The New York Rangers added Blake Wheeler (hockey operations advisor) and Ryane Clowe (assistant general manager) to their front office and promoted two other staffers: Ryan Martin to associate general manager and Jim Sullivan to assistant general manager, the team said Monday.
The announcement marks the start of Wheeler’s front office career. He played 1,172 career NHL games, the last of which came with the Rangers in the 2023-24 season.
Drafted fifth by Phoenix in 2004, the 39-year-old Wheeler spent most of his career with Winnipeg, where he was captain for six seasons. He is the Jets’ franchise leader in points (812) and games played (897) and finished eighth in Hart trophy voting in 2017-18.
He signed a one-year deal with the Rangers after the Jets bought out the final year of his contract in the summer of 2023. His season was interrupted by a gruesome lower-body injury in February 2024, but he returned for Game 4 of the 2024 Eastern Conference final that May. That turned out to be the final game of his career; he announced his retirement in July.
Clowe was a consultant or advisor for the Rangers from 2021 to 2024, when he left to join the Sharks as an assistant general manager. He played 491 NHL games, including 12 with the Rangers in 2012-13.
Martin has been with the Rangers as an assistant general manager since 2021-22. He’ll remain general manager of the Hartford Wolf Pack while getting his bump to associate general manager. Martin has been an assistant general manager since 2010-11 with the Red Wings.
Sullivan goes from the director of analytics to assistant general manager. He and Martin have been among general manager Chris Drury’s go-to advisors.
The Rangers made three other scouting hires, a league source told The Athletic: Chris Pryor (NCAA/CHL scout), Mark Flood (pro scout) and Darryl Williams (pro scout). Pryor has been with NHL clubs for most of the past 30 years, most recently with the Penguins as an assistant general manager in 2022-23. Flood was a pro scout with Ottawa, and Williams was most recently an assistant with the Flyers. All three are former NHL players.
(Photo of Blake Wheeler: Josh Lobel / NHLI via Getty Images)
Sep 8, 2025
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