Why Rangers’ Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom haven’t reached ‘tall’ expectations
Barely two years ago, the New York Rangers found themselves dreaming about a new fourth-line configuration that had the potential to be a nightmare for opponents, thanks to two young unicorn wingers in Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe, who unexpectedly found their way to Broadway.
However, that “Twin Towers” vision largely is fantasy at this point.
Little has gone right for the Rangers this season and last, with a second straight playoff-less spring on tap for 2025-26. Though not the primary reason for the club’s decline from Presidents’ Trophy winner in 2023-24 to a “retooling” outfit now, the deterioration of the bottom-six forward group is certainly on the list of causes.
Which brings us right back to Edstrom and Rempe.
Injuries, suspensions derailed Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom
That was hardly foreseeable back in January 2024, when the 6-foot-9, 261-pound Rempe was promoted from Hartford of the American Hockey League, one week after the 6-foot-7, 232-pound Edstrom returned to the Rangers after a one-game December cameo (when he scored a goal in his NHL debut). They weren’t just uncommonly big for NHL players; Edstrom and Rempe brought skill sets not often seen in those their size.
Each skates well, and with pace. Though Rempe’s a fighter whose early-career bouts made him the talk of the League for a while, he possesses good hands and touch that actually make him a threat to score off the rush and from in front.
Edstrom brings a strong all-around game to go with his huge frame that had then-coach Peter Laviolette gushing about eventually expanding his role to include penalty-killing. Like Rempe, the native of Sweden exhibits offensive instincts that make him a threat to do more than just skate around for 30 seconds at a time as a fourth-line filler.
Unfortunately, Rempe’s speed and aggression resulted in some terrifying hits and out-of-control moments – two of which led to suspensions. Still, with veteran Barclay Goodrow – who’s “only” 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds – centering Rempe and Edstrom, it appeared the Blueshirts had a unique weapon they could deploy for a distinctive edge over other teams’ bottom-six lines for the foreseeable future.
Reality, of course, intervened in those plans, with injuries and growing pains resulting in Rempe and Edstrom rarely sharing the ice. The pair played their first game together Feb. 18, 2024, but two years later have played in the same contest only 33 times.
Rempe remained on the Rangers roster for the rest of 2023-24, but Edstrom landed back in Hartford on March 4. Edstrom made the team out of training camp the next season, but Rempe played sparingly early on, appearing in only five games before Christmas 2024. He yo-yod between Broadway and Hartford, then was suspended eight games for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20.
The towering forwards were reunited Jan. 9, 2025, but that didn’t last either. They played 11 straight games together before Edstrom sustained a lower-body that ended his season Feb. 1.
Mike Sullivan took over as coach this season, and the one constant in training camp was that Rempe and Edstrom flanked veteran center Sam Carrick right from Day 1. That is until Rempe shattered his thumb Oct. 23 in a fight with Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks. He didn’t return until Dec. 15 and wasn’t himself. Rempe’s back on IR after undergoing a second procedure on the thumb. He’s been out since Feb. 5.
And Edstrom? He missed 33 games on Long-Term Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury. Nearly three months after landing on LTIR on Dec. 10, Edstrom returns to the Rangers lineup Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When they did manage to make it onto the ice together, Rempe and Edstrom were more than a towering sideshow. The Rangers outscored opponents 8-3 and out-chanced them 83-71, including 42-28 in the high-danger category, per Natural Stat Trick. The Blueshirts scored six high-danger goals to one for opponents with Rempe and Edstrom on at 5-on-5, a testament to the challenge the two huge and skilled players pose for defenders.
Rangers bottom six deteriorated amid Adam Edstrom, Matt Rempe issues
The alluring fourth-line alignment, however, looks to be farther away than ever from being an every-game mainstay. Edstrom must find a way to stay healthy and in the lineup, able to avoid the nagging lower-body maladies that have limited him to 75 games so far over the past two seasons.
Though Rempe’s injury is a freak one – he hurt his thumb when it got caught in Reaves’ jersey during their scrap – it remains a major concern moving forward. Plus, after only 85 NHL games, the 23-year-old is still trying to figure out the balance between staying out of the press and penalty boxes and using his size, power and fighting ability judiciously enough to make an impact.
Meanwhile, in their absence this season, the Rangers run out a hodgepodge of similar fringe players, with little identity or impact for a roster that’s gone nowhere since the start of 2024-25.
After struggling for years to construct a fourth forward unit with identity and purpose, the Blueshirts looked to be on the verge of icing one unlike anything the NHL had ever seen two years ago. Dreaming on the possibility of two giant, physical and skilled players turning in dominant, momentum-swinging shifts, however, has not translated into consistent reality – at least so far.
The potential for it to still happen probably means that the organization is far from ready to give up on either player. General manager Chris Drury, whose predecessor Jeff Gorton took NHL Draft fliers on Edstrom (sixth round, 2019) and Rempe (seventh round, 2020), saw what the duo could do when they did team up. Whether they will be key elements of a roster set to undergo significant change is questionable – something that the organization certainly didn’t bet on happening so soon following the excitement of February 2024.
