Rangers Notes: Lafreniere, Fortescue, Edstrom
Rangers right-winger Alexis Lafrenière has had a shaky season, but the 24-year-old former #1 overall pick has finally emerged as a true top-line threat ever since Artemi Panarin‘s departure via trade to the Kings last month opened up some more ice time. Head coach Mike Sullivan had loads of praise for Lafrenière this week, telling Vince Z. Mercogliano and Peter Baugh of The Athletic that “where Laf has improved most recently is in the down-low game in the offensive zone — the grind game.”
With a tally last night against the Blue Jackets, Lafrenière hit 20 goals on the season for just the second time in his six-year career. As Sullivan points out, his willingness to drive toward the middle of the ice is a gigantic part of that. Fourteen of those tallies have come from high-danger areas either in or directly in front of the crease. That’s the same number of goals Nathan MacKinnon has generated from those areas this year, for example. If his finishing from distance and struggle to create perimeter plays are going to remain an issue long-term, he and Sullivan have appeared to have found the necessary adjustment to finally make him into an everyday top-six threat.
The dividends have been immediate. Lafrenière has six goals and 15 points in 12 games since the Olympic break while skating alongside rookie Gabriel Perreault and Mika Zibanejad. While the trio’s underlying numbers have been lacking (48.9% expected goals share, 2.46 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck), they’ve figured out how to be an effective driver of offense for a Rangers team whose season was tanked from the start by a lack of high-danger chance generation.
Mercogliano and Baugh also discussed the future of some of the Rangers’ college-bound prospects. There’s a real chance that 2023 third-round pick Drew Fortescue will turn pro and even make his NHL debut this season while burning the first year of his entry-level contract, they report. The 20-year-old shutdown lefty is wrapping up a junior season at Boston College that’s seen him record a career-best 4-9–13 scoring line in 35 games with a +4 rating.
Fortescue, a 6’2″, 194-lb New York native, has been a fixture of the United States national junior team for the past few years. He suited up at both the 2024 and 2025 World Juniors before aging out, posting four points and a +12 rating across 14 games there with a pair of gold medals. The Rangers view him as someone “who could soon work his way into the mix on New York’s second or third pair,” Mercogliano and Baugh wrote. That checks out considering the Blueshirts don’t have very much left-side depth behind their #1 option, Vladislav Gavrikov.
Shifting back to the NHL roster, Adam Edstrom has lined up at center on the fourth line between Jonny Brodzinski and Jaroslav Chmelar for the past few games. A natural pivot, he’s played exclusively at the wing in the Rangers organization to date, but was thrilled to get an audition down the middle again after incumbent #4C Sam Carrick was sent to the Sabres at the trade deadline.
“I said that I’d be excited to play center again,” Edstrom said to Mercogliano and Baugh. “It’s been a little bit, but I feel like you’re a bit more included in the game, and kind of play low. My defensive game is something that I take a lot of pride in, so I think it’ll fit me well.”
Morning Notes: Edstrom, Metsa, Bentley
While the New York Rangers have had a greatly disappointing season overall, this season has nonetheless been one where a few of the team’s younger players have taken real steps forward. While the rapid growth of star prospect Gabe Perreault, and the resurgence of 2020 No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, have drawn the headlines, the Rangers are also benefiting from the development of the team’s younger role players. One player occupying that status who has taken a real step forward this season is big Swedish forward Adam Edstrom.
Edstrom, 25, has earned enough of the trust of head coach Mike Sullivan that he was kept in the team’s lineup as a fourth-line center over Juuso Parssinen, despite the fact that Edstrom has not played center since joining the North American professional ranks. Edstrom occupied the role for the Rangers’ victory over the Minnesota Wild yesterday, and it’s worth considering what that development might mean for Parssinen’s future in New York. If the 25-year-old, who has three points in 19 games this season, is being held out of the lineup in favor of a natural winger in Edstrom, it suggests he may not be in the Rangers’ future plans. Whether or not Edstrom is able to stick at the center position could seriously impact whether Parssinen will play out the next year on his contract (through 2026-27 at a $1.25MM) with the Rangers or elsewhere.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- When the Buffalo Sabres traded ascending winger J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth last summer, one of the key pieces the team received in return was big defenseman Michael Kesselring. While Josh Doan has since emerged as the key part of the Sabres’ return in that deal, Kesselring was nonetheless seen as an important building block for the Sabres. That’s what makes the recent rise of former Quinnipiac University Bobcat Zach Metsa so surprising. Yesterday, Metsa played next to Rasmus Dahlin, while Kesselring spent his second straight game as a healthy scratch. Head coach Lindy Ruff’s increased level of trust in Metsa is worth monitoring moving forward. The Sabres’ blueline has become increasingly crowded, and once Mattias Samuelsson returns from injury, it’s fair to wonder what Kesselring’s path to playing time might look like. The 26-year-old has two points in 32 games this season and is a pending RFA with arbitration rights.
- The Laval Rocket, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, signed NCAA free agent Dillan Bentley to a two-year, one-way AHL contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. Bentley will join Laval on a tryout for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. Bentley, 24, joins the pro ranks after a four-year college career at UMass-Lowell. He was an alternate captain for the team this season, scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 33 games. He formerly served as the captain of his junior team in the NAHL. The signing returns the Canadiens to some familiar territory. This isn’t the first time the team’s management group, which has deep roots in the state of Massachusetts, has signed a top player out of Lowell; the Canadiens signed Lowell captain Lucas Condotta as an NCAA free agent in 2022. Condotta now serves as the Rocket’s captain.
Rangers Place Adam Edstrom On Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Rangers have placed forward Adam Edstrom on long-term injured reserve, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports. He’s missed the last four games with a lower-body injury but will now be sidelined at least through Christmas, becoming eligible for reinstatement against the Islanders on Dec. 27.
Edstrom was initially ruled out day-to-day, but his initial recovery hasn’t progressed as the team hoped, Walker said. He sustained his injury during practice on Dec. 1, and there hasn’t been much clarity on him since, including whether it’s related to the lower-body injury that ended his 2024-25 campaign in February and eventually required surgery.
The Rangers have had a relatively healthy forward group this season, save for Vincent Trocheck missing a few weeks early in the campaign, but their depth has taken a hit. They started the season with a fourth line of Edstrom, Sam Carrick, and Matt Rempe. Rempe hasn’t played since Oct. 23 due to an upper-body injury – Edstrom is joining him on LTIR – but he’s also traveled with the team on their road trip and could be an option to return as soon as tonight against the Blackhawks, head coach Mike Sullivan said yesterday (via Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic).
A sixth-round pick in 2019, the 6’7″, 232-lb Edstrom has provided the Rangers with quality, albeit limited, minutes. Through 24 appearances, he’d tallied two goals and four points with a +5 rating while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. His 48 hits rank sixth on the team, and his possession impacts while being deployed as a defensive specialist at 5-on-5 are strong. His 31.6 offensive zone start percentage is the second-lowest among Rangers forwards with at least 200 minutes, yet he leads them in 5-on-5 goal share at 64.3%.
With Rempe and now Edstrom out, AHL call-ups Brett Berard and Jaroslav Chmelar have stepped into the lineup. They’ve combined to go pointless with a -1 rating through 11 games.
Rangers Sign Adam Edstrom To Two-Year Extension
The Rangers and pending RFA forward Adam Edstrom have agreed to terms on a two-year extension, the team announced Monday. The deal is worth $975K per season for a total value of $1.95MM, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post.
Edstrom took over full control of New York’s fourth-line center role as a rookie this season. His responsible and physical play in a 6-foot-7 frame was a perfect compliment to the all-out bruiser role of 6-foot-9 Matt Rempe on his wing. Edstrom earned nine points, 27 penalty minutes, and a minus-five through the first 51 games of New York’s season – until a lower-body injury ended his season on February 1st. He underwent surgery soon after sustaining the injury, and plans to be fully healthy before next season’s training camp.
Edstrom appeared in the first 11 games, and scored the first two goals, of his NHL career last season – after posting a hardy 11 goals and 16 points in 40 AHL games. He spent the five seasons prior filling a depth role throughout Sweden’s SHL, including netting 19 points in 42 games with Rogle BK in the 2022-23 season. The Rangers originally drafted him out of the Mora IK program with a sixth-round pick in 2019.
With a new contract in place, Edstrom should be well set on returning to his spot on New York’s fourth-line. He hasn’t yet found much of a scoring stride throughout pro hockey. But at just 24-years-old, he could be due for a small breakout with his feet under him in an NHL role.
Rangers Notes: Kreider, Schneider, Edstrom
Rangers winger Chris Kreider ended the season dealing with a hand injury that may require offseason surgery, he told reporters during today’s end-of-season media availability (via Peter Baugh of The Athletic). That’s on top of the known back troubles that bothered him earlier this season. Kreider also said an illness he developed shortly after the holiday break led him to develop vertigo temporarily.
Kreider said he sustained the hand injury in the first game following the 4 Nations break, so that ties into his six-game absence and injured reserve stint leading into the trade deadline. All of those ailments give some context to what was a disastrous season for Kreider, who was limited to 22 goals and 30 points in 68 games after topping the 30-goal and 50-point marks in each of the previous three seasons. That drop-off led to his name landing on the trade block for much of the campaign, and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said last week he expects the Rangers to continue shopping him over the offseason.
Surgery to address his ailments could prove beneficial to his trade value with interested teams hoping his injuries were the principal reason for his steep offensive regression. He can block a trade to 15 teams and has two years left on a deal carrying a $6.5MM cap hit. He did still manage to score at a 27-goal pace this year while shooting slightly south of his career average, so if there are enough teams high on the 33-year-old’s rebound potential, there may not be a need for Blueshirts general manager Chris Drury to retain a portion of his salary. Kreider did end his season on a high note with a goal, three assists, and a plus-four rating in his final two outings.
On the back end, Braden Schneider has already undergone surgery to repair the torn labrum that caused him to miss the final two games of the regular season (via Baugh). Schneider said he’s been playing through the partial tear for the last two seasons but felt it impeded his physicality in 2024-25, influencing him to go under the knife. Those procedures can carry fairly lengthy recovery times, so his decision to undergo surgery as soon as the Blueshirts were eliminated from playoff contention could be the difference in determining whether he’s available when training camp begins in September.
Schneider, 23, scored a career-high 6-15–21 this year and played all 80 games up until undergoing surgery. He tied his career-high plus-nine rating and saw the most minutes of his career at 17:52 per game, seeing increased deployment after the Rangers traded ex-captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks in early December. Now the team’s de facto No. 3 defenseman behind Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller, he’ll garner a considerable raise on his current $2.2MM AAV after he becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
Depth winger Adam Edstrom said he underwent surgery to address his lower-body injury and should be fully healthy in time for training camp this fall (via Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today). The Rangers announced in early February that Edstrom would miss 10 to 14 weeks with a lower-body injury, and Edstrom reaffirmed today he would have been an option at some point in the postseason had New York qualified. The 6’6″ 24-year-old ended his rookie season with 5-4–9, a minus-five rating, and 27 PIMs in 51 appearances while averaging 9:16 per game.
Rangers’ Adam Edstrom Out Roughly Three Months With Lower-Body Injury
Rangers depth winger Adam Edstrom will be unavailable for the next two and a half to three and a half months while recovering from a lower-body injury, the team told Mollie Walker of the New York Post on Tuesday. It’s likely a season-ending absence for Edstrom, although a return during the postseason is possible if the Blueshirts make the cut.
Edstrom already missed Sunday’s win over the Golden Knights with the injury, which he sustained at some point in Saturday’s loss to the Bruins. He left midway through the second period after recording a minus-one rating, one hit, and one giveaway in 4:22 of ice time.
The 24-year-old has established himself as a regular on the Rangers’ fourth line this season, playing in all but one of their 52 games. He hasn’t been a factor offensively with four goals and nine points and averages just 9:16 per game, but the hulking 6’6″, 241-lb winger ranks fourth on the team with 11.92 hits per 60 minutes and ranks second among Rangers forwards with 34 blocks.
His willingness to get involved physically has contributed to good two-way results from the Rangers’ most common iteration of their fourth line this season. In 166 minutes together, the trio of Edstrom, Sam Carrick and Jimmy Vesey have controlled 52.3% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. Their 2.27 xGA/60 is 0.03 short of being the Rangers’ best defensive trio with at least 150 minutes together this season.
His limited minutes mean he’s not a season-altering loss, but he does leave a sizable void in the bottom six. His absence allows Vesey to step back into regular minutes after being scratched for 10 of their last 12 games, prompting the veteran to publicly voice his displeasure with his lack of playing time.
Edstrom is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He’s due a qualifying offer of $813,750, although with his everyday role and an increasing salary cap, he has an argument to earn north of $1MM annually on his next deal.
Metropolitan Notes: Haula, Malkin, Duclair, Edstrom, Stillman
It has been one of the busiest weeks of the season for the Metropolitan Division. Five of the division’s eight teams have made trades in the last few weeks, and all eight clubs are dealing with multiple injuries. That’s sparked plenty of news and updates – starting with the New Jersey Devils, who plan to bring centerman Erik Haula on their upcoming two-game road trip despite already ruling him out for Sunday’s game against Buffalo, per team reporter Amanda Stein. Stein added that Haula will practice with the team on the road trip and be questionable for Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh. Haula suffered an ankle injury on January 5th and has been out of action ever since. He’s missed 11 games and was placed on injured reserve on January 17th. He resumed skating four days later and was upgraded to out day-to-day on January 29th.
Haula is now one step closer to returning. Having already been ruled out of Sunday’s game, he’ll have three more opportunities to get back into the lineup before the team goes on a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off. Whether or not he’ll be able to return before that break will be notable, as Haula has been selected to represent Team Finland at the tournament. He has so far made no indication that he won’t be able to play – but the thought of his absence will weigh on a Finnish club that recently lost top defenseman Miro Heiskanen for the tourney. Haula is in the midst of a down year, with just 11 points in 42 games – his lowest scoring pace since the 2016-17 season. But he’ll still be an important addition to the Finns’ lineup should he return back to full health, likely to slot in as a middle-six winger with Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, Aleksander Barkov, and Anton Lundell manning the middle lane.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up for an even more notable return, after franchise legend Evgeni Malkin has returned to practice in a non-contact jersey on Saturday, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Malkin has missed Pittsburgh’s last four games and is still expected to miss a few more with a lower-body injury. He will be hard-pressed to return before Pittsburgh’s 4-Nations break begins on February 8th. The Penguins have lost two of the games that Malkin has missed. They were outscored 9-2 in the pair of outings. With that in mind, Pittsburgh will hope their future Hall-of-Fame Russian can get back to full health ASAP – and get back to building on the 34 points he’s scored in 47 games this season. Malkin continues to play a pivotal role on the team’s second line, averaging north of 18 minutes of ice time this season.
While New Jersey and Pittsburgh gear up for returns, the Islanders will have yet another lineup vacancy to fill, with winger Anthony Duclair set to miss Saturday’s game due to illness, per Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports. Duclair missed over two months of action earlier in the year, sitting out from October 20th to December 21st with a lower-body injury. He scored three points in his first three games back, but has been ice cold ever since – with just two points in his last 14 games. Duclair has held onto top-nine ice time despite the scoring drought, giving the Islanders a hardy role to fill as he misses yet another game. Marc Gatcomb has returned to the lineup to fill the vacancy, earning another chance to find scoring after playing in his first seven NHL games, and scoring his first goal, earlier this season. Gatcomb will fill a fourth-line role, while Simon Holmstrom has been promoted into the top-nine.
Joining the list of Metropolitan absentees is New York Rangers forward Adam Edstrom, who suffered an apparent injury in the team’s Saturday loss to the Boston Bruins. No specifics of Edstrom’s injury or timeline have been revealed. It’s terrible timing for the towering forward, who’s scored two points and seen a boost in ice time over his last five games. His absence will force the Rangers to fill a hole on their fourth line, likely opening the door for Arthur Kaliyev, Jimmy Vesey, or top prospect Brennan Othmann to earn a spot start. Vesey notably voiced concerns over his ice time recently – and could now have a golden chance to prove he can make a lasting impact with minimal minutes.
Closing out the littany of Metro updates – the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned depth defenseman Riley Stillman back to the minor leagues. Stillman was recalled for his season debut on Friday. He played in just under eight minutes of ice time and recorded one shot and two hits. He’ll now return to the minor leagues, where he’s scored two goals and five points through 15 games.
Rangers Make Nine Roster Moves
After submitting a cap-compliant roster for Monday’s opening-night deadline, the Rangers have shuffled their group to get to their actual game roster for tonight’s season opener against the Penguins. As expected, William Cuylle, Adam Edstrom, Victor Mancini, and Matt Rempe were recalled from AHL Hartford yesterday, making the team in effect, reports Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today Sports. Five players – forwards Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, and Adam Sýkora, as well as defensemen Ben Harpur and Matthew Robertson, were sent down to create roster and cap space.
The Rangers opened up a roster spot with the moves, but that’s not why they made them. Having the extra salary on the technical opening night roster allowed them to maximize their capture when placing winger Jimmy Vesey and his $800K cap hit on long-term injured reserve. They now have $792K in their season-opening LTIR pool, per PuckPedia. After yesterday’s moves, they’re sitting with north of $600K in cap space.
All four of yesterday’s recalls are expected to slide into the lineup against Pittsburgh tonight. Veteran Jonny Brodzinski appears to be on the outside looking in as the 13th forward to start the year, while Mancini will slide in for Ryan Lindgren, who’s on IR with an upper-body injury. It’ll be his NHL debut.
It’s an impressive feat for Mancini, who appears to have usurped veteran No. 7 option Chad Ruhwedel in the pecking order, at least for now. He’s also pushed himself up on the Blueshirts’ depth chart past other veteran defensive depth options with NHL experience like the aforementioned Harpur. The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick just two years ago out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where the 6’4″, 220-lb stay-at-home defender had four goals and 23 points in 110 games with a +4 rating. He’s entering his first full season of pro hockey but did close out last year with six assists in 17 combined regular-season and playoff games for Hartford.
Edstrom, listed at 6’6″, and Rempe, listed at 6’9″, are back to reprise their roles on one of the tallest combined forward lines in league history. They got spot duty together last season when they were both on the roster, getting seven games of action flanking Barclay Goodrow. The line has lost a couple of inches with the 6’2″ Goodrow now replaced by a 6’0″ Sam Carrick, but an opening night look is still promising for the younger duo of Edstrom and Rempe.
Edstrom, 24 on Saturday, had two goals in his first 11 NHL appearances last year. Rempe, meanwhile, scored a goal and an assist in 17 games. Only the 22-year-old Rempe saw playoff action, though, drawing into 11 of New York’s 16 postseason games en route to the Eastern Conference Final.
Cuylle was always a near-lock to make the team, only being sent down briefly for cap purposes, as mentioned earlier. The 22-year-old left winger had a promising rookie season in 2023-24, scoring 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 81 games while averaging 11:08 per game. He played a frequent third-line role at even strength but received little to no special teams usage. The 6’3″, 212-lb former second-rounder also finished fourth on the team in PIMs (56), tied for sixth in even-strength goals (12), and led them in hits (249).
Rangers Recall Adam Edstrom And Louis Domingue
Several teams have made roster moves today to add some extra depth for the playoffs. The Rangers are the latest to have done so, announcing (Twitter link) the recalls of forward Adam Edstrom and goaltender Louis Domingue from AHL Hartford.
Edstrom is in the second season of his entry-level contract and got his first taste of NHL action this season, getting into 11 games with New York. The 23-year-old picked up two goals while adding 30 hits on the fourth line, averaging just 8:25 per game. He had a more prominent role with the Wolf Pack, however, resulting in more production as Edstrom had 11 goals and five assists in 40 appearances in the minors. He’ll serve as an extra forward to start their series against Washington.
As for Domingue, the netminder won his lone NHL start this season back in November but has spent the rest of the year with Hartford. Through 28 appearances, he has a 2.66 GAA and a .909 SV% while also scoring a goal last Friday. The 32-year-old signed a one-year extension back in March and will now serve as New York’s third-string option for the postseason, a role he’ll likely reprise next year as well.
Snapshots: Guenette, Hamonic, Edstrom, St. Ivany, Pleshkov
It’s been a busy St. Patrick’s Day for the transactions log, kicked off by the Ottawa Senators’ assigning of Max Guenette to the minor leagues (Twitter link). Guenette has been with the NHL roster since the first week of March. He’s since appeared in six games with the Senators, going without a point but adding one penalty and a -1. It was Guenette’s first extended stint in the NHL, after playing his second career game in the league in February. He’s still searching for his first NHL point, though he has managed five goals and 29 points in 49 AHL games this season.
Guenette’s assignment is a sign that Travis Hamonic could be nearing a return, says Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun (Twitter Link). Hamonic has been on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury since March 3rd. He previously missed five games ahead of the All-Star Break, bearing with an upper-body injury suffered in late January. He’s played in just 47 of Ottawa’s 65 games this season, recording six points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -9. Even if he is nearing a return, it’s not likely that Hamonic will take on a major role, averaging just below 15 minutes of ice time this season. Still, he adds the experience of an 840-game veteran to the lineup, replacing the rookie Guenette.
Other notes from around the league:
- The New York Rangers have sent Adam Edstrom back to the AHL (Twitter Link). He was recalled to the NHL on March 15th under emergency conditions, though he hasn’t appeared in a game with the Rangers since March 4th. Edstrom has received the first 11 games of his NHL career this season and has managed two goals, two penalty minutes, and a +2. The 6’7″ bruiser has also added 30 hits, averaging the fourth-most hits on the Rangers lineup, behind William Cuylle, Matt Rempe, and Jacob Trouba.
- Pittsburgh has also made a roster move, sending down defenseman Jack St. Ivany from his first professional recall, per CapFriendly (Twitter Link). St. Ivany didn’t receive his debut in his first stint in the NHL, serving as a healthy scratch in Pittsburgh’s Saturday afternoon loss to the New York Rangers. He’ll now return to the AHL, where he’s already managed 12 points, 30 penalty minutes, and a +14 in 52 games.
- Hockey history has been made in Russia’s VHL – the league immediately below the KHL – when SKA-Neva took on AKM. The game went to five overtimes and 21-year-old goaltender Artemi Pleshkov carried a shutout until the very last shot, saving an incredible 124 shots. The 125th shot was too much, though, as Pleshkov and SKA fell 1-0 after 158 minutes of hockey. Pleshkov, who is undrafted in the NHL, has been fantastic this season, recording 12 wins and a .943 save percentage in 23 VHL games this season. He’s also managed a .926 in 10 KHL games, and a .947 in seven playoff games. His amazing game tops Alexander Borodulya‘s 107-save performance in the Belarussian Extraliga – the previous record.