Rangers coach delivers pessimistic injury update on Matt Rempe
Mike Sullivan effectively delivered the bad news that most New York Rangers fans dreaded for the past month or so.
The Rangers coach told reporters Monday that he “would be surprised” if towering 6-foot-9 forward Matt Rempe returned to the lineup at any point over their final 12 games this season. Rempe misses his 14th straight game with an upper-body injury when the Rangers host the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Rempe has one goal in 26 games, and spent the majority of the season on injured reserve. The 23-year-old badly injured his thumb in a fight against Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks on his first shift of New York’s 6-5 home loss Oct. 23.
Rempe sat out two months after having a procedure on his thumb then tried to play through the injury before needing to go on injured reserve last month again due to his ailing thumb.
Matt Rempe unlikely to play for Rangers again this season
Rempe went from bit player to every-night fourth liner this season for the Rangers’ first eight-plus games. But what looked like a potential big step forward for Rempe in training camp turned into a lost season after Rempe broke his thumb while fighting Reaves, the veteran enforcer and former member of the Rangers.
Rempe initially had surgery on his thumb and missed 24 games before returning against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 15. He was scratched for seven straight games in January, struggling to play his usual style then did finally land back on IR on Feb. 20 after he had a second procedure.
Rangers rework fourth line, though Matt Rempe still in their plans
Rempe’s been a fan favorite since fighting Matt Martin of the New York Islanders on his first NHL shift at the Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 17, 2024.
But Rempe’s career is at a crossroads, ironically due to his only fight of the season. Rempe has an NHL contract that runs through the 2026-27 season, and is expected to make a full recovery from this latest thumb injury. But who knows how he will respond after this lost season.
Rempe was told not to fight after his initial thumb surgery, since he had a metal plate inserted, and even though Sullivan developed a quick fondness for him in training camp, the youngster must prove himself all over again next season.
The fourth line of Rempe, Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick was a constant through camp and the first eight games of the season, often drawing praise from the new coach. It was thought to be an identity line like that of Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck with the Islanders of recent vintage, before Rempe got hurt. Then Edstrom missed 33 games with a lower-body injury. Then Rempe was sidelined again. And Carrick was traded to the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the March 6 deadline.
Lately, Sullivan’s been deploying a fourth line consisting of Edstrom and rookie Jaroslav Chmelar, with either Jusso Parssinen or Jonny Brodzinski. In fact, the Rangers coach shifted Edstrom to center, a position he hadn’t played since junior back home in Sweden, just to geta feel for all the 25-year-old can offer.
Chmelar scored the first two goals of his NHL career in 16 games with the Rangers. The 22-year-old’s been a pleasant surprise in an otherwise down season for the last-place Blueshirts, and could battle either Rempe or Edstrom for playing time next season.
Though the Rangers perhaps found something in Chmelar, it’s just another piece to the lost season for Rempe, after it all began with such hope and promise.
