The New York Rangers will attempt to keep their outdoor undefeated streak alive when they take on the Florida Panthers at the 2026 Winter Classic, and they will be without rookie center Noah Laba who is week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered on New Year's Eve against the Washington Capitals.
Laba was injured after taking tough hit from Tom Wilson
Laba went to play the puck around the middle of the second period in what became a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, and he was absolutely blown up by Tom Wilson.
Tom Wilson NAILS Noah Laba and then SCORES right after 😱🚨 pic.twitter.com/iWM4cUdiQy
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 31, 2025
Laba missed the rest of the game, and it was announced on New Year's Day that he would miss the Winter Classic.
Laba has ran with the opportunity he earned in preseason
Laba is a player that wasn't really on anyone's radar during the summer and preseason, and he started turning heads after putting together an impressive rookie camp that carried over once Rangers' camp began. He was a noticeable spark plug who brought speed and grit, and he quietly was having a fine season as an NHL rookie.
Congratulations to Noah Laba on winning the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, given annually to the top #NYR rookie in training camp as selected by the media. 👏 pic.twitter.com/gxBm8nVm8q
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 6, 2025
Up to this point Laba had appeared in all of the Rangers' 42 games played, and he had a 54.21 GF%, a 45.95 CF%, and a 47.2 xGF%. Those numbers highlight some room for improvement, but I think the front office is fine with those numbers along with a 51.9 faceoff percentage, five goals, and seven assists for 12 points while averaging just 13:13 per game.
Laba was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, and everything he's done this season has defied expectations. He is still very much a work in progress, but he has shown that he can keep up with the speed of NHL action, and very may well be a decent third line center.
Thought this play from rookie Noah Laba on the second #NYR goal deserved more attention: pic.twitter.com/YMsLLW0SJX
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) December 5, 2025
Rangers will miss his speed and energy
The Rangers made some recalls to give Mike Sullivan options for building out his lines in upcoming games, but it will be hard to replace Laba's speed. Laba's top recorded speed of 23.04 MPH has him in the 91st percentile of skaters according to NHL EDGE. His ability to win footraces and track down loose pucks has been an unexpected benefit for the Rangers, and he was an important piece down the middle with J.T. Miller sidelined. Players like Brett Berard and Justin Dowling will now have a chance to show what they can do in the bottom six, and with Conor Sheary out long term, only one of them will be able to stay around once Laba is able to make his return to the lineup.