Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick thrilled to join Rangers

According to Blake Wheeler, who signed a one-year contract at a discounted rate with the Rangers on Saturday, he had other options for his next place to play after the Winnipeg Jets bought him out of the final year of his five-year, $41.25 million deal earlier that day.

He chose to join the Rangers, he said, because the Blueshirts’ roster is loaded with talent and because “Madison Square Garden is my favorite place to play in the league.’’

“It’s one of those games that you can always look at on your calendar and get pretty fired up to play,’’ he said. “And given that they had mutual interest in me, it was an opportunity that my wife and I were really excited about.’’

Wheeler and goaltender Jonathan Quick, who also signed a one-year deal with the Rangers on Saturday, spoke to the local media Monday for the first time since inking their deals.

Wheeler, 36, a 6-5, 220-pound right wing who has 310 goals and 922 points in 15 seasons with the Boston Bruins and Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets, signed for a base salary of $800,000, with the potential to earn another $300,000 in performance bonuses.

He is expected to fill a hole at right wing on one of the top two lines, though he wasn’t about to assume anything on Monday.

“When you’re going through this process of free agency, especially at this point in my career, I’m not looking for promises or guarantees,’’ he said. “You just want an opportunity.

“You look at the roster and there’s world-class players up and down this lineup, especially at the forward position,’’ he said. “And I see myself being able to complement some of those elite guys that this roster has. I hope I earn that opportunity. And if I do, I believe I can make the guys around me better. And I know those guys are going to make me better, too.’’

Quick, 37, is coming off winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights after being traded from the Los Angeles Kings to Columbus, which relayed him to Vegas. He earned his third Stanley Cup ring not as the No. 1 goalie but as a backup to Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit.

Quick, whose 375 career wins are second among American-born goaltenders, agreed to a deal with a base salary of $825,000 plus a potential $100,000 in bonuses. He will serve as a backup to Igor Shesterkin.

Quick, who said he exchanged texts with Shesterkin on Saturday, downplayed the idea of his serving as any kind of mentor to Shesterkin, the Vezina Trophy winner in 2022.

“Igor is Igor,’’ Quick said. “He really doesn’t need too much mentorship, right? If there are times when I can help him, I’m definitely willing to, and looking forward to that. And also, whenever I’m in net, trying to help the team win hockey games.’’

Quick is a native of Hamden, Connecticut, who grew up rooting for the Rangers. He said signing with the Blueshirts was an opportunity he took advantage of when it presented itself rather than something he’d thought about doing at the end of his career.

“Up until about five months ago, I thought I was going to be retiring [as] a King, and those are the discussions that were had,’’ he said. “Obviously, things happen for reasons, and I ended up where I ended up this season. And this opportunity came around and it’s something that, obviously, growing up watching the Rangers as a kid, this is just an opportunity that you can’t turn down.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.