Rangers' Adam Sykora out multiple months with lower-body injury

A preseason roster battle for the New York Rangers is over before it began. After leaving the Rangers’ preseason contest on Monday with a lower-body injury, The Athletic reports that forward Adam Sykora will miss the next four to five months, according to Vince Z. Mercogliano.

At the time that Sykora first suffered the injury earlier this week, PHR’s Gabriel Foley wrote, “Sykora was injured on a collision with New Jersey Devils defenseman Mikael Diotte. He was nursing his right knee following the hit and needed assistance to get off of the ice.”

This is the first time that Sykora has suffered a serious injury in his North American professional career. New York selected him with the 63rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft from Slovakia’s HK Nitra. He debuted with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack toward the end of the following season.

In the three years following his transition to North America, Sykora has become an effective tertiary scorer in the AHL. In his first season with the Wolf Pack, Sykora registered eight goals and 23 points in 66 games with a -2 rating. Partway through the 2023-24 campaign, Sykora captained Team Slovakia at the U20 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring one goal and two points in five games.

Throughout his sophomore campaign, Sykora performed mildly better offensively, but took a step back defensively. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with nine goals and 30 points in 71 games, with an unsightly -23 rating. Again, Sykora suited up for Team Slovakia on the international circuit, appearing in the Olympic Games Qualifier and the IIHF World Championship.

The Piestany, Slovakia, native continued to improve this past season, nearly matching his point totals from the year before in approximately 10 fewer contests. The Rangers recalled Sykora at the end of March for his NHL debut, and he finished the campaign with three goals and four points in 11 games with a net-zero rating, averaging 11:10 of ice time. Additionally, Sykora blocked 10 shots and delivered 20 hits.

Had he been able to play throughout the entire preseason, Sykora very well could have earned his way into the Rangers’ bottom six to begin the 2026-27 season. Unfortunately, given the long-term injury, he’ll likely begin the campaign on New York’s season-opening injured reserve. Even if he returns on the short end of his recovery timeline, Sykora’s 2026-27 campaign won’t begin until late January.