Rangers chip away at offseason to-do list, sign Adam Edstrom to 2-year contract
With the NHL Draft coming up this weekend and the start of free agency a week away, the New York Rangers took care of another piece of offseason business Monday when they re-signed Adam Edstrom to a two-year contract.
The 6-foot-7 forward, who could have been a restricted free agent July 1, reportedly will receive $1.95 million over the two years with a salary-cap hit of $975,000. It’s the same deal Matt Rempe agreed to last week. Those two are expected to flank center Sam Carrick on the fourth line this season.
In the past eight days, the Rangers have locked up three of their pending RFAs, each with two-year bridge deals. Defenseman Matthew Robertson re-upped late last week, a two-way deal the first year and a one-way deal worth the League minimum in 2026-27.
Another pending RFA, forward Jusso Parssinen, agreed to a two-year, $2.5 million contract with the Rangers on May 2.
Edstrom played the first 51 games this past season before he sustained a lower-body injury Feb. 1 that required surgery. He missed the rest of the season, and the Rangers failed to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years.
The 24-year-old had nine points (five goals, four assists) and 27 penalty minutes, averaging 9:16 TOI, prior to the injury. He scored three goals in his final 10 games played, two of which were game-winners. That was Edstrom’s best stretch of the season, and coincided when Rempe permanently joined the fourth line following his eight-game suspension for boarding Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen in late December.
“I really felt like we got going there at the end — me, ‘Remps’ and Carrick — we found something really good,” Edstrom explained on breakup day. “So, it’s always tough to miss time, but it’s one of those things that happens, it’s part of the sport, but I’m excited to come back strong.”
Edstrom had an outstanding training camp and preseason, effectively beating Rempe out for a regular spot in the lineup to start this past season. The native of Sweden, who was New York’s sixth-round pick (No. 161 overall) in the 2019 draft, had played 11 NHL games in 2023-24 and scored two goals.
“I’m proud of the season I had, coming into camp and making the team, playing all the games before I got injured,” He explained. “Ups and downs, of course, but I felt like we found something at the end there. So, that’s kind of what I’m taking with me.”
Related: Rangers have budding identity line with Twin Towers Matt Rempe & Adam Edstrom
Rangers still have plenty of work to do this offseason
Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been busy already this offseason but there’s plenty more work to be done. He quickly took care of the low-hanging fruit by signing the four young RFAs, and made a major move when the Rangers traded Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks two weeks ago.
New York must still decide whether to re-sign or trade RFA defenseman K’Andre Miller, and to a less-urgent extent have the same decision to make with Zac Jones. And the Rangers need to work out a new contract with forward Will Cuylle, an RFA who scored 20 goals last season. RFA forward Arthur Kaliyev is also due a contract.
On top of that, Drury and Co. must decide by Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET — 48 hours before the start of the draft — whether to send this year’s first-round pick (No. 12 overall) or next year’s unprotected first-round to the Pittsburgh Penguins to meet conditions of the J.T. Miller trade from Jan. 31.
After the Edstrom signing, the Rangers have approximately $12.2 million in available salary-cap space. Drury reportedly is still looking into freeing up more room before NHL free agency begins July 1.
