The New York Rangers have traded Adam Edström to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Massimo Rizzo and a fifth-round pick (148th overall) in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Edström broke onto the scene during the 2025-26 season, as he made the Rangers’ opening-night roster out of training camp and earned a full-time bottom-six role. 

However, after playing 51 games, Edström suffered a season-ending lower-body injury, derailing his momentum. 

Toward the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, he suffered another injury, which sidelined him for multiple months. 

“I mean it sucks,” Edström said of dealing with constant injuries. “What I was dealing with this year, I felt for a long period of time that I can push through it and take care of it after the season, but the more I played, the worse it got. It finally reached a point where the doctors and me made a decision together, it was better for us to just take care of it right away. 

“That also puts you in a bad spot, not playing at 100%, playing injured, and from there, missing a lot of time. When you get put on the sideline for that amount of time, it’s not good for your career. It’s been two frustrating years, and knock on wood, I’m hoping I can stay healthy.”

Upon his return to the lineup in March, Edström fell out of favor with head coach Mike Sullivan, losing his spot in the lineup and he was scratched for the majority of games to close out the season. 

By April, it was evident that the 25-year-old forward was in need of a fresh start. 

“We’ve had some conversations,” Edström said in April about his dialogue with Sullivan. “He's kind of told me how he looks at my season, and I got to talk to him and kind of tell him how I felt. At the end of the day, it’s his team, and he decides who plays, so all I can do is respect that…

“I feel like there are a lot of parts in my game that I can develop for sure. I can work on physicality, always skating hard, those kinds of things. It’s been a very choppy year, playing big amounts of the year not feeling well, playing injured, missing a lot of time. As I said, it’s been a tough year.”

Rizzo, the player the Rangers received in return for Edström, is a restricted free agent, and he reportedly won’t be given a qualifying offer.