- Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko isn’t quite ready to return yet, relays Newsday’s Colin Stephenson (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has missed the last six weeks with a lower-body injury and while he’s skating with the team, head coach Peter Laviolette indicated that they want to give Kakko a ramp-up period before returning so it appears he’ll need a bit more time. Kakko has struggled this season, notching just three points in 20 games before the injury.
Rangers Rumors
Rangers Recall Anton Blidh
The Rangers recalled winger Anton Blidh from AHL Hartford today, per a team release. His recall guarantees the Rangers will have 12 healthy forwards for tomorrow’s tilt against the Capitals.
This is the second time the Rangers have had to dip into their minor-league forward depth this week. They recalled Jake Leschyshyn, who made his season debut in yesterday’s loss to the Blues, in order to allow 2021 first-round pick Brennan Othmann to return to the minors after making his NHL debut earlier this month.
Now, with the status of top-line center Mika Zibanejad uncertain for tomorrow due to illness, Blidh could make his 2023-24 debut in a fourth-line role. Zibanejad was a late scratch against the Blues, forcing the Rangers to dress Zachary Jones as a seventh defenseman – obviously not a lineup configuration that bench boss Peter Laviolette prefers.
Blidh, 28, is a grinder who’s appeared in NHL games in every season dating back to 2016-17, although exclusively in limited roles. The Rangers acquired him at last season’s trade deadline in a minor-league swap with the Avalanche, later signing him to a two-year, two-way extension before free agency opened. Through 29 games with Hartford, Blidh has four goals and five points for nine assists and a +8 rating. In 14 NHL games with Colorado last season, he went pointless in 14 contests and averaged just 6:35 per game.
Filip Chytil's Return Likely To Influence Rangers Trade Deadline
Gauthier has commanded the top center role with Boston College this season, scoring 23 points in his 17 appearances this year – a mark that’s ranked second on the team, behind New York Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault, who has 25 points. Gauthier earned the top role partway through his freshman year last season when he led the team in scoring with 37 points in 32 games. His goal-scoring has also been of note in college, with his 13 goals in 17 games ranked fourth in the NCAA in goals-per-game.
- If and when young centerman Filip Chytil is able to return from long-term injured reserve is likely to dictate how the New York Rangers approach the trade deadline, per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Rosen shares that the Rangers could certainly be an active team as the trade deadline approaches, but that Chytil’s $4.4375MM cap hit will severely limit the team’s ability to add talent should it be added back to their bill. Chytil has been out of action since November 2nd, missing 23 games. The 24-year-old recently returned to his home country of Czechia to continue recovering from what is believed to be a concussion. Chytil recorded 22 goals and 45 points in 74 games last season.
New York Rangers Recall Matthew Robertson
The New York Rangers have recalled defenseman Matthew Robertson from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. This is not the 22-year-old’s first recall of his career, though he has still not yet made his NHL debut for the Rangers.
The New York Post’s Larry Brooks contextualized this move on X, stating that captain Jacob Trouba has missed the team’s last two practices tending to a personal matter. Robertson’s call-up gives the Rangers some additional cover on defense in case Trouba misses tomorrow’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Although Zac Jones, the Rangers’ seventh defenseman is currently the more likely option to step into Trouba’s role if needed on the team’s second pairing, Robertson is more stylistically comparable to Trouba than Jones is.
Jones, 23, is an undersized offensive blueliner who has excelled at the AHL level but struggled to have the same impact in the NHL without premier offensive or power play opportunities. Robertson, on the other hand, is a six-foot-three crease-clearing defenseman who doesn’t bring as much offense to the table, but adds a physical dimension to his game that Jones lacks. In case Trouba misses any time, this recall gives head coach Peter Laviolette the choice of two defensemen in order to fill his captain’s vacated role.
Kaapo Kakko Still Not Cleared To Play
Although there has been some recent speculation that New York Rangers’ forward, Kaapo Kakko, could be making his return soon, Larry Brooks of the New York Post states that is not the case. Unfortunately, Brooks notes that Kakko has still not been cleared to return to play, meaning the Rangers will have to call up a forward from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, before their game on Thursday.
Suffering from a lower-body injury in late November, Kakko has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve since November 28th. Although he has satisfied the LTIR requirements to return by a healthy amount, team doctors clearly do not think he is ready to return. In what is shaping up to be yet another disappointing season for Kakko, he has skated in 20 games for the Rangers up to this point in the season, scoring two goals and three points all while averaging about 13 and a half minutes a night.
- Heading a few miles east of the Rangers, the New York Islanders will see the reinforcement of Adam Pelech tonight, as Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports that the defenseman will make his return to the ice after missing the last 20 games. With additional injuries on the blue line, the addition of Pelech back into the lineup should give a major boost to the Islanders’ defensive core, as he has historically been one of the best defenders in the organization. Through 16 games so far this season, Pelech has tallied three assists, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.
Rangers Assign Brennan Othmann To AHL
The Rangers assigned winger Brennan Othmann to AHL Hartford on Tuesday morning, the team announced. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports the Rangers are expected to replace Othmann’s spot on the active roster with a corresponding recall from Hartford later today.
Othmann, 21, was the Rangers’ 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft and just completed his first NHL stint. Signed to his entry-level deal shortly after the 2021 draft in August, his contract slid for two seasons because the Rangers returned him to the OHL’s Flint Firebirds to begin the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. Now that he’s old enough for a full-time AHL assignment under the NHL-CHL transfer agreement, Othmann started his professional career in earnest last Fall. He’s impressed thus far with Hartford, recording nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 28 games, ranking fourth on the team in each metric.
After veteran fourth-liner Tyler Pitlick sustained a lower-body injury last week, the Rangers brought Othmann up on an emergency loan to gauge his NHL readiness. He impressed in his first showing, recording five shots on goal in 12:26 of ice time against the Blackhawks in his NHL debut on January 4, but registered under eight minutes of ice time and one shot on goal in the following two games. He’ll head back to the minors, still searching for his first NHL point after averaging 9:05 and posting a subpar 48.2% Corsi share despite extensive offensive zone usage at even strength in three contests.
Sending Othmann down leaves the Rangers with only 11 healthy forwards, but as Rosen mentions, that number will jump back to 12 later today. The Rangers, who lost 6-3 to the Canucks last night, don’t play again until Thursday in St. Louis.
Latest On Kaapo Kakko
New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko joined the team’s skate this morning in a red no-contact jersey, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. This is believed to be the first instance of Kakko at Rangers practice since the forward suffered a leg injury in November.
While Kakko is likely still a decent way off from a full-on return to the Rangers, this is undeniably encouraging news. The 22-year-old’s injury has left the Rangers thinner at their right wing position compared to just about any other position on their roster, and despite his slow start to the year, Kakko had a career year last season with 18 goals and 40 points.
Rangers Recall Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick Week-To-Week With Injury
The New York Rangers have recalled top prospect Brennan Othmann from the AHL. Othmann currently ranks fourth on the Hartford Wolf Pack in scoring and eighth among all AHL rookies with nine goals and 23 points in 28 games. This is the first recall of Othmann’s career after going 16th-overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. He is one of two players from that round to be recalled on Wednesday, with the Los Angeles Kings recalling eighth-overall pick Brandt Clarke. Othmann be looking to become the 16th player from the 2021 First Round to make his NHL debut.
New York also shared that forward Tyler Pitlick is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. This could set up Othmann to make his NHL debut in New York’s Thursday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. Pitlick has three points in 28 appearances this season.
The Rangers signed Othmann to a three-year, $4.1MM entry-level contract in 2021 that is effective from 2023-24 to 2025-26, with the Rangers receiving two entry level slides from Othmann staying in the OHL.
Othmann was traded midway through last year’s OHL season, moving from the Flint Firebirds to the Peterborough Petes. He would go on to serve as the team’s leading scorer through the postseason, netting 25 points in 23 games as Peterborough won the OHL championship and made it to the semifinal game of the 2023 Memorial Cup. Othmann was one of many NHL prospects on the championship-winning Petes lineup, joining Seattle’s Tucker Robertson, Vancouver’s Connor Lockhart, Philadelphia’s J.R. Avon, and New Jersey’s Chase Stillman.
Morning Notes: Anisimov, Moser, Lazar
Artem Anisimov isn’t ready to call it quits just yet, signing a professional try-out contract with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. This brings Anisimov back into the New York Rangers organization, the same place he started his career after going 54th overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. Anisimov played in two seasons for Hartford after being drafted, scoring a strong 124 points in 154 games. The scoring was strong enough to earn him his NHL debut in 2009, with Anisimov quickly becoming an everyday NHL talent with 18 goals and 44 points in 82 games during his sophomore 2010-11 season.
Anisimov was moved to the Columbus Blue Jackets after four seasons with the Rangers. He spent three more in Columbus, before spending four years in Chicago and two in Ottawa. All the while, Anisimov remained a fantastic depth scorer, recording four seasons of 20-or-more goals in his nine seasons outside of New York. His career totaled 771 games and 376 points before Anisimov slipped away from the NHL, moving to Russia’s KHL for the 2021-22 season and spending last year with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. The 35-year-old centerman managed 19 goals and 36 points in 55 AHL games last year, suggesting that he may have some more left in the tank. He’ll have a chance to prove that now back where his career started.
More notes from around the league:
- J.J. Moser is set to return to the Arizona Coyotes lineup on Tuesday. The young defender missed two games after suffering an upper-body injury on December 23rd. Moser is in his third NHL season and has 15 points and a +8 through 33 games on the year. It’s the first time in Moser’s young career that he’s had a positive +/-.
- Curtis Lazar returned to the New Jersey Devils’ practice on Tuesday, after missing the team’s last three games with a lower-body injury. Lazar has been designated as day-to-day and was a game-time decision for both Friday and Saturday. Lazar has been an important piece of the Devils lineup when he can go, netting four goals and 10 points through 30 games this season.
Rangers Assign Adam Edstrom To AHL
Sunday: Edstrom’s second stint with the Rangers was short-lived as the team announced that he has been sent back to the Wolf Pack. Edstrom did not see any game action while on recall.
Thursday: The Rangers recalled forward Adam Edstrom from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday, per a team release. This is the first non-emergency recall in his career.
Edstrom, 23, made his NHL debut before the holiday break, scoring one goal on three shots in 9:39 of ice time against the Ducks on December 17. The hulking 6-foot-6 Swedish center gives the Rangers some injury insurance as a 13th forward for their two-game road swing through Florida to close out 2023.
Drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round in 2019, Edstrom played three years with Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League before signing his entry-level contract shortly after the 2021-22 season concluded. The Rangers again loaned him out to Rögle last season, where he notched a career-high nine goals and 19 points in 42 games. To end the campaign, they assigned him to Hartford for his first taste of North American pro hockey after Skellefteå eliminated Rögle in the quarterfinals of the SHL playoffs.
Edstrom began this season in Hartford as expected. His eight goals in 24 games rank fifth on the Wolf Pack, a good start for a player widely viewed as having a limited offensive ceiling. Edstrom’s best-case scenario is still panning out as a third-line checking center, but so far, he looks to be in quite a solid place in his development for such a late-round pick.