The Rangers will be without their young defenceman for a while. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, Alberts Smits is out week to week with an upper-body injury. The team confirmed Monday that he will miss the next few weeks.
A first absence for the rookie
Smits, 18 and the fifth overall pick in the 2026 draft, was pulled from the lineup just before Saturday's game against Seattle, a 4-3 win. He has not played since Nov. 5 against Philadelphia. Coach Mike Sullivan admitted Monday that Smits had already been playing through the injury.
In 17 games this season, Smits is still looking for his first NHL point while averaging 14:29 per game. He will miss the rest of the Rangers' road trip out west and the home game against Montreal on Nov. 16. The Rangers then get six days off, which gives him time to recover.
Del Gaizo recalled, Durzi also out
To fill the gap, the Rangers recalled defenceman Marc Del Gaizo from Hartford. New York's blue line is already thin, with Sean Durzi on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and out since Oct. 26.
What it means for poolers
Smits was not producing in pools yet, so his absence does not hurt in the short term. In dynasty and keeper leagues, hold him, he is an 18-year-old defenceman who was already playing regular NHL minutes. Del Gaizo has no pool value, and Durzi's absence keeps opening minutes for the other Rangers defencemen.
Sources
The details above come from Peter Baugh of The Athletic, relayed by Pro Hockey Rumors and RotoWire, plus coach Mike Sullivan's comments reported by NY Hockey Insider.