Now we wait on the New York Rangers to make a few more moves to set their opening-night roster.
This after the Rangers finished a 2-2-0 preseason by hammering the Islanders JV squad 6-1 at UBS Arena on Friday, and reduced their training camp roster significantly earlier in the day.
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Technically, as this story posts, the Rangers have 32 players remaining on the roster. However, four of those players — Anton Blidh, Glenn Gawdin, Marc Del Gaizo, and William Trudeau — were placed on waivers Friday, expect to clear Saturday, and then will be assigned to Hartford of the American Hockey League.
So, that’s 28 players. And two are injured. Adam Sykora is a candidate for long-term injured reserve since he’s out 4-5 months with a lower-body injury sustained in a preseason game against the Devils. Forward prospect Aidan Thompson missed all of rookie camp and training camp with an undisclosed injury and is considered week to week.
That gets you to 26, with a 23-man roster limit. Defenseman Vincent Iorio is day to day with a lower-body injury. Let’s see if he lands on IR or how the Rangers handle that. If deemed healthy he could be placed on waivers too; but since he hasn’t practiced recently, that doesn’t appear to be an option.
So, the Rangers will figure out Iorio. Leaving them with two players to cut before opening night. Alberts Smits certainly appears to have earned his way into the starting lineup, an exciting bit of news for the Rangers and their 18-year-old defenseman. Matthew Robertson figures to be the extra (seventh) defenseman), leaving Scott Morrow twisting a bit in the wind. The guess here is that the Rangers take a chance, place Morrow on waivers, hope he goes unclaimed, and starts the season in Hartford.
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Matt Rempe looks to have won the right wing spot on the fourth line with a pretty strong preseason. And veteran Taylor Raddysh fits well as the 13th (extra) forward. In this scenario, Jaroslav Chmelar, who is waivers exempt, unlike the other two forwards, starts out in Hartford.
Assuming the above, the Rangers start the 2026-27 season with three goalies on the roster, not risking losing Dylan Garand on waivers. However, that’s a short-term solution, and, perhaps, it’s just easier trying to sneak Garand through waivers now when the waiver wire bursts at the seams at the end of training camps — as opposed to a later date.
Should Garand get cut, then Morrow and/or Chmelar stays with the big club.
Decisions … decisions …
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Clock is ticking.
Lor Orlando has the full game story and recap after Rangers cruise to 6-1 victory over the Islanders in their preseason finale.
Here are the key Rangers takeaways after that win on Long Island, courtesy of John Kreiser.
The Rangers assigned six players to AHL Hartford, including top forward prospects Liam Greentree and Cole Beaudoin, who coach Mike Sullivan excitedly raved about shortly before they were cut.
Forever Blueshirts: Oft-injured former Rangers center Filip Chytil landed on IR and is week to week with a shoulder injury for the Vancouver Canucks after an on-ice collision with a referee.
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San Jose Hockey Now: Macklin Celebrini was named the 11th full-time captain in Sharks history, and is now the youngest captain in the NHL (20 years, 104 days).
Sportsnet: Per reports, the NHL salary cap is projected to rise to a whopping $127.5 million for the 2028-29 season.
The Province: The Canucks claimed goalie Leevi Meriläinen, after the 24-year-old was placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators.
TSN: The Senators then acquired goalie Jonas Johansson in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
X: Both PuckPedia and Pierre LeBrun reported that Carolina Hurricanes holdout defenseman Alexander Nikishin fired his current representation, and LeBrun says he hired Paul Theofanous as his new agent.
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ESPN: The Hurricanes signed goalie Pyotr Kochetkov to a two-year, $7.9 million contract extension.
The Athletic: Matthew Fairburn breaks down why the Buffalo Sabres signed Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year, $850,000 contract just days away from their regular-season opener.
Sportsnet: The Calgary Flames signed forward Alex Nylander to a one-year, two-way contract.
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