The New York Rangers open up training camp next week, and they've just added another player to their roster who is hoping to make his return to the National Hockey League.
#NYR are adding defenseman Andrej Sustr to their training camp roster on a PTO.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 12, 2025
Sustr, 34, spent the last three years playing in Europe.
There are now 19 players who have signed #NHL tryout agreements with camps opening next week.
Sustr is an NHL veteran with 361 games of experience and he last skated for the Anaheim Ducks during the 2021-22 season. Since that point he's played in the AHL, the DEL in Germany, and last year he split time between HC Dynamo Pardubice in Czechia, and Tappara in the Finnish Liiga.
Sustr addition in line with Rangers' recent emphasis on size
The 34-year-old defender is a big body at 6'7" and 216 pounds and has never been known for his offense. Per Evolving-Hockey, Sustr has a career GAR of -6.4. He had two solid seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014-15 and 2015-16, but since that point he's been a net negative player.
Sustr has averaged 16:14 per game throughout his career, and in that span has 11 goals and 58 assists for 69 points. The fact that he's been outside of the league for the last three season, and still got an invite to camp is interesting. You have players who were good in the NHL last year such as Matt Grzelcyk who are still sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.
Could this be a move for depth?
Sustr is a right hand shot, and that's an area where the Rangers are quite stacked. It is possible that they see something in him, and could sign him to be a veteran eighth defenseman who is assigned to Hartford and is the break glass in case of emergency option. He certainly wouldn't be my first choice, but if he's not cut out for the job that will become evident very quickly in what will be a highly competitive training camp.
The Rangers are hoping that they can turn the page on what was a very disastrous 2024-25 campaign, and this year's camp is set to be one of the more intriguing ones in recent memory.