Matt Rempe is heading into Rangers training camp with the same thing that’s followed him for much of his young career: a loud debate about what he actually should be.
The 6-foot-9 forward spent most of last season dealing with injuries, and he now has a chance to push for a regular spot in the lineup. But even with that opening, Rangers fans remain split on how the team ought to use him.
In a Forever Blueshirts poll on X and Facebook, the biggest group - 36.2 percent - wanted Rempe to stay in the lineup as a fourth-line winger. Another 24.0 percent said the Rangers should waive him and send him to Hartford, assuming he clears waivers. A further 21.3 percent picked the 13th-forward role, while 18.6 percent wanted him traded.
The case for keeping Rempe around starts with what he brings physically. Fans repeatedly pointed to his willingness to protect teammates, with several on Facebook calling him the team’s enforcer.
Kathy Geraci tied that to the Rangers’ younger players when making her case for Rempe to remain on the roster.
“Rempe was improving when he busted up his thumb,” Geraci wrote on Facebook, referring to the broken thumb he sustained in an Oct. 23 fight against Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks. “With [Sam] Carrick gone, there’s no one to stand up for the smaller players like [Gabe] Perreault, [Drew] Fortescue and [Adam] Sykora.”
Vincent Fonseca also saw value in keeping Rempe in a fourth-line role.
“He brings energy and has improved,” Fonseca commented. “You notice him every shift.”
There’s also the simple fact that last season never really gave him a fair runway. Rempe played in just 26 games and scored one goal, a goal that deflected off his leg while he was lying in the crease. Two separate stints on injured reserve interrupted his year, and both eventually led to surgery, leaving him without much of a chance to establish himself during the 2025-26 season.
That’s why some fans looked beyond the small sample size and focused on what he might still become.
Still, keeping Rempe on the NHL roster doesn’t have to mean putting him in every night. The 13th-forward option drew 21.3 percent of the vote, and plenty of fans liked the idea of using him selectively depending on the opponent.
Washington came up more than once in those discussions, including specific references to Tom Wilson and the value of having Rempe available for heavier, more physical games.
“He’s the 13th forward you bring in on heavy-hitting games like Capitals/Tom Wilson,” Daniel Reardon wrote on Facebook. “On softer teams, put in someone who produces like [Jaroslav] Chmelar. “
Others pushed the idea that Rempe could be more than a winger. Some suggested the Rangers should give him a look at fourth-line center, with Robert Skettini arguing for a shot there.
“Matt Rempe is listed as a center… It’s not an accident,” Robert Skettini wrote. “He was drafted as a ‘raw center project’ … Would love to see him compete for the 4C.”
There were also ideas about squeezing more value out of his size around the net, using him as a screen, a deflection option and a player who can battle for loose pucks in the crease. One commenter said he could help “pick up garbage goals” and make life harder for defenders.
A few fans even floated special-teams possibilities. One pointed to his reach and willingness to block shots as reasons he could be used on the penalty kill, while others said he could be available for faceoff duty if a center gets tossed from the circle.
But not everyone sees enough there to justify an NHL roster spot.
A combined 42.9 percent of voters wanted the Rangers either to waive Rempe and try to send him to Hartford or to trade him. The biggest issue in those comments was simple: does he bring enough beyond his physical edge?
Supporters called him an enforcer. Critics had a different label in mind, using “Goon” just as often.
His skating drew plenty of skepticism, with some fans wondering whether he can keep pace with today’s NHL. Others pointed to his balance issues and joked that he needs to learn how to stay on his feet for a full game.
His size is impossible to miss, but that only matters so much if the Rangers think another forward can offer more in other parts of the game.
John Perratti didn’t think Rempe’s physical presence makes up for the rest of the package.
“He can’t skate, he can’t shoot, he can’t pass, he can’t fight,” Perratti commented. “He’s a waste of a roster spot.”
Greg Torrey wasn’t necessarily against the style, but he questioned whether the constant reliance on fighting and hitting can last.
“He can hit, but he can’t fight,” Torrey wrote. “Unfortunately that’s what everyone wants him for, and it’s going to end his career early.”
Even some fans who aren’t ready to close the book on Rempe want to see more before giving him a fixed role. For them, camp should be about competition, not entitlement.
So Rempe arrives with support, skepticism and no real consensus - which, for him, is nothing new.
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