- The New York Rangers have shared that both Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are okay after scary incidents in the team’s Wednesday night game, per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh (Twitter link). Kreider took a slapshot from Zibanejad and looked banged up on the bench, while Zibanejad had a blindsided collision with New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech. Both players are expected to stay in the lineup as the Rangers approach their final three games of the season.
Rangers Rumors
Rangers Believed To Be Out Of The Mix For Collin Graf
Winger Collin Graf is widely expected to sign his first professional contract in the coming days. Regarded as one of the top college free agents available, most of the league had made inquiries and he’s in the process of whittling down his list. To that end, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that the Rangers are no longer in the mix for the 21-year-old. Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Michael Russo adds (Twitter link) that the Wild are believed to still have a chance at signing him. Graf is coming off another strong season at Quinnipiac where he recorded 22 goals and 27 assists in 34 games. Wherever he signs, it’s quite likely he burns the first season of his entry-level deal this year; he’d be eligible to play down the stretch in the regular season but not in the playoffs.
Morning Notes: Gustafsson, Hanley, Weal
New York Rangers reporter Vince Z. Mercogliano writes that Rangers defenseman Erik Gustafsson could return to the lineup tonight when they take on the New Jersey Devils. The 32-year-old journeyman told reporters yesterday that he was 100% after he practiced with the team wearing a regular contact jersey.
Gustafsson has been out of the lineup since taking an elbow to the head from Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart on March 23rd. He missed four games since but took his usual spot on the Rangers third pairing alongside Braden Schneider. The native of Nynashamn, Sweden has six goals and 24 assists this season in 70 games while averaging 17:15 of ice time per game.
In other morning notes:
- Ryan Pike of Flames Nation tweeted that the Calgary Flames didn’t have an update on defenseman Joel Hanley after last night’s 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Hanley started the game on the Flames top unit but played just six shifts for 3:44 in the first period and left the game without completing the period. The 32-year-old didn’t appear on the team’s bench for the second or third period and not much is known about what sort of issue kept him off of the ice. Hanley was acquired off waivers from the Dallas Stars on March 5th and has dressed in ten games for Calgary, tallying a goal and an assist.
- Former Philadelphia Flyers forward Jordan Weal has signed a two-year extension to remain in the KHL with Dynamo Moskva. Weal just completed his third KHL season, and second with Dynamo and is now locked up through the 2025-26 season. Weal hasn’t dressed in an NHL game since the 2020 playoffs when he was a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Weal had a breakthrough offensive season this year, finishing fourth in KHL scoring with 30 goals and 47 assists in 66 games having the most successful season by a Canadian forward in KHL history
Rangers, Kalle Väisänen Agree To Entry-Level Contract
The New York Rangers have signed 2021 fourth-round draft pick Kalle Väisänen to a three-year, entry-level contract (Twitter link). Väisänen moves to the Rangers after spending the last three seasons in the Liiga, Finland’s top league, playing for TPS’ top club after growing through their youth program. He becomes the second Rangers prospect to sign his first NHL deal on Tuesday, alongside defenseman Victor Mancini.
In signing Väisänen, New York is adding yet another big-frame to an increasingly growing roster. The Finnish winger stands at 6-foot-5, 200-pounds and knows how to use it, showing a strong skating ability for his size and not shying away from physical play. He’s proven effective in the gritty areas of the ice, capable of winning battles in the low slot or corners. But Väisänen has yet to find his scoring groove at the top level, with just 24 points across 137 Liiga games. He’s proven a bit more effective when facing his peers, scoring 50 points in 45 games in Finland’s U20 league. He also managed four points in 12 World Junior Championship games, across two tournaments with Finland.
While Väisänen can certainly play physically, he’s not much of a bruiser, with his most penalized season coming in 2018-19 when a 16-year-old Väisänen managed 38 penalty minutes in 17 U16 games. That’s far from the track record of his new peers – including Matt Rempe, who already has 54 penalty minutes through his first 13 NHL games. But the Rangers have shown they know how to develop big-frames into heavy-hitting pros through players like Rempe, Adam Edstrom, and Brandon Scanlin. They’ll begin another project with Väisänen now set to join North American pros next season.
Rangers Sign Victor Mancini To Entry-Level Contract
The New York Rangers have announced that they’ve signed defenseman Victor Mancini to a two-year, entry-level contract (Web link). Mancini signs after his junior season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, having spent all three years of college with the Mavericks. New York originally drafted the 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, his final season of draft eligibility.
Mancini is the son of Robert Mancini, who has served in roles across the hockey world – including a long career of NCAA coaching, three years as the general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, multiple years in the Edmonton Oilers’ scout and development room, representing USA Hockey internationally, and serving as the head coach of South Africa and Romania’s World Championship team. Robert most recently served as the head coach of USA’s U17 team in 2021.
Maybe because of his father’s own journeyman career, Mancini has played across the hockey world. His youth hockey career ended with the Little Caesars program in Detroit, where he also played in a handful of games with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Rather than continue in U.S. junior hockey in the subsequent season, Mancini instead took his talents to Sweden, playing two seasons with Frölunda HC’s affiliate teams and even serving as captain of their U20 team in 2020-21. Mancini returned to America at the tail end of that season, playing in 33 games with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, and moving to Nebraska in 2021-22.
Mancini, 21, is a rangy, right-shot defenseman with the powerful skating, hard passing, and vision needed to push his team up the ice. His long reach also keeps him effective on the defensive side of the puck, with Mancini doing well at keeping opponents to the outside. He served in a top role for Nebraska-Omaha this season, averaging nearly 21 minutes each game and serving on both special teams. He showed great prowess as a play-driver, though high-scoring has never been his groove – with Mancini managing just 23 points in 110 collegiate games. He’ll now move to the pro scene for the first time in his career, bolstering an already-deep Rangers defense room and returning the Mancini family back to the NHL level.
Poll: Who’s Going To Win The Presidents’ Trophy?
Nearly half of the current playoff field has clinched postseason berths, so attention is quickly turning to playoff positioning battles and who can finish atop the regular-season standings with just over two weeks left in the campaign. The field is crowded at the top, with seven teams within five points of first place.
The Rangers currently hold the edge as the only 50-win team and 104 points (.703 points percentage), ranking among the top six teams in both goals for and goals against. Leading them across the board offensively is winger Artemi Panarin, who should get some outside Hart Trophy consideration with a career-high 44 goals and 107 points. Season-ending injuries to Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler have damaged their forward depth, but early returns on their trade deadline replacements, Jack Roslovic and Alexander Wennberg, have been positive. With top-five defenseman Adam Fox leading their blue line and one of the better goalie duos in the league this year with Jonathan Quick and Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers are looking to win the Presidents’ Trophy for only the fourth time in their 98-year history and the first since 2014-15.
Moving over to the crowded Central Division, the Stars are keeping pace at the top of the division with an 8-2-0 record in their last 10. Their 103 points and .687 points percentage are both second in the league, but they’ll need some help to catch the similarly hot Rangers, who’ve played one less game. Fuelled by an incredibly deep forward corps and a breakout season from 22-year-old Thomas Harley alongside Miro Heiskanen on the team’s top defense pair, Dallas is chasing its first division title since 2016, when Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza all had 30-goal years and powered the league’s best offense. After shoring up their blue line with deadline pickup Chris Tanev and boosting their third line with the promotion of rookie Logan Stankoven from the minors, the Stars are hoping to make back-to-back Conference Final appearances for the first time since appearing in three straight from 1998 to 2000.
Hot on Dallas’ tails for guaranteed home-ice advantage through Round Three are the breakout Canucks, whose jump from 24th to fourth in goals against has fuelled their first trip to the postseason (sans the 2020 bubble) in nine years. A franchise record-breaking season from Quinn Hughes on the blue line, plus a rebound from Thatcher Demko in the crease, have created the core for what Vancouver hopes is a lengthy era of contention with J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson centering their top two lines. Some view them as the NHL’s flukiest team with a league-high 9.8% shooting percentage and 102.8 PDO at 5-on-5, a narrative they’ll look to dispel by extending their season into May and June.
The new-look Avalanche went big-game hunting at the trade deadline and remain in contention for division and league titles, tied with Vancouver with a .676 points percentage (100 points in 74 games). With new faces Brandon Duhaime, Casey Mittelstadt, Yakov Trenin, and Sean Walker providing reinforcements in the absence of captain Gabriel Landeskog for a second straight season, Colorado will look to stay hot down the stretch and avenge last year’s first-round upset at the hands of the Kraken.
Over in the East, the Bruins, Hurricanes and Panthers remain in the hunt for the regular-season title, but at three or more points behind the Rangers with no games in hand, it seems unlikely with New York on a hot streak. MoneyPuck awards each of them less than a 4% chance at capturing the first-overall crown.
Tell us – who’s your pick to win the Presidents’ Trophy and aim to become the first regular-season champion since 2013 to hoist the Stanley Cup?
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Trouba Could Return Tonight, Gustafsson Not On Road Trip
The Rangers could have defenseman Jacob Trouba back in their lineup tonight against Arizona, notes Mollie Walker of the New York Post. The 30-year-old has missed the last 11 games due to a lower-body injury and it’s worth noting he still needs the final green light from the medical staff. Trouba has played in 60 games so far this season, posting 22 points along with a team-leading 170 blocked shots and 164 hits while logging over 21 minutes a night so his return will certainly be a welcome one.
Meanwhile, the Rangers will have to wait a little longer to get their other injured blueliner back as Walker adds that Erik Gustafsson did not make the trip and will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old has been a quality provider of secondary offense from the back end, notching 30 points through 70 contests.
Alex Wennberg Out For Personal Reasons
- The Rangers announced (Twitter link) that center Alexander Wennberg was unavailable to play tonight for personal reasons. He and his wife are expecting a child in the coming days. The 29-year-old was acquired from Seattle earlier this month and he has fared relatively well in the early going with his new team, picking up four points in nine games so far. However, his playing time is down by nearly four minutes a night as he’s averaging 15:01 with his new team.
Afternoon Notes: Kolosov, Milano, Gustafsson
The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to add goaltender Alexei Kolosov, following the end of his KHL season with Dinamo Minsk. The Russian club officially announced the transfer in a press release thanking Kolosov for his four years with the club (Twitter link).
Kolosov, 22, has established himself as Dimano Minsk’s clear-cut starter over the last two seasons – managing 13 wins and a .912 save percentage in 42 games last season and 22 wins and a .907 in 47 games this year. He’s played ahead of Canadian Dylan Ferguson, who is in his first KHL season after playing in two games with the Ottawa Senators last year.
The Flyers drafted Kolosov in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was the third goalie selected in that class after both Sebastian Cossa and Jesper Wallstedt were selected in the first round. Kolosov signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in early July. He was loaned back to Russia soon after, though his contract wasn’t eligible for an entry-level slide, meaning this season has burned the first year of his three-year deal. Kolosov now joins a Flyers team with an open backup spot, stepping into a competition with Felix Sandstrom and Calvin Petersen.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Washington Capitals could add forward Sonny Milano back to the lineup on Tuesday, with head coach Spencer Carbery saying his attendance will be based on how he feels leading up to the game (Twitter link). Milano left the team’s Sunday game against Winnipeg early with an upper-body injury. He will help Washington fill-in for the suspended Tom Wilson, if he’s healthy enough to play.
- The New York Rangers designated defenseman Erik Gustafsson as day-to-day with an upper-body injury ahead of their Monday morning practice, which Gustafsson missed (Twitter link). Gustafsson seemed to suffer the injury in the team’s Saturday game against the Florida Panthers, taking a high hit from Sam Reinhart. He is questionable for the team’s Tuesday night game against Philadelphia, which could open the door for Brandon Scanlin to make his NHL debut.
Erik Gustafsson Out Day-To-Day, Ryan Lindgren Practices
- Heading to the Big Apple, the Rangers were without defenseman Erik Gustafsson at Monday’s practice due to an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old Swede is listed as day-to-day but has not been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Flyers. He’s provided great value for the Blueshirts on a one-year, $825K deal, crossing the 30-point plateau in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career. The offensive-minded blue-liner has also posted solid possession metrics, boasting a 54.0 CF% at even strength along with a +7.2 expected rating. While averaging 17:15 on the season, he’s been promoted to a top-four role in recent days, with Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba both absent due to lower-body injuries.