The New York Rangers will be without rookie Adam Edström for the foreseeable future. He was been placed on injured reserve Tuesday, as revealed by the NHL media site.
Following exiting the Rangers' loss to the Bruins on Saturday, fourth-liner Edtrom subsequently missed the most recent 4-2 win over Las Vegas. Unfortunately for the Rangers, he is officially out for two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half months with a lower-body injury.
According to Mollie Walker with the New York Post, the Blueshirts dropped the bombshell Tuesday morning.
The projected 2.5-3.5 month timeline means that — at best — Edstrom could return for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, assuming the Rangers make it. The Blueshirts currently stand 12th in the Eastern Conference, five points out of the second wild card.
Edstrom has been a bright spot for the Blueshirts in the bottom six, and through 51 games had tallied 5 goals and 4 assists playing 9:16 per game. At 6'6" and 241 pounds he brought a powerful presence to the ice, and he'd been pretty effective keeping his nose clean while still playing a physical game.
The Rangers do have the options to fill Edstrom's spot in the lineup. One options is keeping things consistent in the remaining games ahead of the approaching break for the Four Nations Faceoff. Jimmy Vesey had been sitting since Jan. 11 prior to seeing 12:24 TOI against the Vegas Golden Knights in light of Edstrom's absence.
Regardless, the fourth line has taken a hit as a result of the 24-year-old's injury.