New York Rangers Re-Sign Restricted Free Agent Jesper Fast
Apr 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Jesper Fast (19) waits for a face off against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Jesper Fast returned to the ice for informal workouts with his New York Rangers’ teammates today, marking a positive sign for his recovery.

The New York Rangers are looking forward to a “fast” recovery for right wing Jesper Fast. They got good news today.

Fast was seen skating with his teammates at the Rangers’ training facility on Tuesday. Fast, aka “Quickie,” underwent hip surgery over the offseason.

Initially told that he would miss a decent portion of the first half of the 2017-18 season, the fact that he’s skating with teammates is an incredibly positive sign for both Fast and his team.

“This is the first time I was practicing with the team, doing some passing drills,” Fast told Matt Calamia of NYRangers.com today. “It felt better than I thought it would. We’ll see. We’ll take it slow, step-by-step, and we’ll see what happens.”

Quickie is an integral part to the bottom six and penalty kill. He also brings a small offensive boost to the fourth line. With things in flux over who will center the fourth line, a healthy Fast off the get-go will really bring some stability to that unit.

In other Fast-related news, it appears Quickie will don #17 this year, swapping out his old #19, which will be retired for the legendary Jean Ratelle.

So, new number, new Fast. Let’s hope he can be all the Rangers need and more this season.

Neal Purcell has a tremendous passion for New York Rangers hockey and the sport of hockey in general. A graduate of SUNY Cortland in Upstate NY, Purcell coaches both a high school hockey team and a travel team in the winter. Purcell is also a part of a small family business in the Central New York Region.