Rooney on the COVID list, taxi squad set

One more New York Rangers player entered the COVID protocol when the team announced that Kevin Rooney was joining Alexandar Georgiev, Ryan Lindgren and Jarred Tinordi.  That means Greg McKegg moves into the lineup replacing him.

The New York Rangers made their call-ups to the taxi squad and it is an interesting mix of players, leaning more towards prospects than experienced minor league players.

Goalies

With Keith Kinkaid already on the active roster, Adam Huska was added to the taxi squad.  When Alexandar Georgiev comes off the COVID Protocol list,  either Kinkaid or Huska will be returned to Hartford.  Huska got that one sacrificial lamb start against the Colorado Avalanche when he was shelled for seven goals.   In Hartford he is 2-4-2 with a 2.26 GAA and .922 save percentage in eight games.

Forwards

Jonny Brodzinski (center) has the most NHL experience of all of the players with 62 games under his belt. The 28-year-old got into five games for the Rangers last season and scored once.  He was signed as  a free agent last season. He leads Hartford in scoring with has 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in in 23 games with 18 PIM and an even plus/minus rating.

Tim Gettinger (LW-RW) has seen action in eight games over three years, notching one assist.   The 23-year old is a big forward (6’6″) who hasn’t been able to stick after getting picked in the fifth round of the draft in 2016.  He has eight goals and eight assists in 21 games with 16 PIM and a +2 plus/minus rating.

23-year old Morgan Barron (center) has played in two games this season after seeing five games last year. He’s a center for whom the Rangers have high expectations after a stellar career at Cornell.   He has eight goals and four assists in 20 games with 10 PIM and a -1 plus/minus rating.

Defensemen

The fanbase has been calling for the promotion of 21-year-old Zac Jones who has been lights out in Hartford this season. He played 10 games right out of UMass last year, notching four assists.  He is one of the most highly regarded Ranger defense prospects.

He leads all Hartford blueliners in scoring with four goals and 13 assists in 21 games with eight PIM and a -3 plus/minus rating.

Matthew Robertson, 20, has yet to make his NHL debut after being drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft.  He’s a steady stay-at-home defenseman who has been allowed time to develop in junior hockey and how in the AHL.

He has no goals and five assists in 23 games for Hartford with 10 PIM and a -4 plus/minus rating.

Taxi squad info

The taxi squad will remain in effect until the All-Star break and no player can spend more than 20 days on the taxi squad.  Waiver rules are in effect for all players on the taxi squad, in essence, it is as if they are in the AHL, but traveling and practicing with the Rangers.   A reminder that being on the taxi squad does not mean that they are on the active roster. They have to be promoted from the taxi squad to the playing roster in order to get into a game.

With Greg McKegg the only spare forward on the active roster, the question is who will see ice time if more than one forward is out of the lineup.   On defense, the team is down to six blueliners with Jarred Tinordi and Ryan Lindgren on the COVID list.  If another blueliner is sidelined, the expectation is we would see Zac Jones in the lineup before Robertson. Both are leftshot defensemen.