Kakko and Chytil to Be Placed on LTIR

To add injury to insult, in last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, Kaapo Kakko went down behind the Sabres net in what appeared to be a potentially season ending injury.

While Rangers Nation was stressfully awaiting some news on the young forward, the Rangers revealed their hand when they announced the call up of several players from the Wolf Pack. Shortly after that, news leaked around the NHL that both Kakko and Chytil are being placed on LTIR, with Chytil’s retroactively going back to November 3rd. Mollie Walker continued to explain that while Kakko’s injury was severe, it is not considered a season ending injury.

This is an incredibly tough break for Kakko. This was an important year for him, in a new system, with a new coach. A lot of eyes were on him as they have been on Lafrenière, and unlike the Rangers former 1st overall Kakko hasn’t exactly excelled. We were still waiting for him to take that proverbial next step, and for the time being any steps taken will not be recommended by the Rangers’ medical staff. On the other side of things, while it’s official that Chytil has been placed on LTIR, he has been skating this past week and that’s generally an encouraging sign. The Rangers have been flying without him, so you can imagine they want him to take his time and reacclimate, as they should.

While this is devastating news, there are some potential cap benefits this situation can provide the Rangers. This predicament also allows a few other players to get their first taste of NHL hockey this season. Vince Mercogliano posted the practicing lines for the current roster. Seeing Brodzinski on the third line with Cuylle is fun and familiar as the two had chemistry and history playing together in Hartford.