Rangers Recall Matthew Robertson

After sending down Justin Dowling, the Rangers didn’t waste much time filling the vacated roster spot.  The team announced (Twitter link) late Friday that defenseman Matthew Robertson has been recalled from AHL Hartford.  With the recall, the team is now back to the maximum of 23 players on the active roster.

The 25-year-old was basically a regular with New York last season, playing in 72 games.  He chipped in offensively with six goals and a dozen assists in more than 17 minutes per game of playing time.  Basically, it looked as if he had secured a spot on their full-time roster.

Instead, the team reshaped their back end over the summer, bringing in Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson while fifth overall pick Alberts Smits has been an every-game regular.  That pushed Robertson onto the waiver wire early this month, where he somewhat surprisingly passed through unclaimed.

Robertson has suited up in six games for the Wolf Pack so far this season and has been fairly quiet offensively, collecting just one assist.  He had surpassed the 20-point mark in each of his last three full seasons with them from 2022-23 through 2024-25.

It’s unclear if Robertson’s promotion is to play him (perhaps to give Smits a night off) or hedging against injury with Durzi missing the last two practices.  Either way, the Rangers need to get Robertson in at least six games with them this season to retain his RFA rights this summer.  If they don’t, he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency in July.