The unofficial mascot of the New York Rangers, Matt Rempe is certainly an interesting player. Initially a side show, Rempe has worked hard to fine tune his game into an effective fourth liner. He showed promise over the last two seasons, including his 26 games in 2025-2026, but it’s been clear he needs more time to grow as a player. Injuries have sidelined him and derailed much of his ability to grow, as his reputation as that side show from his first year has forced him into fighting situations that he’s best off avoiding in the future.
Matt Rempe is not about goals and assists, and his one goal in 26 games this season is evidence of that. He did put up 3-5-8 in 42 games in 2024-2025, and though this looks like a setback, we must remember that Rempe broke his thumb fighting Ryan Reaves in the 9th game of the season. Rempe missed two months and then returned, but was clearly ineffective and rather bad. Then news came that he had been playing through the injury, as it never healed properly, and finally was put on IR and his season ended in February.
Matt Rempe is hoping he can be an effective fourth liner in his career, but that is becoming less and less likely the more he is forced into these sideshow situations. He’s still learning how to use his size without borderline killing people on the ice, and he is making significant progress in that department. Unfortunately the Old Time Hockey heads still want him to be Mr. Punchy, and until that stops, he won’t be able to be what we hope he can be.
Assuming Rempe is with the Blueshirts next season, he’s likely going to be a 13th forward and used sparingly. Several players–Jaro Chmelar, Adam Sykora, Tye Kartye–have passed him on the depth chart. Conor Sheary has been far more effective in what should hopefully be a fourth line role if he’s still with the Rangers next season. There just aren’t enough roster spots, and Rempe is fighting an uphill battle to stick with the club. Luckily for him, his main competition is looking like they won’t be back, as Jonny Brodzinski will get a better contract elsewhere and Adam Edstrom is in a similar spot.