Derek Stepan suffers broken leg, NY Rangers center will be out indefinitely
What a terrible blow for the Rangers. Top-six center Derek Stepan is out indefinitely after breaking his lower left leg during training camp.
Stepan blocked a Dan Girardi slap shot during informal skating on Sept. 9 in Greenburgh. He skipped New York's first preseason game on Monday night, but X-rays last Saturday on the leg were negative.
On Wednesday morning, however, Stepan collapsed during on-ice testing without making contact with anyone, grasped at his left leg, and needed help off the ice just to get to the locker room.
He was headed to the doctor's for further examination as of early afternoon, but he has no timetable for a return, and his injury is a major setback for the Blueshirts.
After buying out Brad Richards this summer, Glen Sather's squad already was not especially deep down the middle. Stepan, Derick Brassard and Dominic Moore returned from last year's team, but the Rangers entered camp needing a fourth center to win the vacant job as a regular pivot in Alain Vigneault's rotation.
Now, for the foreseeable future, half of their forward lines are without a defined presence at center.
Youngsters J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and Oscar Lindberg, along with veterans Matthew Lombardi and Chris Mueller, are the primary competitors. Miller and Hayes both can play wing also. Hayes is more comfortable at the moment at wing compared to center, but he played in the middle on Monday night against the Devils.
Miller is the leading contender of that group to make the team as a center, but Lindberg's chances have increased dramatically due to Stepan's injury. Not only has the young Swede had a strong camp, but Lombardi was ineffective in the preseason opener. Mueller showed more and also will get strong consideration after Stepan's setback.
Stepan, 24, just had recovered this summer from a broken jaw sustained in Game 3 of last spring's Eastern Conference Final on a vicious headshot from Canadiens forward and former Ranger teammate Brandon Prust.
Stepan missed only one game, however, before returning to play in Game 5 and the entire Stanley Cup Final against the L.A. Kings wearing a protective shield attached to his helmet.
Game 4 of that series was the first NHL game in Stepan's career that he had missed, regular season or playoffs, and remains the only one he has missed in 356 total through his career. Unfortunately, he likely is in line to miss more this regular season, which opens Oct. 9 in St. Louis, but there is no telling exactly how long he'll be out.
Stepan is entering the second season of his two-year, $6.15 million bridge contract after which he will remain a restricted free agent.
Post a Comment for "Derek Stepan suffers broken leg, NY Rangers center will be out indefinitely"