Eeli Tolvanen’s arrival has already started to shake up the New York Rangers’ opening-night picture.
The Rangers announced Wednesday that they signed Tolvanen to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, and the move points to a fairly clear path for him once training camp opens. With his NHL background and proven scoring touch, he looks positioned to step into the lineup without much drama.
But that’s where the ripple effect begins. If Tolvanen takes a roster spot, several forwards who were fighting for jobs suddenly find themselves squeezed out of the conversation.
Taylor Raddysh, Matt Rempe and Jaroslav Chmelař all have reasons to believe they belong on the opening-night roster, though their cases don’t carry the same weight.
Raddysh stands out as the most experienced of the group, and that matters for a coach trying to settle on a dependable fourth-liner. The Rangers gave him a two-year, $3 million deal last offseason, a sign of the organization’s investment in him compared with Rempe and Chmelař. He also logged 68 games for the Blueshirts during the 2025-26 campaign, which makes him the likeliest candidate to grab the fourth-line right wing spot.
Rempe’s situation is tougher. The popular enforcer’s 2025-26 season was derailed when he broke his thumb in a fight with Ryan Reaves on Oct. 23, an injury that led to two surgeries and cost him a chunk of the year. He gave the media an encouraging update on his recovery this summer, but even so, he still faces a steep climb in a crowded forward group.
Chmelař, meanwhile, was one of the more intriguing late-season additions. He arrived from the Hartford Wolf Pack and made the most of his 28-game look, flashing enough to turn some heads. There is still a path for the 23-year-old to break camp with the big club, but he could also wind up starting in the AHL if he can’t keep building on what he showed last season.
The squeeze doesn’t stop there. February waiver addition Tye Kartye could be pushed into a fourth-line left wing role even though he carved out a third-line spot last season, and that shift would leave Adam Sýkora as the odd man out.
Sýkora, like Chmelař, gave the Rangers a lift after coming up late in the season following three years with the Wolf Pack. His nonstop work rate is part of his appeal, but it may not be enough to overcome a crowded forward room with only so many openings.
Tolvanen’s signing also chips away at Liam Greentree’s chances of making the opening-night roster, making an AHL start seem likely for him as well.
What looked like a modest move on paper has turned into something much bigger for the Rangers. Tolvanen’s addition reaches well beyond one roster spot and reshapes the bottom-six conversation across the board.
In Other News...
Rangers Still Have One Roster Decision That Could Backfire Fast
The Rangers opening-night roster is mostly taking shape, and the biggest reason for optimism is a blue line that looks sturdier than it has in a while. Adam Fox is still the anchor, and offseason additions Vlad Gavrikov, Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson give the defense a deeper, more balanced look than the group that has been carrying so much of the burden in recent seasons.
Igor Shesterkin remains locked in as the starter, but one remaining choice in net still carries some real weight for the organizations depth chart. With the backup role unsettled, the Rangers are weighing how they want to handle a spot that could matter more than it seems in the long run, especially if the season starts testing the margins of their goaltending depth early. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Backup Goalie Battle Is More Complicated Than Fans Realize
Dylan Garand spent last season splitting his time between a brief but impressive NHL look and the heavier workload of being Hartfords primary goalie, giving the Rangers a much clearer sense of what they have in a young netminder who is edging closer to a full-time role. That progress has turned this training-camp job into more than a simple veteran-versus-prospect race, especially with Igor Shesterkin locked in atop the depth chart and the organization still sorting out how much runway it wants to give Garand.
Joonas Korpisalo arrived in the offseason to give New York a proven option behind Shesterkin, but Garands path is more complicated than a standard backup challenge. The Rangers have already committed to him with a two-year extension, and the way they handle the final roster spot will say plenty about how they value immediate insurance versus long-term development. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Have Elite Stars But This Ranking Raises A Bigger Roster Debate
The Athletics preseason player tiers offered a familiar reminder of where the Rangers top end stands, with Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox landing in the uppermost group below only the MVP class. Shesterkin drew the expected elite billing as one of the leagues premier goaltenders, while Foxs placement came with a more nuanced scouting read that still centered on his intelligence and style even as evaluators noted questions about his speed.
What makes the list more interesting for New York is the company those two keep further down the board. Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller were among the Rangers grouped into the Support tier, the kind of placement that underscores how much of the roster is built around excellent contributors rather than a long line of true drivers. For a team with championship expectations, that gap between star power and supporting cast is the part worth watching. [Read more 🡒]