Rempemania lit up New York City, but the buzz around Matt Rempe has cooled, and the Rangers now face a simple question: does the 6-9 forward have enough left to keep himself in the NHL as he heads into the final year of his contract?
Rempe made his first real splash with Broadway fans in the 2024 Stadium Series game against the New York Islanders, when he fought Matt Martin and instantly became a favorite. The attention came fast, but so did the questions.
He was tough to evaluate because he had trouble staying out of the penalty box, and not every penalty looked malicious. At times, it seemed like the problem was just his sheer size and the way he moved through the game.
If he’s going to stick in the league, he has to get a better handle on that.
After signing a two-year, one-way contract, Rempe didn’t exactly lock down a permanent role. He played only a handful of games, broke his hand in a fight against Ryan Reaves, and missed months.
He came back in the second half of the season, then had surgery on that same hand during the Olympic break and sat out the rest of the year. While he was out, other depth players from Hartford stepped in and helped a Rangers team that was already struggling, and his place as an NHL depth option became shakier.
Now the outlook feels even murkier. With Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora emerging, plus the Rangers adding depth forwards such as Tye Kartye, the Rempe experiment looks like it could be nearing its finish.
Because of his one-way deal, he’d have to clear waivers before going to the Wolf Pack, which gives the Rangers a reason to think twice. Still, his value to the club is described as close to negligible, and that makes an exit feel inevitable.
There should still be a few NHL appearances along the way, whether that comes early in the year or as a short-term call-up. But Rempe isn’t expected to be a regular.
His minutes will be limited, and with that comes the same familiar concerns: a fight, a penalty, maybe another stretch where Sullivan has to rein him in or sit him down. If he lands with the Wolf Pack, he’ll get the chance to play big minutes and lean on his NHL experience, but he still has plenty to prove before anyone starts trusting him for offense.
In the AHL, a low scoring rate is the expectation.
The projection has him spending most of the season in Hartford, with an AHL line of 47 GP | 9 G | 12 A | 55 PIM. The guess here is that he gets cut in training camp, though there’s always a chance another team wants its own version of Rempemania. More likely, he reports to the Hartford Wolf Pack and spends most of the year there.
Even then, the Rangers’ injury situation means they’ll almost certainly dip back into their Connecticut depth at some point. Rempe may not be the first call, or even the second, but he should get another shot in New York when the club needs bodies.
Offensively, though, the track record points to more of the same. He hasn’t been a major point producer, and if he gets a near-full AHL season, a career high is possible.
The bar isn’t especially high either - eight goals and four assists in 43 games is a reachable mark. If he does get another NHL cup of coffee, don’t count on him to show up on the scoresheet.
The early Rempe craze gave Rangers fans something fun to hold onto, especially through the last two rough seasons. But that ride seems close to over.
Whether he spends time in the press box or gets sent down during training camp, the tall, awkward forward looks more and more like a player whose NHL run is ending. The Rangers are building toward a contender, and that likely means a roster without Matt Rempe.
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