Tim Erixon Recalled On Emergency Basis; Woywitka Banged Up

The injuries to the Rangers blue line continue to mount. Jeff Woywitka left practice early today, and as a result the Rangers called up rookie defenseman Tim Erixon, per Chris Botta. The move hasn’t formally been announced yet, nor does the AHL Transaction Log have anything on it, but it is expected to be announced shortly.

One delay in the announcement could be because of salary cap restraints, which is believed to be the reason why Erixon wasn’t called up to replace Steve Eminger (and why Stu Bickel was). In any case, Erixon is with the Rangers, but unlikely to play unless Woywitka can’t go (bruised foot from blocking a shot). The Rangers blue line is a mess, and with no changes coming in the next week, this could be a long four games.

The Holiday Roster Freeze And Its Impact On The Rangers

Starting this morning, the NHL’s annual holiday roster freeze took effect, and will last until December 27, which is next Tuesday. What the roster freeze means is that no player can be traded or waived until the end of the freeze. It was been implemented every holiday season since the new CBA was signed, and guarantees players the safety and security of not being traded or waived during the holidays.

This does not prevent a team from calling players up or returning them to the AHL, assuming waivers is not required. This also does not prevent players from signing as free agents.

For a shorthanded Rangers club, the effect of the roster freeze is pretty simple: what you see now is what you get for the next week. The injured players will likely remain on LTIR until after the freeze, as the Rangers cannot waive anyone to make room for a returning player. That means any pipedream of having Marc Staal or Mike Sauer return before the 27th is not happening. The six defenseman you see today are the six defensemen you will see suit up for the Rangers for the next four games.

As for the “logjam” at forward, Sean Avery and Erik Christensen will remain Rangers until next Tuesday. After that, the future is uncertain, but that won’t come to a head until next week. Wojtek Wolski will remain on LTIR for this period as well, as the Rangers cannot make moves to clear the necessary cap or roster space to activate him. Wolski’s situation is identical to Staal’s and Sauer’s, with the only difference being he is closer to return than the two defensemen.

So this New York Rangers roster you see before you today is what you will be seeing for the next eight days. Love it or hate it, you’ll have to deal with it. Injuries have ravaged the blue line, and there are still depth issues among the forwards. Nothing can be addressed until after the 27th, which is four long games away.

Eminger Has Separated Shoulder, Defense In State Of Flux

What more can happen to the Rangers blue line? Marc Staal hasn’t played all year because of a concussion. Mike Sauer is out definitely because of a concussion. There was a makeshift bottom pairing that consisted of any combination of Steve Eminger, Jeff Woywitka, and Anton Stralman before the Sauer injury. Since the Sauer injury, Eminger was forced into top four duties, and played well. Now he is out, and the future of Woywitka is unknown since he is banged up.

Let’s assume Woywitka can go on Tuesday. After all, he is a hockey player. That leaves the Rangers in need of another defenseman. The smart money would be on Tim Erixon being called up, but he comes with a $1.75 million cap hit. With Mike Rupp activated, the Rangers don’t have room to carry that cap hit without making another roster move to clear some cap space. Since Sean Avery carries the biggest cap hit among those not playing regularly, it’s safe to assume that if Erixon is called up, then Avery will indeed be waived.

Another option is to call up Brendan Bell, who has NHL experience, but he would need to clear re-entry waivers prior to joining the club. It is unlikely someone would claim him, but the Rangers might not want to take that chance. If it is Bell that is called up, then placing Eminger on LTIR should clear enough cap space to make room for Bell.

The Rangers thin blue line just got a lot thinner. With the Christmas roster freeze a day away, the Rangers need to make their moves quickly.

Sauer Has A Concussion

This news should not come as a shock, but Andrew Gross is reporting that Mike Sauer indeed has a concussion following the massive hit by Dion Phaneuf in the Rangers 4-2 loss on Monday night (video below). The hit was clean, but Sauer’s helmet came off and he hit his head on the boards, which is the likely cause of the concussion. John Tortorella has said that Sauer is day-to-day, but concussions are a tricky beast. Just ask Marc Staal.

Paging Anton Stralman…

Stepan Not At Practice: No Need To Be Concerned

When Derek Stepan blocked that shot last night, and needed help getting off the ice, Ranger-nation held their collective breath. Luckily, Stepan didn’t miss a beat, and was out for his next shift. Clearly there was no damage done to the ankle, or else he would not have come back into the game.

However, that doesn’t mean that the Rangers won’t rest their prized young center when something like this happens; and that is exactly what they did. Stepan was not on ice at practice, as he was resting his ankle. It is likely that Stepan has a contusion or a bruise on his ankle, and nothing more. I would be shocked if he misses a game.

So again, back away from the cliff (specifically you prukachu). It’s hockey, stuff like this happens.

Wolski Skating: Who Will Sit?

The news broke the other day, via Wojtek Wolski’s twitter, that he is back on the ice and skating following sports hernia surgery. The Rangers have not necessarily missed Wolski, going 9-2-0 in the month of November, but his return can be viewed as a good sign. Wolski certainly has skill, but the question is whether he fits into the current makeup of the roster.

While the initial reaction is to say that he should still sit, let’s keep in mind that he may not return for a few weeks, and a lot can happen. The Rangers can falter, and need a jolt in the lineup. Also, any of the callups can falter and be sent back down to the AHL. There can also be a few injuries. While this may not be an issue at the moment, it has the potential to become an issue.

Why is Wolski returning an ‘issue’? Simply put, his $3.8 million cap hit would no longer be on LTIR, meaning the Rangers need to get back under the cap. Due to some current internet restrictions, I cannot get exact numbers from Capgeek, but last time I checked the Rangers had less than $100k in cap space, but about $3 million in LTIR overages to work with. When Wolski comes back, the overages disappear, and the Rangers will need to clear some cap space, likely about $1 million -$1.5 million or so.

There are a few options here. First Erik Christensen, who has been a healthy scratch since the recall of Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell, does not appear to have a spot on this roster anymore. It is likely that upon Wolski’s return, he and his $925k cap hit would be waived. While that clears most of the cap space needed, it does not completely address the problem.

Shifting the focus to John Mitchell and his $650k cap hit, it is likely that in the event of a Wolski return, he would be the second guy to go to clear space. Waiving Mitchell clears both cap space and a roster spot in the starting 12 forwards. So to summarize, the likely move(s) would be to waive both Christensen and Mitchell.

Disclaimer: I do not have the exact cap numbers in front of me, so it is entirely possible that the Rangers need only waive Christensen to clear all of the cap space required to keep Wolski and Mitchell on the roster. However, I do not think that is possible.

Of course there is a third option here, and that is to just waive Wolski himself. But that comes with significant risk. The Rangers are a shot blocking team, and with that comes injuries. While Wolski would definitely clear waivers initially, he would not clear re-entry waivers should the Rangers need to use him in the event of an injury. Simply put, if Wolski is waived, he remains in the AHL until his contract expires. Re-entry waivers would expose him to the remaining 29 teams at 50% of his salary ($1.9 million)…someone will bite on that.

It’s an interesting situation the Rangers have with Wolski getting healthy again. On one hand there’s the skill that Wolski would bring to the lineup, but on the other there’s the inconsistency and the cap hit. It’s a similar situation to what the Rangers had last year when Michal Rozsival went down with an injury. The end result was Ryan McDonagh staying and Rozsival being traded (ironincally enough for Wolski). It’s entirely possible that the play of Carl Hagelin could have a Rozsival-like effect on Wolski. Oh the irony.

Brooks: Staal Cleared For Light Physical Activity

Per Larry Brooks, there is good news on the Marc Staal injury front. Staal has been cleared for “light physical activity”, which is a step in the right direction for his overall healing process. Out for the entire season thus far with post concussion symptoms, Staal had experienced major headaches after tough workouts in the preseason, and was forced to completely shut it down for the month of October.

Despite the fact that Staal has been absent for the entire season, the Rangers have done extremely well. Currently riding a seven game win streak, Staal’s minutes have been given to Ryan McDonagh, who has more than answered the call for his team. Dan Girardi is having an All Star caliber year, and Michael Del Zotto has assumed the role of a top-four defenseman.

As good as the top four has been, is as unreliable as the bottom pairing has been. Steve Eminger has been awful, Jeff Woywitka has been inconsistent, and Brendal Bell is no longer with the club. Anton Stralman has yet to see a game, but he is hopefully going to provide some stability to the bottom pairing. If Stralman succeeds, and the Rangers get Staal back sometime soon, then the Rangers could have one of the best blue lines in hockey.

Wolski To Have Sports Hernia Surgery

Per Jesse Spector on Twitter, winger Wojtek Wolski will be out a minimum of four weeks, as he will be undergoing sports hernia surgery. Wolski has been bothered by a groin injury all season, and it has limited him to just six of the Rangers first 13 games. The surgery will hopefully correct any lingering issues he has been suffering from this season. This might also mean that maybe coach John Tortorella’s shot at Wolski about the getting out of the tub may have been a tab premature.

Wolski was placed on IR yesterday, and will be there for the next four to six weeks. Erik Christensen and Sean Avery will be safe in the lineup for now, until either Wolski or Mike Rupp (also having surgery) return.

The press release is after the jump.

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Rupp, Wolski To IR

Following up with the news that winger Mike Rupp will have knee surgery, the enforcer has been placed on long term injured reserve. Also placed on LTIR was Wojtek Wolski, who re-injured his groin Thursday against the Ducks, after sitting out a good portion of the Western Canada road trip with the same injury. Groin injuries are tricky, so his timetable for a return is likely up in the air as well.

With both players on IR –and Marc Staal, the Rangers have some additional cap space to work with when trying to fill holes. We highlighted how Staal’s trip to LTIR made it possible for Sean Avery’s return earlier, but now with additional cap space the Rangers may be able to find some room for someone like Mats Zuccarello or another player with a higher cap hit.

Of course, the Rangers current replacements (ie: Andre Deveaux) have been playing very well as an injury replacement, and the Rangers might not need another replacement yet. If a top-nine forward goes down, then you might see a Zuccarello or a Carl Hagelin be called up.

Rupp To Have Knee Surgery

It looks like Mike Rupp’s wonky knee is a bit wonkier than initially thought. Andrew Gross is reporting that Rupp will undergo othorscopic surgery next week, and a timetable for his return is uncertain. The Rangers had this issue with both Vinny Prospal and Chris Drury last year, as both had lingering knee issues that required orthoscopic surgery. Both players were out the majority of the season following surgery, as it was initially unclear what was wrong with them. This appears to be the same situation with Rupp, as the team (via Gross) has said they have no idea when Rupp will be back.

This could be one of those injuries where Rupp winds up out anywhere from six weeks to six months, depending on the healing process, and what is actually wrong with his knee. Until then, it looks like Andre Deveaux and/or Sean Avery could be with the team for an extended period of time.