2026 Rangers Season Previews: Matt Rempe

This article is part of an ongoing series of New York Rangers Season Previews, taking a close look at what we can, and should, expect from each member of the 2026-27 New York Rangers. To read other articles in this series, go here.

"What goes up must come down," a great scientist once pointed out to the world. Sir Isaac Newton may not have had a 6-9 hockey player in mind, but the concept still applies to Matt Rempe. Once the darling of the media circus and every other fan’s favorite new player, Rempemania has cooled off quite a bit since.

Previous Performance

Matt Rempe came to Broadway and made an immediate impression, fighting Matt Martin in the 2024 Stadium Series game against the New York Islanders. The towering forward was immediately beloved by most of the fandom, but many wondered and hoped that there was more Rempe could bring to each game. It was often hard to judge his impact, as he struggled to avoid penalties. To be entirely fair to the player, some of them weren’t flagrant or even intentional. It’s just Rempe, standing at 6-9, Rempe often doesn’t look like he has full control of his massive body. If he’s ever to be a player in the NHL, he’ll need to figure that out.

After signing a two-year, one-way contract, Rempe struggled to make an impact in his first season. Playing only a handful of games, he broke his hand in a fight against Ryan Reaves and was out for months. He returned in the second half of the season, but then had surgery on his hand during the Olympic break and missed the rest of the year. During that time, other depth players from Hartford came up and contributed for the floundering Rangers, and Rempe’s status as a depth NHL player was threatened.

Expectations

It feels as if it’s all but decided that Matt Rempe won’t be sticking around in the NHL much longer. With the recent emergence of Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora, along with the Rangers’ acquisition of additional depth forwards like Tye Kartye, the Matt Rempe experiment may be coming to an end. Because of his one-way contract, he’ll have to clear waivers, so the Rangers may hesitate to assign him to the Wolf Pack. But at the end of the day, his value on the team is close to negligible, so it feels inevitable.

Rempe will skate in a few NHL games throughout the year, whether at the start or as a temporary call-up, but he’s not a mainstay, and his performance will be limited by his reduced minutes. It’s also easy to guess that he’ll drop the gloves or be penalized for being big, rack up time in the penalty box, and force Sullivan to bench him or protect his minutes even further than he would for a normal depth player.

Once with the Wolf Pack, Rempe will get major minutes, and his NHL experience will be a boon, but he still has a lot to prove before people believe he can be relied on for production. It’s safe to expect Rempe to score at a low clip in the AHL when given a shot.

Predictions

NHL: 5 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 38 PIM

AHL: 47 GP | 9 G | 12 A | 55 PIM

Rempe will likely be cut during training camp. It’s possible another team will see the appeal of writing its own chapter of Rempemania, but more likely he’ll report to the Hartford Wolf Pack and play most of the season with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate.

As always, the Rangers will deal with injuries throughout the season and will reach into their pool of players in Connecticut’s capital city. I don’t anticipate Rempe being their first or even second choice among forwards to call up, but he’ll still get his time to shine once again.

Rempe has never been a big point producer, and next season will likely be more of the same. We can project that, with close to a full season in the AHL, he’ll set a career high with the Wolf Pack, though realistically, eight goals and four assists in 43 games isn’t that high of a hurdle to clear. If Rempe gets his cup of coffee in the NHL next season, it’d be a surprise if he gets on the scoreboard.

Conclusion

All the excitement around Matt Rempe was a welcome distraction for the Rangers’ fandom, especially during the last two abysmal seasons. But it’s a safe bet that the fun journey is coming to an end.

Whether it’s drawn out and we see a lot of Rempe sitting in the press box this upcoming season, or the Rangers cut the cord earlier and send him down to the AHL during training camp, the tall, awkward forward has more than likely reached the end of his NHL journey. The Rangers will be focused on building a contender with the best possible roster, and that should be a team without Rempe.