Blake James Wheeler (born August 31, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey player who is an unrestricted free agent.

He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets, and New York Rangers.

[3] Following these titles, Wheeler tried out for the United States men's national junior ice hockey team but was cut before the final roster was announced.

This was considered an unexpected pick as Wheeler was ranked 17th among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.

[8] When speaking of his decision to leave Breck, Wheeler said, "I felt I had accomplished all I could at the high school level, and wanted to test myself against bigger and older players.

[9] After the team began the season going 1–6, Wheeler received a phone call from Coyotes general manager Wayne Gretzky, who gave him words of encouragement and advice.

[10] The team's slow start continued throughout the season, and Gamblers coach Mark Mazzoleni was soon fielding calls to trade Wheeler.

[19] He specifically studied Tomas Holmström and Ryan Smyth to view how they played a physical game using their larger bodies.

[20] After Phil Kessel left the Gophers to join the Boston Bruins, the team began putting more responsibility on Wheeler and moved him from wing to center.

[17] While playing centre in between wingers Ben Gordon and Jay Barriball, Wheeler led the team with nine goals and 18 points by the end of November.

[24] In their following game against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, Wheeler scored the game-winning goal in a 3–2 overtime win to lift the Gophers to the number one seed in the 2007 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.

Despite snapping his 77-game iron man streak, Wheeler continued to be a consistent player on the ice for the Gophers and was tied for the team lead with five goals and 11 points.

[38] While playing on a line with David Krejčí and Chuck Kobasew,[39] Wheeler scored his first career NHL goal in Boston's season-opening 5-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche on October 9, 2008.

[47] As the Bruins qualified for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Wheeler finished the regular season seventh in rookie scoring with 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points through 81 games.

[49] Wheeler spent the 2009 off-season training and building muscle with the assistance of Bruins strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides.

[53] Although he would experience a lengthy scoring drought in December,[54] Wheeler continued to build on his sophomore season with 12 goals and 28 points through his first 47 games.

[58] Although he had played wing for the majority of his time in Boston, head coach Claude Julien spoke of moving Wheeler to a center position during the 2010–11 season.

[59] Following an injury to David Krejčí in early November, Wheeler was moved up in the Bruins lineup to center a line with Mark Recchi and rookie Jordan Caron.

At the time of the trade, Wheeler had accumulated 11 goals over 58 games and was fit to become a restricted free agent at the season's end.

With the 2012–13 season delayed due to the NHL lockout, and in order to keep game shape, Wheeler signed in Europe with EHC München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany on October 28, 2012.

Wheeler's tenure ended as the franchise's all-time leader in points and assists, and third in goals behind only Ilya Kovalchuk and Mark Scheifele.

On July 1, 2023, as a free agent, Wheeler signed a one-year deal with the New York Rangers worth $800,000 with another $300,000 in potential bonuses.