On Saturday, the 2026 NHL Draft concluded with Rounds two through seven. For the Rangers, that meant making eight more selections. After taking highly rated defenseman Albert Smits fifth overall on Friday night, they went heavy on defense yesterday to wrap things up in Buffalo.

Aside from focusing on adding to their prospect pool, the Rangers dealt forward Adam Edstrom to the Predators for Massimo Rizzo and a fifth round pick (148). Following the trade, the Rangers flipped pick 148 to the Kraken to move up to 102 in Round 4 to grab left wing Spencer Bowes.

For Edstrom, it isn’t surprising that he got moved. Despite showing some promise in parts of three seasons as a fourth liner, the 25-year-old Swede battled injuries the past two years. Unfortunately, a second straight injury riddled season cost Edstrom a spot under head coach Mike Sullivan.

Even when he returned, Sullivan played him out of position at center before healthy scratching him down the stretch. Most disappointing was that Edstrom continued to sit out while Sullivan favorite Conor Sheary played in meaningless games. He favored a veteran over a younger player with nothing to play for.

Instead, Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora became fixtures in the Rangers lineup. They found chemistry with Noah Laba, who had a solid rookie season after making the roster out of training camp.

If there’s one thing he showed in his time as a Blueshirt, it was the speed Edstrom possessed for a big player his size. Despite being listed at six-foot-seven, 232 pounds, the 2019 sixth round pick is a fast skater who can get in and create offense. If he can stay healthy with Nashville, he should be a nice addition to the Predators. Signed through 2026-27 for $975,000, Edstrom will try to reestablish himself with his new team this fall.

In 97 career games as a Ranger, he finished with 10 goals and six assists for 16 points and 31 penalty minutes. His best season came in 2024-25 when he posted a career-high five goals with four assists for nine points and 27 penalty minutes in 51 games.

Edstrom became the second player to change rosters this weekend. On Friday, Brett Berard was sent packing to Montreal in exchange for William Trudeau. Under former head coach Peter Laviolette, both fared better. That’s part of the process in the NHL, where one coach prefers certain players while the other doesn’t. In the case of Sullivan, neither Edstrom or Berard fit what he wanted.

Is Matt Rempe next? The 23-year-old got into 26 games scoring once with 11 penalty minutes in 2025-26. A fight with Ryan Reaves last season resulted in Rempe breaking his left thumb. He underwent two different surgical procedures for it. If he returns, it would be a surprise. He’s under contract for one more year making $975,000.

Even after acquiring finisher Pavel Dorofeyev from the Golden Knights, the Rangers still have too many bottom six forwards. There’s still not enough offense in the top six. They could use another young player capable of putting the puck in the net with some consistency.

Buffalo has Jack Quinn available. Signed for 2026-27 at a $3.375 million cap hit, the 24-year-old has a good right shot that can provide scoring help. He just completed his best season by establishing career highs in goals (20), assists (31), and points (51) in 82 games for the Sabres. Forty of the 51 points came at even strength while the other 11 were on the power play. It might be worth exploring to see what it would cost.

The Rangers have $15.675 million in salary cap space according to Puck Pedia. Over the next few days, we’ll have a better idea what the plans are for Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider. Trocheck was mentioned plenty over the past couple of days. Things have been relatively quiet regarding Schneider. The defenseman is the only key free agent that the organization must make an important decision on. Do they pay up or trade him?

Overall, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury had a rare good weekend. He was able to fill two needs by adding Dorofeyev and taking Smits, who will be a big part of the future on the blue line. He also made a couple of more good picks on Saturday. Something I’ll get to in the next post.

For at least one day, there’s some cause for optimism. We’ll see how things shake out the rest of the summer.