Are there really “Wheeler haters” already?

He arrived a few weeks ago…

I’ve seen on this website and twitter that fans want to waive him, scratch him or replace him with vesey/Pitlick lol

The expected goals stat is one of the stupidest "analytics" metrics used in hockey - quite frankly, most of them are nonsense.

How many expected cups should the Rangers win?

It isn’t stupid if you know how to correctly read analytics lol. How else do you measure non-stat items? How can you tell if a player is doing good or not? It’s not black and white

Well first, you'd have to understand that the game is much more than just goals or assists or stats.

Second, you'd watch the games.

That's pretty much it.

I was happy when they signed Wheeler because his contract is cheap and he fits a need at RW. However, watching him play 9 games so far, he does look rather old and slow in a game that is getting younger and faster every year. With that said, 9 games is not a big enough sample size to judge the man, but he does need to start chipping in sooner rather than later. He has been a great player for a lot of years so I am rooting for him to succeed, but if he doesn't pick it up by mid season, it may be time for Othmann to be called up, because a line of Cuylee/Trocheck/Othmann seems pretty good.

I made a post arguing FOR the signing Kane and what Lavi should do is rotate Kane and Wheeler on that 3rd line spot. Neither can play a full 82 games and neither of their cap hurts

Wheeler has been worse than I expected him to be but he’s also not completely useless either. I think he’s trying to find himself in a new role to help cuylle and trocheck who are driving that line

If all else fails, then we can talk about othmann and other potential call-ups

Unfortunately, I don’t think Kane signs with NYR (or anywhere) with the expectation of anything less than a top 6 role with PP time. Third line- not to mention rotating into 3rd line- won’t have much appeal to him.

This is my issue with NYR signing him. NYR need to keep LaF and Kakko in the top 6 until either (or both) prove themselves not worthy of top 6 minutes. There will be bumps in the road going forward- but for their development and the good of the team going forward, these guys need ample opportunity to contribute.

Well the way Kakko has been looking, Kane could easily bump Kakko down

Most playoff teams don’t have room for Kane in their top 6

For sure Kakko hasn't looked good lately....but too soon to bail on him.

Detroit could easily fit Kane- just put Copp on 3rd line, and Kane could be re-united w/DeBrincat

Rangers could easily do that too. Kakko to the 3rd line. The only difference is that DET has the money and I’d say NYR the better lock for playoffs

1st line was working just fine with Kakko....and then hit a skid. He might just be better suited to 3rd line- but needs more time for that to play out. In any case Kane wouldn't be ready to play for a while anyway- giving Kakko more time to show what he can be.

As far as Kane, IMHO I think he's gonna sign a cheap show me deal with the team he feels will put him in a position to produce the rest of this year- to get another 3-4 year contract. Could be NYR or DET, and a few more potential suitors as well. He holds the cards as long as he's not looking to cash in this year.