The Rangers’ preseason opener barely got rolling before Adam Sýkora’s night was over.
Sýkora, a forward whose energy stood out last season, left the game after taking a hit from Mikael Diotte in the first period. The contact sent him toward the boards, and his leg appeared to jam awkwardly into them. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game, and the early concern is that the injury involves his right knee.
Adam Sýkora looks like he hurt his right knee affter this hit. #NYR pic.twitter.com/Mzg0ymfjLG
- David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) September 21, 2026
The Rangers confirmed the move when the second period started.
Adam Sykora (lower-body) will not return to tonight's game.
- NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) September 21, 2026
What makes the situation more worrying is that Sýkora did not appear able to put weight on his right leg when he left the ice. At this point, that’s enough to raise real questions, even if preseason caution is always part of the equation.
For Sýkora, the timing couldn’t be much worse. He was viewed as a player with a legitimate shot at a roster spot, and this injury could complicate his chances of breaking camp with the team.
The 21-year-old has been building momentum for a while. He was one of the youngest players in the AHL when he debuted and put up 8-15-23 in 66 games, then followed that with 9-21-30 in 81 games.
Last season, he finished with 12 goals, 17 assists, and 29 points in 62 games. He also skated in 11 games with the Rangers, enough to fuel his optimism heading into this year.
Via Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic:
"The biggest part was motivation. That’s what I felt last season.
The last three weeks at the end of the season, it was something unbelievable, indescribable. So I feel like motivation is kind of the word.
It’s what I was thinking about (all summer). … It gave me the discipline and motivation to go hard every day in the gym, on the ice, and just improve myself to be ready and maybe to get (to New York) earlier."
The hope now is that the Rangers are dealing with something less severe than it first appeared, and that an update after the game will point toward something more manageable. If Mike Sullivan addresses it the way many preseason injuries get handled, Sýkora could be labeled day-to-day while the team gathers more information over the next few days.
If the injury turns out to be more serious, though, it would reshape the rest of the preseason picture and could affect the early roster for the Hartford Wolf Pack as well.
The Rangers are back in action Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against the New York Islanders. That one should come with a heavier dose of NHL talent and, given the setting, a little more edge too.
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For Rempe, the assignment is straightforward: show he can help force the Rangers to make a harder decision. He is slated to work on the fourth line with Hartford center Carey Terrance and Jacob Battaglia, and every shift will matter as he tries to turn a healthy return into a serious push for a place in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]