New York Rangers report cards: Grading the Twin Towers Rempe and Edstrom
There was one forward line combination that remained intact for the New York Rangers from Day 1 at training camp last season through nearly the entire first month of the 2025-26 season. That was the fourth line, centered by veteran Sam Carrick, who was flanked by the Twin Towers, Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom.
New coach Mike Sullivan committed to — and was won over by — that threesome right away. And the Rangers were rewarded for that faith, when the chemistry was undeniable, and the growth of Rempe and Edstrom on the wings was obvious.
But this being the 2025-26 Rangers season, what could go wrong, did go wrong. Rempe tore up his thumb in a fight with Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 23, the ninth game of the season. He ended up having two thumb surgeries, and was shut down for good after playing his final game Feb. 5.
Edstrom also had injury issues, first trying to play through a fractured ankle, then landing on LTIR for three months. Carrick remained the rock on the fourth line, that is until the Rangers traded him to the Buffalo Sabres on March 6.
So, the best laid plans didn’t exactly bear much fruit for the Rangers fourth line this past season. And both ends of the Twin Towers are now in for full-on battles to land a lineup spot in training camp next fall.
That said, let’s hand out end-of-season report cards for Edstrom and Rempe.
Adam Edstrom: C-
The 6-foot-7 forward from Sweden played 35 games this season, only 11 after he was activated off LTIR on March 2. Sullivan was frustrated with Edstrom’s lack of consistency after his long injury absence and lost patience with Edstrom, choosing to play rookie call-ups Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora, among others, ahead of him. Sullivan even gave Edstrom a chance to play center, but that predictably didn’t go well considering he hadn’t played the position since his junior days. Edstrom scored one goal after returning to full health, but finished with only three goals and two assists on the season, and was a healthy scratch the final 11 games. The 25-year-old was better and more effective earlier in the season, but lacked the ability to score, missing a slew of golden opportunities created off strong forechecks by the fourth line. He did average 11.77 hits per 60 minutes, making the most of his fewer than 10 minutes average ice time per game from a physical standpoint. But this was a second straight season upended by injury for Edstrom, this one even more disappointing than in 2024-25.
Matt Rempe: INC
One of the most disappointing aspects of this dismal 2025-26 season for the Rangers is that we never found out how truly effective Rempe could be over 82 games as a lineup regular. The 6-foot-9 forward worked diligently on his skating last summer, and adapted immediately to Sullivan’s fast-paced North-South style approach. Rempe also eschewed looking for fights, and seemed to learn his lesson about keeping his elbows down and avoiding illegal contact to the head of his opponent. Those first nine games of the season, Rempe had the look of a difference maker in the bottom-six forward group. He was diligent defensively, ferocious on the forecheck, generated a slew of scoring chances for himself and teammates, and remained an imposing physical presence. Ironically, his first fight of the season ruined everything. He caught his thumb in Reaves’ jersey and shredded ligaments. He could barely hold his stick following the first surgery and was a shell of himself. The Rangers wisely shut him down early for the second surgery which should have Rempe in a better place when camp opens next fall. Unfortunately, this was mostly a lost season for the likeable and popular giant on skates. Rempe played only 26 games — and it’s hard to put anything into the 17 he played after the first surgery. He scored one goal, totaled 11 penalty minutes, but a key stat to look at is that Rempe’s expected goal share 5v5 was 52.42 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick. Plus, he finished tied for ninth on the Rangers with 86 hits, despite missing 56 games, and was first with a whopping 23.05 hits/60. Rempe was trending toward a decent grade, but it’s not fair to give him anything other than an Incomplete this season.
