Rangers Place Adam Edstrom On Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Rangers have placed forward Adam Edstrom on long-term injured reserve, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports. He’s missed the last four games with a lower-body injury but will now be sidelined at least through Christmas, becoming eligible for reinstatement against the Islanders on Dec. 27.
Edstrom was initially ruled out day-to-day, but his initial recovery hasn’t progressed as the team hoped, Walker said. He sustained his injury during practice on Dec. 1, and there hasn’t been much clarity on him since, including whether it’s related to the lower-body injury that ended his 2024-25 campaign in February and eventually required surgery.
The Rangers have had a relatively healthy forward group this season, save for Vincent Trocheck missing a few weeks early in the campaign, but their depth has taken a hit. They started the season with a fourth line of Edstrom, Sam Carrick, and Matt Rempe. Rempe hasn’t played since Oct. 23 due to an upper-body injury – Edstrom is joining him on LTIR – but he’s also traveled with the team on their road trip and could be an option to return as soon as tonight against the Blackhawks, head coach Mike Sullivan said yesterday (via Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic).
A sixth-round pick in 2019, the 6’7″, 232-lb Edstrom has provided the Rangers with quality, albeit limited, minutes. Through 24 appearances, he’d tallied two goals and four points with a +5 rating while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. His 48 hits rank sixth on the team, and his possession impacts while being deployed as a defensive specialist at 5-on-5 are strong. His 31.6 offensive zone start percentage is the second-lowest among Rangers forwards with at least 200 minutes, yet he leads them in 5-on-5 goal share at 64.3%.
With Rempe and now Edstrom out, AHL call-ups Brett Berard and Jaroslav Chmelar have stepped into the lineup. They’ve combined to go pointless with a -1 rating through 11 games.
Rangers Reassign Brandon Scanlin
Dec. 7: Scanlin has cleared waivers and his on his way to Hartford, per Friedman.
Dec. 6: After missing the preseason and the first two months of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin has received the green light to return. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that New York has placed him on waivers, meaning he has been activated off season-opening IR.
The 26-year-old will be starting his fifth professional campaign, spent entirely with the Rangers after they signed him as an undrafted college free agent in 2022. Scanlin spent three seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, picking up 11 goals and 51 assists over 98 appearances.
However, offensive production has been much harder to come by in the pros. Scanlin has played in 206 games with AHL Hartford over the last four seasons but has only managed 20 goals and 26 assists. Over his three full pro seasons, he has been consistent with his lowest point total being 14 (last season) and his highest 16. Scanlin has one career NHL appearance under his belt, that coming back in March 2024.
Scanlin is in the final season of a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $775K AAV in the NHL and a guaranteed payout of $250K. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim but the likeliest scenario is that he clears and returns to the Wolf Pack once again.
Rangers Recall Jaroslav Chmelar, Reassign Brennan Othmann
The New York Rangers have rewarded a rookie for a recent hot-streak in the AHL. Winger Jaroslav Chmelar has been recalled to the NHL after posting five points in his last five games for the Hartford Wolf Pack. That scoring brings him up to 11 points in 19 games on the year – fourth-most on Hartford. New York has reassigned wigner Brennan Othmann to make room for Chmelar’s addition.
New York is riding high entering December, witha 5-1-0 recor dacross their last six games. Othmann has served as the team’s extra forward for their last two games, but hasn’t pushed his way into the lineup since making his season debut in New York’s October 26th loss to the Calgary Flames. He posted no scoring and a minus-one in that match. Othmann has also recorded seven points and 29 penalty minutes in 15 games in the AHL. A return to the minors will give him a chance to play in his first game since November 29th.
Meanwhile, Chmelar will return to the NHL to compete with Sam Carrick and Jonny Brodzinski for a spot on the fourth-line. He played in the first two games of his NHL career earlier this season and posted no scoring and one fight. His lineup competition hasn’t been much more productive – with Carrick sat at six points, and Brodzinski at five points, on the year.
Chmelar is in his third pro season, after spending two years at Providence College. In that short span, he has posted 42 points and a minus-33 in 97 AHL games. He’s on the rise this year, and could cement his spot as New York’s go-to rookie, depth forward with a strong return to the lineup.
New York Rangers To Activate Jonathan Quick
According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have assigned netminder Spencer Martin to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. The transaction all but guarantees that the Rangers will activate veteran Jonathan Quick from the injured reserve ahead of their matchup against the Colorado Avalanche tonight.
While Quick has been on the Rangers’ injured reserve since November 25th, Martin has only been with the team since the 30th. New York had originally opted for 23-year-old Dylan Garand, who has managed a 4-6-2 record for the Wolf Pack this season with a .902 SV% and 2.87 GAA, to serve as Igor Shesterkin‘s backup.
Like Garand, Martin didn’t feature in any game throughout his recall. The veteran journeyman only recently joined the Rangers organization after beginning the season with the KHL’s CSKA Moskva. Martin registered a 5-6-0 record in 14 games overseas with a .905 SV% and 2.69 GAA. He immediately jumped at the chance for another opportunity in North America.
Regardless, it wouldn’t have been easy for Garand or Martin to replicate what Quick has provided New York the last three years, even if they earned an opportunity. Formerly a consistent Vezina Trophy nominee with the Los Angeles Kings, Quick has managed a 32-16-4 record with the Rangers with a .907 SV% and 2.74 GAA as Shesterkin’s backup.
It remains to be seen if the 2025-26 season will be Quick’s last in the NHL. The 19-year veteran is playing out a one-year, $1.55MM contract with the Rangers this season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to play into his age-40 campaign. However, while it’s unlikely to come in New York, Quick could explore his options next summer in pursuit of one last Stanley Cup ring.
Rangers Searching For Blueline Power Play Help
With blueliner Adam Fox landing on LTIR last month due to an upper-body injury late last month, the Rangers find themselves without their top blueliner and a key threat offensively from the back end. While they won’t be able to add someone who can log the nearly 24 minutes per game that Fox can, finding someone who could help in the offensive zone in a more limited role could be more doable.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that New York is looking to see if they can acquire someone to help quarterback the power play. One player he suggested as a possible option is former Ranger Erik Gustafsson who is currently playing in the minors after the Red Wings passed him through waivers unclaimed back in October.
Interestingly, offense from the defense hasn’t been an issue for the Rangers in the early going this season with their blueliners combining for 16 tallies, good for fourth in the league. Fox only has three of those while newcomer Vladislav Gavrikov is leading the way with six.
However, Gavrikov, nor any of their other defenders, is a natural power play threat. As a result, the Rangers have, at times, gone with five-forward units while Braden Schneider is second among New York defenders in power play ice time per game; he has all of one goal in 29 outings this season. With Gavrikov not being utilized at all with the man advantage, their existing options are limited.
The Rangers currently have a power play success rate (19.4%) that checks in just below the league average (20%) while offensively, they’re in the bottom third of the league in total goals scored. Filtering by conference, they’re the lowest-scoring team in the East in terms of goals per game. Suffice it to say, there is certainly a void for GM Chris Drury to try to fill here.
However, their salary cap flexibility is rather limited. Per PuckPedia, the Rangers are more than $1MM into LTIR already and while Fox being on there gives them some short-term wiggle room, they have to get back into compliance when he’s activated (or just over the $95.5MM ceiling as Matt Rempe is also on there at the moment). That means whoever they look to get needs to be someone who has a cap hit that can be cleared off the books when Fox comes back.
That’s not the case with Gustafsson. In the final season of a two-year deal, he carries a $2MM cap charge, one that’s lowered to $850K while he’s in the minors. Gustafsson could fit the extra role they want to fill as he did a few years ago with them but the higher cap charge means that Detroit would either need to retain or New York would need to send someone the other way to partially offset the money. Whether they find a way to make that work or find someone else to fill that void, it appears that Drury is searching for some outside help on the back end.
Latest On Rangers
- In 2022, the New York Rangers made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final, and their run was greatly aided by their “kid” line made up of a trio of top draft picks: Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil. While two of those three players have since been traded away, it appears the Rangers could be in the process of discovering another third line made up of its youngest players. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh wrote today that “The Rangers’ third line of Will Cuylle, Noah Laba and Brett Berard was buzzing” during the team’s win over the Dallas Stars, and brought up that the Rangers held a decisive lead in high-danger scoring chances whenever that line was on the ice. While it’s too early to tell if that line will stick long-term, those early results are promising. Cuylle is the most experienced player on the line (195 career NHL games played, 45 points last season) while Laba is in his rookie campaign and Berard has just 40 career NHL games. While the Rangers’ track record of developing its top forward draft picks has come under some recent scrutiny, each member of the aforementioned trio is a success story for the organization. Both Cuylle and Berard were second-day NHL draft picks who spent time in AHL Hartford before reaching the NHL, while Laba is a fourth-round pick who spent time in the NCAA.
Rangers Recall Brennan Othmann
The New York Rangers announced this evening that forward Brennan Othmann has been recalled from AHL Hartford. With Adam Fox landing on long term injured reserve yesterday, the club had an open spot, and no corresponding move was needed. However, Adam Edstrom left practice today and is thought to be day-to-day with a lower body injury, per Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports, so Othmann offers insurance if Edstrom cannot go tomorrow versus Dallas.
Othmann, drafted 16th overall in 2021 by New York, has been in Hartford since a one game stint with the big club in late October. Having been unable to reach expectations thus far, his name has floated around in rumors already this season. Although the Ontario native will turn just 23 in January, his AHL performance has not inspired much confidence of late. Othmann put up an impressive 49 points in 67 games in his first professional season, but after being hampered by injury in 2024-25, he has just one goal, seven points in 15 AHL games, a step below expectations at this point. At the NHL level, Othmann has not scored in 26 games to-date, posting two assists.
As they needed a forward, Othmann was an easy choice for GM Chris Drury, as he remains waiver exempt. However, a restricted free agent at season’s end, the former first-round top prospect will need to show something to warrant a future in New York, either in a small sample size as a bottom-sixer in the NHL, or putting it all together in the AHL and returning to a high scoring pace.
With the Rangers depleted from injuries, and likely in need of a shake up regardless, Othmann’s name is one to watch as trade season heats up. In the meantime, the winger will look to prove his organization right for their patience with his development so far, and step up in a time when the team is in need of a spark, if called upon tomorrow night.
Panarin Won't Rule Out KHL Return
While many pending UFAs have recently signed extensions, that hasn’t been the case for Rangers winger Artemi Panarin who is now one of the top veterans on an expiring contract. With talks between the two sides believed to have not gone well so far, some have wondered if a return to the KHL could even be an option. Speaking with reporters recently including Mollie Walker of the New York Post (subscription link), the 34-year-old wouldn’t rule the idea out, simply saying that it’s hard to say right now what’s coming next for him. Despite the contractual uncertainty, Panarin is hovering near the point per game mark and is tied for the team lead in scoring with 26 points and would get plenty of interest if he makes it to the open market next summer.
Rangers Face Uphill Battle With Adam Fox On LTIR
The New York Rangers were riding a three-game win-streak into Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was tied for their longest win-streak of the year, and their second three-game streak in November. But on the back of that fortune, the Rangers have been dealt a major lineup blow. Star defenseman Adam Fox sustained an upper-body injury that has landed him on long-term injured reserve. The Rangers avoided worst-case-scenario, with Fox expected to return before the end of the year. Even then, New York will face their toughest challenge of the season with at least 10 games without Fox.
Fox fills a clear #1 role for the Rangers. He has averaged 23:50 in ice time through 27 games this season, his highest usage since the 2022-23 season. He’s scored 26 points in those appaerances, tied for most on the team with Artemi Panarin. Fox also leads the defense with 51 shots on goal and ranks in the top-three with 31 blocked shots. He is a focal piece of play in all three zones when he’s on the ice, and now leaves a hole that will take multiple Rangers to fill.
New York has proven capable of filling the void in the past. They posted a 3-2-3 record in eight games without Fox last season, and a 7-2-1 record in 10 games without him in 2023-24. It was Erik Gustafsson who stepped up for Fox in 2023. He posted 11 points and averaged 20 minutes of ice time in those 10 games, while Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller averaged 24 minutes in a more defense-oriented role. The offense was a bit more spread in Fox’s absence last year – with Miller netting four points, while William Borgen and Zachary Jones each scored three, in eight games.
The Rangers have turned over the bulk of those difference-makers over the last two seasons, but did just gain Borgen back from an extended injury of his own. He was leaned on heaivly following Fox’s departure from Saturday’s game, and should continue to fill an important all-zones role in the short-term. New York will also have Vladislav Gavrikov, who has looked sharp on both sides of the puck as of late. He has nine points and a plus-four in 15 games this month, and 11 points in 27 games on the full season.
Filling Fox’s absence has proven to be a job for two or three players. The Rangers will have to wait and see who can step up to support Borgen and Gavrikov. Carson Soucy has four points and a plus-five in 23 games this season and Braden Schneider has five points in 27 games. Both play a physical and responsible game, and have shown an ability to stand up to tough minutes when called upon.
But if they can pillar the Rangers through the next month is yet to be seen. New York has had a positive month – posting an 8-7-0 record and +2 goal-differential. They’ve avoided the depths of the league that they landed in last season, but still need another push to stand out in a crowded Eastern Conference. Now, they will have to make that heave without one of their most impactful players. The team has proven up to the test before, and aren’t doomed to struggles just yet, but this will be the toughest test that head coach Mike Sullivan has faced yet in his first year with the Rangers.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports.
Latest On Adam Fox
1:00 PM: Further updates have come on Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, as per Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, the star will be placed on long-term injured reserve. Fox is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the shoulder injury. ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan shared that, at least, a longer term injury was avoided, and Fox should be set for the Olympics. However, it is a major blow to the struggling team nonetheless, to trudge into December without their #1 defenseman.
The 27-year-old alternate captain is tied for the Rangers’ team lead in points, with 26 in 27 games. In a season which has certainly not gone to plan, Fox has been a bright spot, playing at a franchise level, right on track with his best production to this point, which has been the 70+ point level.
Now, eyes may turn to GM Chris Drury to make a move to help out a seriously deflated defense corps, which has come at such an inopportune time. While questions exist on if Rangers can even keep up healthy or not, the franchise is at a serious crossroads. Now with Fox going down, Drury’s hand could be forced to try and provide reinforcements, although further mortgaging the future in an attempt to right the ship would be risky, as prior such moves to this point have already not panned out as initially hoped.
10:00 AM: The New York Rangers have not played up to expectation thus far in 2025-26, and their chances of making a serious push to climb the Eastern Conference standings may have taken a serious hit yesterday. Fox left yesterday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with an injury, and head coach Mike Sullivan told the media after the game, including Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, that Fox has suffered an upper-body injury and is still being evaluated.
While we are still waiting on official word on the extent of Fox’s injury, Daily Faceoff’s Arthur Staple cited sources this morning who said that Fox’s injury situation “doesn’t look good.” If Fox does indeed miss any kind of extended time, the Rangers would be left in an even more perilous position. Fox, the 2020-21 Norris Trophy winner, quarterbacks the Rangers’ top power play unit, a unit that the team has been heavily reliant on during its most recent competitive period. The team’s third-leading scorer, Mika Zibanejad, has been highly reliant on the power play for most of the offense he generates, so in the absence of Fox, it’d be fair to wonder where the Rangers’ offensive production will come from. The club doesn’t have another player with clear-cut power play quarterback ability. The team’s No. 2 defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov scored 30 points last season, but would be an imperfect fit in that role. Prospect Scott Morrow has gotten into some NHL games and has that kind of natural offensive ability, but Mercogliano wrote on Nov. 15 that “the early whispers” he’d heard from AHL Hartford regarding Morrow’s play were not “overly positive.” Morrow, who was ranked as the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect by Elite Prospects entering the season, has three points in 12 AHL games this season and one point in four NHL games.