Following their loss to the Florida Panthers two days ago, the New York Rangers decided to send Matt Rempe down to the American Hockey League (AHL) and now, he is playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack. This comes after he played in only two of the first seven games of the season for the Rangers where he got a total of 11:17 in those two games. It became clear that he was not going to be an every-game player for the team and getting sent down to the AHL is what is best for him now. Here are a few reasons why.
Rempe Will Get Way More Playing Time
With a player like Rempe, you can’t have him sitting in the press box for so many games. The Rangers see him as a part of their future and if they want him to get better, he needs to be playing and playing more than just five minutes a game. With him now playing with the Wolf Pack, he is going to see significant ice time and is going to be one of the impact players for that team, which is something he was never going to be with the Rangers at this point in his career. He is still only 22 years old and has plenty of time to grow his game.
It became clear that if he was going to be in the lineup, it would only be for matchups where the other team plays a more physical game. Rempe moves quickly for a player his size, but he doesn’t really have the speed quite yet that can help him make an impact at the NHL level. He is now going to be one of the top centers for the Wolf Pack and will be getting meaningful minutes. Hopefully, he will learn how to make more of an impact and can maybe try to add more to his game other than just being big and physical. Because if he only plays like that, he won’t be back up with the Rangers anytime soon.
Rangers Have Other, More Established Fourth Line Options
The Rangers have much more forward depth than they have had in seasons past and this is why Rempe being sent down shouldn’t be as shocking as it is to some people. Currently, they have a fourth line of Adam Edstrom, Sam Carrick and Johnny Brodzinski. This line brings speed, skill, and physicality and can also chip in a few goals here and there. They will also be getting Jimmy Vesey back from injury in early November, so he is another player that could slot right into that line and provide more than what Rempe could at this moment.
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The Rangers have all of these options for the fourth line and it became clear that they trust these players more than Rempe as the season has gone on and that is fine. Besides Edstrom, they have way more NHL experience and can provide more to the lineup. With Vesey and Carrick, they can be a penalty-killing duo for the team and will likely be on when Vesey returns from injury. While Edstrom is still young, he plays a better all-around game than Rempe and he has way more speed and can produce more offensively. It is great to see that this team has depth that they can rely on and for right now, they are going to help this team win more than Rempe could.
Rempe Needs to Earn His Next Call-up
Last season was a great time for Rempe and the fans. “RempeMaina” really took over Madison Square Garden and no matter what he did, he would always get the loudest ovation in every game he played. While it was fun while it lasted, it doesn’t mean that he was exactly ready to play a consistent role in the NHL. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and it took him a while to really find his game at the AHL level, and he was playing decent enough that he got the call-up last season. Now, he needs to go back down and work on his game even more if he wants to get another shot in the NHL.
With how the Rangers are currently constructed, they don’t need a player like Rempe in the lineup and he isn’t going to benefit from being a healthy scratch for a majority of these games. Now, he needs to earn his next call-up and it might be a while before he sees NHL ice again. He needs to prove that his game is improving and if he can start playing a style like how Edstrom is playing, using his speed and size to create scoring chances, then maybe he will be the next man up in case of injuries.
For right now, “RempeMania” is on pause in the NHL and it will be interesting to see how he plays in the AHL moving forward. Will he take this demotion and use it as motivation or will he see it as the Rangers not fully trusting him even though he put in work over the offseason to get better? Time will tell, and now we wait and see as many fans are already eagerly anticipating his return sometime in the future.
