Rempe Mania returns for Broadway run after Rangers re-sign towering forward to 2-year deal
The New York Rangers took care of a big — literally and figuratively — piece of offseason business Wednesday when they re-signed towering forward Matt Rempe to a two-year contract worth a reported $975,000 per season.
That’s a slight raise for Rempe, who was a restricted free agent after completing his entry-level contract. The signing locks in an improving young player at an affordable salary-cap hit, with the hope that Rempe can be a regular on the fourth line.
Rempe came on in the second half of last season and ended up leading the Rangers, and placing sixth in the NHL for those who played at least 40 games, averaging 19.64 hits per 60 minutes. He also had eight points (three goals, five assists) and 67 penalty minutes in 42 games.
His two-way game improved after he returned from an eight-game suspension for elbowing and boarding Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20. Upon his return, Rempe admitted that he needed to be smarter with his physical play, since that suspension was the second in two seasons and he’d already received four game misconducts in that time span.
“That wasn’t a great hit,” Rempe explained in January. “I’ve got to be smarter there. I make a lot of hits like that when they’re close against the wall, but it’s the ones when they’re a foot away that are dangerous. I was coming in with too much speed, I’m too big of a guy to be coming in with that much speed. It can’t happen again, or it’s going to be a huge suspension.”
Rempe, who turns 23 on June 29, became an increasingly effective player from that point on. The 6-foot-9 forward played a simple North-South game, building chemistry with hard-nosed center Sam Carrick. He was responsible defensively, displayed deceptive speed and skill, and was handful on the forecheck. He spent less time in the penalty box — though still remaining a massive physical presence and deterrent — and more time on the ice helping turn momentum in the Rangers favor.
“I think I improved a lot, especially from last year. From the beginning of the season, I think a lot of development happened and I got a lot better … I think big strides from last year,” Rempe said at breakup day in April after the Rangers missed the playoffs for the first time in four years.
From Jan. 8 on, Rempe appeared in 37 of New York’s final 42 games. The only games he missed were injury-related. It was a far cry from how the 2024-25 season started for Rempe, who was a healthy scratch more often than not early on after a so-so training camp. An extended assignment with Hartford of the American Hockey League, where he played big minutes and in all game situations, did wonders for Rempe’s game and confidence, though he was suspended immediately after his NHL recall.
“I think it was the best thing for me,” Rempe said about his time in Hartford. “Go down there for a month and a bit, play in all situations, played a ton of minutes. I think that’s what I needed … from there, I think my game took off.”
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Rangers still have several RFAs to re-sign, including forwards Will Cuylle, Adam Edstrom
The Rangers have six other NHL restricted free agents to either sign or trade this offseason, including Adam Edstrom, who’s healthy again and expected to fill out the fourth line with Rempe and Carrick. Edstrom had nine points (five goals, four assists) playing in each of the first 51 games last season before he sustained a lower-body injury Feb. 1 and missed the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
Most notably, the Rangers want to lock up RFA forward Will Cuylle, who’s coming off a breakout season when he scored 20 goals, tied for fourth on the Rangers, totaled 45 points and set a franchise record with 301 hits, tied for third most in the NHL.
The Rangers have a big decision to make with K’Andre Miller. The 25-year-old defenseman is an RFA with arbitration rights and due a significant raise just two years out from being an unrestricted free agent. However, the Rangers appear leery about committing to along-term, big-money deal with the erratic Miller, who’s being shopped, per several NHL insiders.
Zac Jones is another RFA defenseman the Rangers must make a decision on soon, as is forward Arthur Kaliyev, and each has arbitration rights. Matthew Robertson, who played his first two NHL games at the end of this season after four seasons in the AHL, is in the same category.
Among minor league RFAs, the most significant player is goalie Dylan Garand, who was an AHL All-Star in 2024-25 and perhaps a year away from becoming Igor Shesterkin’s backup on Broadway.
PuckPedia projects the Rangers to be $13.95 million under the salary cap after the Rempe signing and by trading Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks last week, which saved them $6.5 million annually.
