Rangers place Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil on LTIR
It appears the initial fears of the severity to Kaapo Kakko have arrived.
The Rangers announced Tuesday Kakko — along with Filip Chtyil — would be placed on long-term injured reserve. The forward left Monday’s loss to the Sabres after falling awkwardly into the boards behind the Sabres net, appearing to injure his left leg.
The injury, per reports, isn’t expected to cost Kakko the entire season, though it will sideline him for an extended period. No further details on the injury were given.
“We’ll get him back at some point which is good news,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “But for the short term here, he’s out.”
Update: Rangers have reassigned Adam Edstrom back to Hartford
Related: Resetting expectations for Kaapo Kakko
Kaapo Kakko heading to LTIR
Kakko has just two goals and three points through 20 games. This will be his second extended stay on LTIR in this his fifth season in the NHL. He missed significant time during the 2021-22 season due to wrist surgery, but followed it up by appearing in all 82 games last season.
Chytil, meanwhile, was retroactively placed on LTIR dating back to Nov. 3 when he left that game with a suspected concussion. He’s begun skating but no return date is known at this time. He has six assists in 10 games this season.
New York recalled both Jonny Brodzinski and Adam Endstrom from AHL Hartford Tuesday morning, and reports indicated Brodzinski would take Kakko’s spot on the third line alongside Nick Bonino and Will Cuylle.
Brodzinski, 30, is Hartford’s leading scorer with 11 goals and 14 assists in 16 games. He appeared in one game earlier this season and 39 combined the prior two seasons.
Edstrom, meanwhile, was selected by the Rangers in the sixth-round in 2019. He has seven goals and nine points in 18 games for the Wolfpack this season.
It wasn’t all bad news Tuesday, as Adam Fox practiced in his normal spot alongside Ryan Lindgren, indicating a return to the lineup after his own stint on LTIR dating back to that now infamous game agains the Hurricanes earlier this month.
“We’ve played together a long time,” longtime partner Ryan Lindgren said. “It’s good to have him back. It seems like he’s doing well and that’s the main thing.”
Zac Jones is expected to be a healthy scratch with Fox’s return Wednesday against the Red Wings.
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