The Nashville Predators picked up a big-bodied forward from the New York Rangers on Saturday, and the deal tells you a lot about what they think they need. Adam Edstrom is coming to town. Massimo Rizzo and a 2026 fifth-rounder are heading the other way.
Edstrom is 25 years old, 6-foot-7, and plays the kind of game that makes coaches in March feel a little better about themselves. He had five points in 35 games this season for the Rangers, but that honestly undersells what he was doing when he was healthy. He blocked 34 shots and threw 94 hits for New York during the 2024-25 campaign, which put him among the team leaders in both categories among forwards. Over 97 career NHL games, he’s piled up 189 hits and 58 blocked shots. That’s not a stat line that jumps off a fantasy sheet. It is a stat line that makes a general manager nod slowly.
The problem for Edstrom this year? His season got wrecked by a fractured ankle that kept him out from December until March. When he finally got back, he couldn’t crack the lineup consistently under head coach Mike Sullivan. Scratch here, scratch there. A lot of watching. That’s tough for a guy on the last year of a two-year deal worth $1.95 million total with a $975,000 cap hit. He’ll be a restricted free agent when it expires.
Where He Came From
Before the Rangers drafted him in the sixth round back in 2019, Edstrom was playing in Sweden for Rogle BK in the SHL. He put up 48 points across 189 games there and won a Champions Hockey League title in 2021-22. Then he came over to North America and spent time with Hartford in the AHL, where he had 17 points in 43 games between 2022 and 2024. Nothing flashy, but the guy grinds.
What Nashville Gets
The Predators get a forward who can eat minutes on the fourth line, kill some penalties, and make life miserable for defensemen in the corners. He’s not going to score 20 goals. He might not score 10. But Nashville clearly wanted more sandpaper in the bottom six, and Edstrom brings that.
As for the Rangers, they get Rizzo, who is a restricted free agent and reportedly not expected to get a qualifying offer. He had 22 points in 29 ECHL games with Reading this season and five points in 14 AHL games split between Providence and Milwaukee. The fifth-round pick in 2026 is just a little lottery ticket.
So basically, Nashville paid a mid-round pick and a minor-league forward for a 25-year-old with NHL experience and a style that fits what they’re trying to build. Whether Edstrom stays healthy and actually gets into the lineup regularly is the question. But for now, the Predators added size, grit, and a guy who has already proven he’ll put his body in front of pucks.
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