The way this preseason is going, NHL teams may want to start investing in industrial-strength bubble wrap. The New York Rangers announced that center Derek Stepan suffered a fractured fibula in practice Wednesday. He is due to meet with the team’s doctor and as of now, there is no set timetable for his return.
Stepan was apparently injured while doing some conditioning training during practice.
Uh oh. Appears Derek Stepan needed to be helped off ice after going down hard while doing on-ice conditioning here in Greenburgh
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) September 24, 2014
This is a tough blow to the Rangers given their relative lack of depth at the center position. Stepan has been solid a a top-line pivot for the team and is coming off of a career year in which he had 57 points including 40 assists. The veteran forward has never missed a regular-season game in his four-year career, but that streak appears to be in serious jeopardy now.
The Rangers may need Derick Brassard to step up into a top-line center role as their options for that position are rather limited. New York has been getting looks at offseason additions Matthew Lombardi and Kevin Hayes at center, while young J.T. Miller looked poised to make the team as a centerman as well. It would be difficult for any of those options to replace Stepan's production, however, even if temporarily.
Losing Stepan for any amount of time is far from ideal for the defending Eastern Conference champions. Having to jettison Brad Richards’ contract over the summer, they were already depleted up front.
Additionally, the club’s salary cap position gives them little flexibility in terms of trying to bring in someone via trade if Stepan’s injury has a long-term recovery.
Stepan is the second high-end center to go down with a fractured leg in as many days in the NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes recently lost Jordan Staal to a broken bone in his leg from a Tuesday night preseason game. The injuries seem to be running rampant across the league right now, putting a significant damper on early-season plans for several teams.
