New York Rangers injury updates: Braden Schneider surgery; Adam Edstrom skating again
Braden Schneider showed up at New York Rangers break-up day with his right arm in a sling and an explanation of why that’s the case Monday.
The 23-year-old defenseman had a tear in his labrum and opted to have surgery before the season ended to correct the issue. It’s something Schneider’s dealt with for two years and decided to fix after the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention. He missed the final two games of the regular season, the only games he didn’t play in 2024-25.
“It’s something they said I could play with, I could go the rest of my playing career playing with it, but it puts me at risk for other things down the road in my life and it’d be tougher to deal with then,” Schneider explained. “So, it’s something I think had to be done and will help me down the road.”
Though he was able to play with the injury for two seasons, Schneider admitted that it affected his physical play more than anything.
“A thing I take a lot of pride in is being a physical player and being able to bring that part of the game, and I feel that there were times where I’d aggravate it and there’d be a string of games where I wasn’t as physical as I wanted to be, and I was a little hesitant with it,” Schneider shared. “I think that’s more the reason I wanted to get it done so bad because I didn’t want to be dealing with that anymore.
“Puck-handling and shooting, I felt fine. But it was something I was thinking about and it needed to get done.”
Schneider expects to be ready for training camp in the fall. He established NHL career highs with six goals, 15 assists and 21 points this season. He finished strong offensively with three goals and seven points in his final 17 games, including the scintillating game-winner in overtime against the Minnesota Wild on March 13.
“I have no doubt I’ll be ready to go (for training camp) and more healthy than I’ve ever been,” he said.
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Adam Edstrom explains reason behind absence from Rangers lineup
Adam Edstrom spoke with reporters on break-up day for the first time since the towering forward sustained a lower-body injury Feb. 1 against the Boston Bruins. Edstrom revealed that he had surgery on the unspecified injury and has resumed skating. He guessed that if the Rangers were in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he would’ve been an option to play at some point this spring.
“It’s tough. I really thought we got going there at the end — me, ‘Remps’ and [Sam] Carrick — we found something really good (on fourth line), so it’s always tough to miss time, but it’s one of those things, it happens, it’s part of the sport,” Edstrom said. “I’m excited to come back.”
The 6-foot-7 forward played each of the first 51 games this season before the injury. He had five goals and nine points as a fourth-line regular, and played a key role on the penalty kill. Edstrom even had the first fight of his career.
“I’m proud of the season I had. I’m proud of coming into camp, making the team, playing all the games before I got injured,” the 24-year-old said.
Also on the injury front, Chris Kreider revealed he may need surgery on his left hand, which he injured in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb 22. The 33-year-old remained in the lineup despite the injury. He also revealed that an illness caused him to have vertigo at one point this season, and that he also dealt with a back issue.
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