The Rangers announced they’ve recalled forward Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford. He comes up with Chris Kreider set to miss tonight’s game against the Blues with an upper-body injury, Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today Sports reports. They opened a roster spot with a series of transactions yesterday, so no IR placement or corresponding move is required.
It’s Rempe’s second recall of the season after making the opening night roster but only sticking around for a few weeks, earning a demotion to Hartford in late October. The 2020 sixth-round pick has been in the minors for nearly all of November, last being rostered for an NHL contest against the Senators on Nov. 1, a game for which he served as a healthy scratch.
Even with Kreider out and Filip Chytil not taking line rushes at today’s practice, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post, it’s entirely possible Rempe is only up to serve as additional injury insurance and may sit in the press box for a seventh time this season tonight versus St. Louis. The Rangers gave themselves another forward option last night by recalling Brett Berard, who Brooks says practiced with the second power-play unit today, strongly indicating he’ll make his NHL debut. If Rempe does draw in, that would indicate a healthy scratch for a depth piece like Adam Edstrom.
This month’s lengthy demotion means Rempe has seen 10 games of AHL action this season compared to three NHL contests. The towering 6’8″ enforcer has scored twice and added an assist in those minor-league games, but his -7 rating is second-worst on Hartford. He averaged just 5:26 per game in his trio of NHL appearances last month, down from his already measly 5:38 mark last year, and posted no points with six hits and a fight.
Rempe appeared in 17 NHL contests at the tail end of last season as the Rangers looked to add a physical spark to their fourth line. In his short stay in the lineup, he racked up 71 PIMs and recorded his first two NHL points, a goal and an assist.
Rempe doesn’t yet require waivers to return to Hartford, but the pending restricted free agent will need them starting with the 2025-26 campaign.
Meanwhile, Kreider is on an ice-cold streak, recording just one point in his last six games. It’s not clear if he sustained the upper-body issue in the Rangers’ 6-2 loss to the Oilers on Saturday or if he’s been playing through it. The 33-year-old is second on the team with nine goals in 19 games but has miraculously yet to record an assist.