Following up with the news that winger Mike Rupp will have knee surgery, the enforcer has been placed on long term injured reserve. Also placed on LTIR was Wojtek Wolski, who re-injured his groin Thursday against the Ducks, after sitting out a good portion of the Western Canada road trip with the same injury. Groin injuries are tricky, so his timetable for a return is likely up in the air as well.

With both players on IR –and Marc Staal, the Rangers have some additional cap space to work with when trying to fill holes. We highlighted how Staal’s trip to LTIR made it possible for Sean Avery’s return earlier, but now with additional cap space the Rangers may be able to find some room for someone like Mats Zuccarello or another player with a higher cap hit.

Of course, the Rangers current replacements (ie: Andre Deveaux) have been playing very well as an injury replacement, and the Rangers might not need another replacement yet. If a top-nine forward goes down, then you might see a Zuccarello or a Carl Hagelin be called up.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: