The Rangers were forced to play shorthanded Sunday night when Joe Veleno exited their game against the Utah Mammoth with a lower-body injury.
Veleno left in the first period at Madison Square Garden after getting tangled up with Utah’s Clayton Keller along the boards. He did not return to the Rangers’ bench for the start of the second period, and reports said he was not putting any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice. The Rangers later confirmed he would not come back that night.
The injury interrupts the start of a new opportunity for the 26-year-old, who joined New York in the offseason on a one-year, $1.2 million contract for the 2026-27 season. After spending last season with his hometown Montréal Canadiens, he arrived in New York looking for a fresh start and a bigger role.
That role had already begun to take shape. Veleno had not recorded a point through his first two games with the Rangers, but he was working into a meaningful spot on a team short on center depth.
Through three games, he averaged 14:45 of ice time, though he managed only one shot in the Rangers’ 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 1.
The exact severity of the injury and how long he might be out were not immediately known, but the hope is that it won’t be a long absence. That would matter for a player who was aiming to build on the two goals and three assists he produced in 61 regular-season games with Montréal last season.
Across his NHL career, Veleno has 40 goals and 46 assists for 86 points in 370 games. His strongest season came in 2023-24, when he put up 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings.
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