The Rangers have started to steady themselves with three straight wins, but the good vibes took a hit when the team announced Alberts Smits is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
That’s the latest bump in a season that has already had its share of uneven stretches. New York entered the year expecting to take a step forward and push itself into playoff contention, and after a busy offseason built around getting younger, deeper and better, the early returns have pointed in that direction. The team does look improved from where it stood at this point last year.
Still, the injury picture keeps complicating things. Igor Shesterkin is out for the season, and that has left the Rangers dealing with uncertainty in goal over the past several weeks. Now the blue line takes another hit with Smits sidelined for what appears to be an extended stretch.
As was expected after the club recalled Marc Del Gaizo, Smits is now lined up to miss time. A week-to-week designation is better than a longer-term diagnosis, but it still leaves the Rangers without one of their young defensemen for the foreseeable future.
Marc Del Gaizo has been recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Smits, selected by New York with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, came into the organization with a reputation as one of the most NHL-ready players in the class. The Rangers gave him a prominent look right away, slotting him on the third pair with Braden Schneider during training camp and the preseason.
Like most young defensemen, his first stretch in the league has come with some growing pains. Since moving alongside Scott Morrow, though, his play has settled in a bit. Through this season, Smits has not recorded a point and has averaged just under 15 minutes per game.
His minus-2 rating doesn’t scream disaster, but it also doesn’t show a player making a major early imprint. The Rangers would obviously prefer to have him available, though they do have enough bodies to get by for now.
Morrow has been playing well with Sean Durzi out, and Matthew Robertson plus the recently recalled Del Gaizo give New York additional options on the back end.
For Smits, the hope is that the absence won’t linger too long. Missing time is never ideal for a young player trying to build momentum, but a little reset could also end up helping him once he’s back.
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