After watching Joe Veleno go down injured during the 4-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth, the New York Rangers must get to work on their roster. Due to their cap-crunch situation, the Blueshirts have no choice but to leave Matthew Robertson up for grabs early in the 2026-27 NHL season.
The rumor mill around Robertson grew out of control as the Rangers hit the ice for practice after the win over the Mammoth at Madison Square Garden. A simple roll call shined a light on the fact that Robertson, who has yet to make his season debut in the NHL, wasn’t on the ice with the rest of the squad. Indeed, his absence was no coincidence and instead foreshadowed an imminent move.
“It’s possible Robertson could be heading to waivers to make room for a center call up,” Vincent Mercogliano of The Athletic reported on X. “The Rangers don’t currently have the cap space to recall anyone. Waiting for word from the team.“
It didn’t take long after Mercogliano’s initial report for the Rangers to confirm a move involving Robertson is just around the corner. “Per team, Robertson isn’t practicing for ‘roster management reasons‘,” Mercogliano stated on his X account.
Robertson hits waivers
Not long after, the imminent move was confirmed. “Matthew Robertson is on waivers,” Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported. “He played 72 games last year as a serviceable third-pair defenseman. This move gives the Rangers cap room to call up a center if they want with Joseph Veleno hurt.“
According to Baugh, giving up on Robertson, who played an important depth role last season, is a strong indicator of how highly rated rookie Alberts Smits is by Mike Sullivan and company. Otherwise, the Blueshirts may not have given up a player they knew could fill in on the third defense pairing.
NY Rangers had options, but not much time
Before placing Robertson on waivers, the Rangers had roughly $450,000 available in cap space, according to Puck Pedia. With the minimum salary for the 2026-27 NHL season set at $850,000, no player in the organization could be called up without the Blueshirts going over the cap. Thus, the team had to make room, and somebody had to go.
The odds of Robertson making it unclaimed through waivers and to the AHL are very low. Instead, New York could have tried to get something in return for Robertson via trade, but it’s clear what little leverage it once had was well gone as it faces a cap crunch and needs to add a centerman in no time before the Rangers take on the New York Islanders on Oct. 6.
Sullivan hasn’t made a decision yet
If the Blueshirts wanted to trade Robertson just to get something in return, they would’ve had to put their pride aside and take what little they might have gotten for him. It was a plan destined for failure right from the start. Instead, New York has bitten the bullet and placed the 25-year-old former second-round pick in 2019 on waivers.
“Sullivan said Veleno will not play tomorrow vs. the Isles. As for the roster and recalling another center, he said they’re still working through it,” as reported by Mercogliano.
NY Rangers find themselves in tough spot
With Veleno injured, the Rangers need a center to fill in. Who will be called up remains to be seen, but it’s clear Robertson is the one who will pay the price. Considering he’s been a healthy scratch and a pending Group 6 UFA when the season ends, it makes sense that New York landed on Robertson as the odd man out.
Being jammed up against the salary cap this early and dealing with injuries is less than ideal, but the Rangers may manage to get away from this without footing a huge bill.
Key takeaways
- Joe Veleno went down with an injury during the 4–2 win over Utah.
- New York Rangers face a cap crunch with roughly $450,000 in available space.
- Matthew Robertson missed practice for roster management and has been placed on waivers.
