Expect a fierce fight for the 13th forward spot at New York Rangers camp

Ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, it appears Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom are going to have to compete for the 13th forward spot.

With plenty of roster adjustments already underway, it makes sense that the Rangers would be paying extra attention to that extra forward spot on the roster who is crucial for filling in during injuries and line changes. Perhaps it is for this reason that both Rempe and Edstrom were signed to identical two-year, $1.95 million contract extensions ahead of free agency.

Here's some predictions for how the roster battle could play out.

The case for Matt Rempe

If it were up to me, I'd say odds are Rempe wins this roster battle for a number of reasons.

Rempe led the Rangers in hits per 60 minutes (19.64) and his 19.64 hits per 60 were the sixth-most in the NHL among players who skated in at least 40 games. This year he also established new career-high across points with eight, goals with three and assists with five.

As the biggest guy on the roster — standing at 6'9" and weighing 255 pounds — Rempe brings size to the forward line that intimidates other teams and causes him to tower over opposing defenseman.

Rempe has also already gotten a jump start with offseason training with Prentiss Hockey Performance. He's been seen training with Trevor Zegras, Chris Kreider, Brett Berard and others.

The case against Adam Edstrom

Unfortunately for Edstrom, a lot of the reasons why Rempe is likely going to win this roster battle swirl back to the fact that he's recovering from an injury.

Edstrom exited a Rangers' loss to the Bruins in February — missing the remainder of the season with a lower-body injury. While he did appear in 51 games for the Blueshirts this past season, up from the 11 last season, and contributed five goals and four assists for nine points averaging 9:16 per night.

But, social media has been quiet about where he's at in his offseason training — leading me to believe he's likely not at the level Rempe is.

Bottom line is Rempe has the jump on Edstrom in size, game experience from last season and offseason training. This roster battle easily goes to Rempe, even though these two describe themselves as "brothers" off the ice.