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New York Rangers Recall Ryan Carpenter

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The New York Rangers have made a tweak to their roster, recalling forward Ryan Carpenter from the Hartford Wolf Pack, their AHL affiliate. Additionally, the team has placed forward Julien Gauthier on injured reserve, which creates space on the Rangers’ roster for Carpenter’s recall.

Gauthier, 25, lands on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, one he sustained in a collision with teammates Sammy Blais. The speedy forward has played in 32 games this season, averaging eight and a half minutes of ice time per night. In that capacity he’s scored nine points and registered 58 hits.

Replacing Gauthier on the roster is Carpenter, a 31-year-old undrafted veteran with over 300 NHL games of experience. Carpenter has familiarity with Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant, having played for him as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Carpenter, 31, was signed this offseason to serve as a safe, affordable member of the Rangers’ bottom six. The Rangers were struggling for cap space this offseason due to their glut of highly-priced stars, so Carpenter represented a solid investment for a team that needed to fill out spots down their lineup.

Carpenter hasn’t had a great year, though, and has recently found himself in the AHL. With an impressive 13-point run of 15 games in Hartford, Carpenter has now earned his chance to return to the NHL, and could even dress for the Rangers’ game today against the Montreal Canadiens. It’s likely that in Gauthier’s absence, Carpenter will compete with recent waiver claim Jake Leschyshyn for ice time.

Kreider Doubtful To Play Next Two Games, Gauthier Out For Sunday At Least

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  • Rangers winger Chris Kreider skated on his own today but is listed as doubtful for their upcoming games on Sunday and Monday, relays Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). He suffered an upper-body injury earlier this week and missed Thursday’s game against Dallas.  While he’s not scoring at the rate he was last season when he had 52 goals, Kreider has still been productive with 19 goals and 11 assists through 42 games.  Meanwhile, Staple adds that winger Julien Gauthier, who was injured in a collision with teammate Sammy Blais on Thursday, has yet to skate and is out for Sunday’s game and likely Monday’s as well.  He has a career-high six goals in 32 games this season.

Julien Gauthier Leaves Game With Injury

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Rangers Claim Jake Leschyshyn; Panthers Claim Casey Fitzgerald

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The New York Rangers are the team willing to take a chance on Jake Leschyshyn, claiming him off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The young forward was waived yesterday after failing to record a single point this season. They aren’t the only team nabbing a new player though. Casey Fitzgerald has been claimed by the Florida Panthers, meaning he’s leaving the Buffalo Sabres, the only organization he’s ever been a part of.

Leschyshyn, 23, is better than he has shown for the Golden Knights this season, but the fact was that he hadn’t produced any offense despite regular (albeit limited) playing time. Selected 62nd overall in 2017, the Rangers likely have confidence that they can get him back closer to the player that put up 27 points in 34 games for the Henderson Silver Knights last season. A versatile forward who can be good defensively, engage physically and play both center and wing, he doesn’t need to produce a ton to be valuable. He does have to produce some though, which will ultimately decide whether he stays in the Rangers lineup for long.

Fitzgerald’s loss is a critical one for the Sabres. As referenced yesterday, when he was placed on waivers, Buffalo has some of the thinnest organizational depth in the league on defense. With today’s loss, they are now tied with Seattle for the fewest defensemen under NHL contracts with 11. Should the team run into any injuries, they would quickly run into a tricky situation in terms of available call-ups. With the team legitimately challenging for a playoff spot, that may end up being an area of focus at the trade deadline.

For Florida though, Fitzgerald is a nice solution. In early December, we wrote that defensive depth was a serious need, as the coaching staff didn’t seem comfortable icing the bottom pair for more than a few minutes a game. Matt Kiersted, for instance, is averaging just 9:51 in his 20 appearances. Fitzgerald, who has played 59 games over the last two seasons with Buffalo, gives them another option there, perhaps one that can gain some trust.

It wouldn’t be the first time a waiver claim did well on the Panthers blue line. Gustav Forsling, who now logs more than 24 minutes a night, was claimed almost exactly two years ago and has lived up to the potential.

New York Rangers Send Gustav Rydahl To AHL

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1/6/23: Rydahl’s stay on the Rangers roster has been brief. The team has announced that the forward has been sent back down to AHL Hartford. Rydahl wasn’t dressed for the Rangers’ 4-1 victory over the Canadiens last night.

1/5/23: The New York Rangers have added some more size and grit to the roster, recalling Gustav Rydahl from the minor leagues. Arthur Staple of The Athletic tweets that he is up for Jonny Brodzinski, whose wife is expecting.

Signed to a one-year, $750K contract out of the SHL last May, Rydahl likely would have made the Rangers lineup out of training camp had he not been one of the few waiver-exempt bubble players. Instead of risking someone else, he was sent to the minor leagues where he has been playing with the Hartford Wolf Pack, racking up nine points and 24 penalty minutes in 24 games.

He won’t make many highlight reels, but the hard-working 26-year-old is a versatile player that found plenty of success in the SHL. His consistent north-south game resulted in 15 goals and 30 points in 44 games for Farjestads BK last season, and he was even better in the postseason when the checking tightened. That’s the kind of play the Rangers are dying to see out of their bottom six, meaning the forward (who can play center and wing) could get a chance to prove himself.

The Rangers will take on the Montreal Canadiens this evening before heading to New Jersey for a game Saturday night.

NHL Announces Initial All-Star Rosters

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According to a league release, the NHL has named the first eight selections to the four divisional All-Star teams for the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Florida.

The league names one player to represent each team at the game, a rule in standing since the league switched to a divisional format for its mid-season talent showcase. A public fan vote will decide the three remaining players per division next week.

Each division’s leader in points percentage after gameplay concludes on January 11 will determine coaches for these teams. The Boston Bruins have already clinched the best such number in the Atlantic at that time, meaning Jim Montgomery will be behind the bench for the star-studded Atlantic Division, arguably the league’s best contingent of talent.

The initial rosters for each division are as follows:

Atlantic Division

Boston: G Linus Ullmark (1st appearance)
Buffalo: C Tage Thompson (1st appearance)
Detroit: C Dylan Larkin (3rd appearance)
Florida: RW Matthew Tkachuk (2nd appearance)
Montreal: C Nick Suzuki (2nd appearance)
Ottawa: LW Brady Tkachuk (3rd appearance)
Tampa Bay: RW Nikita Kucherov (4th appearance)
Toronto: RW Mitch Marner (2nd appearance)

Metropolitan Division

Carolina: LW Andrei Svechnikov (1st appearance)
Columbus: LW Johnny Gaudreau (7th appearance)
New Jersey: C Jack Hughes (2nd appearance)
NY Islanders: C Brock Nelson (1st appearance)
NY Rangers: G Igor Shesterkin (1st appearance)
Philadelphia: C Kevin Hayes (1st appearance)
Pittsburgh: C Sidney Crosby (5th appearance)
Washington: LW Alex Ovechkin (8th appearance)

Central Division

Arizona: LW Clayton Keller (3rd appearance)
Chicago: RD Seth Jones (4th appearance)
Colorado: RD Cale Makar (2nd appearance)
Dallas: LW Jason Robertson (1st appearance)
Minnesota: LW Kirill Kaprizov (2nd appearance)
Nashville: G Juuse Saros (2nd appearance)
St. Louis: RW Vladimir Tarasenko (injured) (4th appearance)
Winnipeg: LD Josh Morrissey (1st appearance)

Pacific Division

Anaheim: RW Troy Terry (2nd appearance)
Calgary: C Nazem Kadri (2nd appearance)
Edmonton: C Connor McDavid (6th appearance)
Los Angeles: LW Kevin Fiala (1st appearance)
San Jose: RD Erik Karlsson (7th appearance)
Seattle: C Matthew Beniers (1st appearance)
Vancouver: C Elias Pettersson (3rd appearance)
Vegas: G Logan Thompson (1st appearance)

The most important note on these rosters is obviously that of Tarasenko’s status. The 31-year-old is on injured reserve with a hand injury, and likely won’t be able to suit up. His replacement will be named shortly.

More to come…

New York Rangers Extend Jimmy Vesey

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Jimmy Vesey has picked the New York Rangers once again, this time signing an extension with the team. The two-year deal will keep him in New York through the 2024-25 season and according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN, will cost the Rangers just $800K each year.

Vesey, 29, said no to both the Nashville Predators and Buffalo Sabres before signing with the Rangers back in 2016, after his outstanding college career at Harvard University made him a hot commodity. Things went okay through those first few years in New York but were never the same after leaving the Rangers. After setting a career-high 17 goals and 35 points in 2018-19, Vesey bounced around the league, playing for Buffalo, Toronto, Vancouver, and New Jersey, struggling at each stop.

Last summer, he decided to go back to the beginning, signing a one-year, $750K deal with the Rangers to try and get his career back on track. It has worked out pretty well so far, with Vesey gaining the trust of the coaching staff and adding a bit of depth scoring to a talented lineup. Through 38 games he has six goals and 12 points while averaging more than 13 minutes a night. He has been more physical than ever before, is committed to the defensive side of the puck, and has shown versatility when asked to move up and down the lineup.

For $800K against the cap, he can be a valuable depth piece for the Rangers to work with. Vesey likely won’t ever reach the hype that followed him out of school, but he’ll at least get a chance for some stability and consistency with a new contract extension.

Rangers Not Looking To Trade Alexis Lafreniere

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  • Alexis Lafreniere entered the rumor mill when the New York Rangers decided to make him a healthy scratch recently, but The Athletic’s staff writes that the team has no intention of trading him at this point. The 21-year-old first-overall pick has struggled to find any level of consistency in the NHL, though his supporters will point to an even-strength scoring rate that is encouraging. One thing is clear: if he doesn’t miraculously find another level in the second half, he won’t be getting the massive second contract that many top picks earn. Lafreniere is scheduled to become a restricted free agent without arbitration rights, meaning he could be forced to accept a qualifying offer under $900K for next season, should the Rangers play hardball.

Should The Rangers Look To Extend Jimmy Vesey?

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  • It took a PTO for Jimmy Vesey to eventually land a contract with the Rangers but now that he’s eligible to sign an extension, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that they’d be wise to try to sign the winger to a new deal now. The 29-year-old has six goals and six assists in 37 games this season and has largely played on the top three lines for the bulk of the year.  Knowing that Vesey has gone through the PTO route for two straight years, it’s possible that he’d be amenable to an early extension, one that would give him a bit of stability at a price tag that likely wouldn’t be much higher than the league minimum.

Libor Hajek Remains A Healthy Scratch

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It’s been a tough stretch for defenseman Libor Hajek with the New York Rangers. After being one of the two rather intriguing prospects acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller trade nearly five years ago, he hasn’t panned out as a regular on Broadway (much like the other acquired prospect, Brett Howden).

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