Arthur Kaliyev Out Indefinitely with Upper-Body Injury

We’ve all been curious to know what Arthur Kaliyev could potentially bring to the table for the New York Rangers. Unfortunately, we may not get much more of a chance at that. On top of the fact that Peter Laviolette hasn’t seemed keen on playing him consistently, he is now going to be side-lined with an upper-body injury, leaving the rest of his season in jeopardy.

Since the Rangers claimed Arthur Kaliyev back in January, he has been as advertised in the sense that he doesn’t hesitate to shoot the puck when given the opportunity. However, with all the roster changes and promotions to young wingers such as Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard, Kaliyev has only skated in 14 games with the Rangers, scoring three goals and one assist in the process. One of which, came in this impressive individual effort against the Blue Jackets:

His return to the lineup in Winnipeg Tuesday Night came as his first game since February 23rd. It's unclear what exactly resulted in Kaliyev's upper-body injury but the fact that he is headed home to New York for further evaluation and testing, mixed with his history, isn't a great sign. Kaliyev missed a large chunk of this season after suffering a broken clavicle in training camp with the Kings. That's not to suggest this injury is related to that necessarily but does provide context into what's been a pretty tough year for the Staten Island-raised winger.

Kaliyev will be a restricted-free agent this summer. With less than twenty games left this season, there's a chance that his year could be over depending on the severity of this injury. If that ends up being the case, the Rangers could qualify him and/or re-sign him on a cheap one-year deal but whether or not he's in this team's long term plans remains to be seen.

All the best to Kaliyev in what is hopefully a quick and easy recovery.