The New York Rangers suffered a big blow to their defense corps last week as Adam Fox was placed on LTIR with a left shoulder injury. He’s expected to miss multiple weeks. That leaves the Blueshirts in a lurch on the blueline.
They have a serious lack of puck-moving d-men, and in particular, they will be hurt on the power play.
Insider Elliotte Friedman reported on his 32 Thoughts podcast that they are scouring the market for help in those areas, and seem to be zeroing in on a recent Rangers blueliner.
They are looking to see if there’s something they can find for a power play quarterback (while Fox is out)… I do think they are looking for somebody out there. One name I’ve heard thrown out was Erik Gustafsson, which would make some sense.
Gustafsson spent the 2023-24 season on Broadway, and had 31 points and a +3 rating in 76 games, while logging 17:24 of average ice time per night. He played the second-most power play minutes that season of any Ranger blueliner, behind, of course, Adam Fox.
Rangers looking at a reunion with Erik Gustafsson as Adam Fox fill-in
The 33-year-old offensive defenseman is currently toiling in the AHL for the Detroit Red Wings’ Grand Rapids affiliate. It’s his first foray back to the minors in eight years, and he’s doing his thing down there, with nine assists in 12 games. He was squeezed out of the Wings’ blueline picture this season by rookie Axel Sandin Pellikka, who has also taken his spot on the second power play unit.
The veteran Swedish defenseman would be a natural stopgap fill-in for New York to replace Fox while he’s out. Gustafsson is in the final year of a two-year deal with a $2M cap hit, so the Rangers wouldn’t have a problem fitting him in under their cap (they currently have $2.5M in cap room).
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