their first round exit to the New Jersey Devils was a player that could provide grit and scoring combined.
Aside from Chris Kreider, the Rangers really didn’t have another forward that could bring both to the table consistently. Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey tried, but neither have ever cracked the 40 point mark in a season.
In Blake Wheeler, the Blueshirts now have a middle six winger that has a reputation for scoring with seven 20+ goal seasons and two 91 point campaigns to his name.